Kanan, under the guise of a stormtrooper commander, watched as Tua and Kallus pulled up in a speeder. They hadn't anticipated a security detail of any kind, so the company put him a bit on edge.

As they climbed out, Tua seemed nervous. "Thank you, Agent Kallus, but there...there was no need for an escort."

"Lady Jadis asked me to make sure you reach your shuttle safely," he explained, folding his hands behind his back.

"I see," she replied, walking towards the hangar.

From behind her, Kallus was grinning in a way that wasn't exactly comforting. "We can't be too careful about security these days."

Funny you should say that, Kanan thought, following close behind the agent. I wonder what you're going to think in about thirty seconds.

Sabine dropped down behind them while Tua tried to appear calm. Seriously, she had no poker face whatsoever. "Yes, I suppose so."

"Hey!" Sabine called, drawing her blasters. She began firing at the stormtroopers, making sure not to hit Kanan or Tua.

"Minister, take cover!" Kallus ordered, and Tua ran out of the line of fire. She didn't really see where this plan was going, but she didn't have another option.

When they were far enough forward, Kanan hit the control panel for the hangar door and shut the rest of the soldiers out. "Surprise," he told Kallus, blasting the panel and effectively locking the doors.

"Rebels," grumbled Kallus, firing at Kanan. The Jedi dodged the blaster bolts, taking cover behind a crate that was nearby.

Right on cue, Ezra and Hera hopped down into the fray. They drew some of the fire, but Kallus was tired of these particular rebels and went after them, forcing them all to converge where Tua was taking cover. Kanan provided some cover fire for the group. "Minister, get to the shuttle," Ezra instructed. "We'll be right behind you."

"Right," she stammered, darting off towards her ticket to freedom. She didn't look back at Kallus, she didn't look back at the rebels or anything else, she only had eyes for that shuttle. Her vision narrowed as she ran up the ramp.

Which meant that she was the only one who saw the explosives rigged inside of it. The rebels were too far back, they couldn't see them and didn't know. They were still running up behind her. There was no time to warn them, no time to escape or save herself, much less them.

In the nanosecond she had left, her heart thumped one last time, and the last breath she took was a gasp. She wanted to shout, to say something, to object to this fate, but all she had time to do was to reach backward toward the shuttle bay and think, WAIT! PLEASE!!!

The shuttle burst into bright flames, knocking back the three rebels that were chasing Tua onboard. It didn't do more than bruise them, but as they sat up and looked again, they knew there was no hope for the ex-minister. Ezra even spared a moment to say her name hauntingly before Kallus snapped them back to reality.

"You did this!" he accused, advancing and firing on them again. Kanan, Hera, and Ezra were forced to take cover, and the other stormtroopers finally got through the bay doors so now they were outnumbered too.

Sabine didn't wait for things to get any worse. "Zeb, we need a pickup! Now!"

"Copy, we're on our way," he told her, and Sabine kept an eye out. There was no telling how long the three on the ground could hold their position.

Luckily, Chopper and Zeb pulled through. They arrived in seconds, the shuttle lowering into the bay. Zeb provided cover fire while shouting for the others to "Come on!" Once they were on, Chopper lifted the shuttle slowly enough that Sabine could jump on board from the roof. The door shut and the shuttle sped away...for about five seconds.

And then their shuttle took damage too, not that anyone saw where it come from. Not even Chopper could stop them from crashing onto the Lothalian streets, and it was a miracle that the collision itself didn't kill them. There wasn't time to consider if they had hit a pedestrian or not.

Sabine was the first one up on her feet. At seeing the state of the shuttle, she knew there wasn't any salvaging it, and certainly not in the limited time they had. "Come on, come on!" she urged the team, trying to rush them. "Up, everybody! We're moving!" She opened the door and darted out, the rest of the Ghost crew following behind her.

Those on the street gaped at the strange people who ran away from the burning shuttle. Maybe it was because they were astonished they had survived the crash, maybe they were intrigued at who they were or what had caused the crash. The citizens didn't follow them, though. They knew better than to associate themselves with someone suspicious. The Empire had taught them better than that.

~

Kallus reported to Lady Jadis with his chin up and his back straight. His faith in the Sith Countess had been incredibly strengthened after the success earlier that evening. "Everything has happened as you predicted, Lady Jadis."

Jadis, who was facing out the window and not the projector, nodded once. "Tell the people rebel assassins hide among them," she ordered, turning towards the agent. "Lock down the spaceport, and let it be clear that any ship attempting to leave will be destroyed."

"Right away," Kallus responded, ending the call. His image flickered away, leaving Jadis alone in the dark room.

She felt no remorse for Tua's fate. She was a necessary liability in order to make the rebels vulnerable. Now they had no ship, no information, for Tua had surely promised intel in exchange for her safety, and no support. Once Lothal learned that the rebels were 'responsible' for Tua's death, no one would protect them. Only a fool would offer to help a criminal.

Then again, all people were fools. They believed lies so easily, especially if they received evidence. Nature wanted to submit, wanted to be told what to do. It was so much easier to follow a crowd than to go against it. Those who chose to anyway were the wiser among the populations, and they became leaders. The leaders who led people against the Empire had to be destroyed. Anarchy was not acceptable, not natural. Society needed guidance, needed government, needed to be ruled. The only other alternative was chaos, and Jadis would not let that happen.

Chaos had to be pruned away from the galaxy if order was to thrive. Rebels were the dead branches. Whatever good they thought they were doing would poison what was left. They had to be cut away before the damage could not be undone. Jadis would do so without hesitation, without bias. Those who served the greater good would be allowed to survive. Those who did not would be allowed to wither and decay.

~

Once the rebels made it to the landing pads near the factory, they found exactly what they were looking for. "There's a shuttle," Kanan pointed out. "What'd I tell ya?"

"You did good," praised Hera, and she could have sworn she saw him grin a little. They started moving toward the ship, making sure they weren't seen, but something caught Sabine's eye.

She paused, breaking off from the group. When she realized what she was looking at, she gasped. "Hera, over here."

The Twi'lek doubled back, making the rest of the group hesitate and wait. Her eyes lit up when she saw what Sabine saw. "Shield generators!"

"Military grade," the Mandalorian added, activating the hover feature on one of the generators and pushing it toward the shuttle. Hera did the same.

"Zeb, Ezra, grab all we can carry," she instructed. "These might help turn this day around. The fleet could sure use them."

While they did as told, Kanan watched over them and watched the team grab the equipment. The mention of the fleet reminded him that they were going back and that there was no flying solo anymore, but he was glad to help them. Maybe I could make it work, he thought. I just...have to get used to it again. The military life. I could do it, right?

He might have answered himself, but a sharp chill ran down his back, making him pause in his steps. This wasn't a nightly breeze, but the same cold he got whenever he sensed the Dark Side. Kanan looked over and saw that Ezra felt the same thing. He had stopped pushing the generator and turned to his master. "Do you feel that?"

Kanan turned behind him, knowing that was where it came from. "The cold," he answered, and he saw a single figure standing behind him.

She was about as tall as Kanan, wearing form-fitting black robes along with a few pieces of armor. Two red lightsabers ignited in her hands, tinting her green face red. Even Hera, Sabine, and Zeb looked on in fear, knowing that this was something more than what they had faced before.

The warrior advanced, walking in front of a squad of stormtroopers that had their weapons raised at the rebels. Despite the panic rising in him, Kanan remembered a few words from Master Skywalker's history lesson weeks ago: 'We can predict that more Dark users are out there. We know a few things for sure. The Grand Inquisitor was one of them, but he's dead. I know of two others by name. Tyrannus is one, and Offee is another.'

This wasn't the Grand Inquisitor, and this wasn't the Emperor. This was Offee, or what was left of her, at least.

Kanan and Ezra activated their lightsabers, but even Kanan could sense his Padawan's hesitation and he was sure Offee could sense it too. He shouted backward. "Hera, go! We'll cover you!"

Offee got closer while he was distracted. "Kanan, look out!"

He reacted in time to block a strike from the Sith, but a full duel didn't ensue. Jadis pressed, testing this Jedi's strength. Would he hold? Would he pull out of the saber lock? She wanted to know.

In that time, Kanan got a good look at Offee's eyes, and it was almost enough to startle them. The gold color was unsettling in and of itself, but they were distinctly bloodshot. It gave her a wild look that made you unsure if you were looking at a person or a monster.

Beside them, the stormtroopers got to work on the other rebels. They shot at those not holding a lightsaber, the ones with the shield generators. They weren't going to be able to help the Jedi, and Lady Jadis would have them all to herself.

The one called Kanan Jarrus held up well, but she could see him eyeing her second lightsaber. Jadis decided to use it. She brought it up under Jarrus' blue blade, trapping it between her red ones. Pointing him to the side, she exposed his ribcage and directed a kick where armor wasn't protecting him. He doubled over, holding his side and trying to breathe.

The little one, supposedly named Bridger, held his blade out in front, but it was clear he didn't know which weapon to watch. Jadis, unable to resist toying with him, brought both down over his head, forcing him to block both with his tiny blue lightsaber.

Jarrus was on his feet again. He intervened and swung his lightsaber at her, but Jadis was able to block him with one weapon while keeping Bridger pinned with the other. She held the position for a moment, before pushing both Jedi behind her with her lightsabers. With one sweeping movement, she used the Force and threw both of them backward. Jarrus managed to stay on his feet, but Bridger fell to the ground.

To his credit, Jarrus kept fighting. As he attacked Jadis, he knew better than to try and focus on both blades at the same time. He seemed familiar with dual-saber wielders, enough to realize that Jadis could still only do one movement at a time. He began exchanging strokes, but basic ones, strokes Jadis had mastered years ago. She had no difficulty parrying them, and when Jarrus tried to drive his lightsaber through her chest, she trapped it again with her own lightsabers and threw him off-balance, this time using the Force to throw him into a crate several meters away.

The child was up now, though. Bravely, he tried to run at the Sith with his lightsaber raised, but Jadis lifted him up and held him against a nearby walker with the Force.

"A Padawan taught by another Padawan?" she questioned, her voice dripping with disapproval. Raising her hand, she began to move Bridger's lightsaber toward his neck. "Do you truly believe he can make you a Jedi?"

Bridger resisted, trying to keep the blue blade away, but it crept ever closer by the second. If she had another moment, it would have burned him, but Jarrus attacked her from behind, making her lose focus. She blocked his stroke, holding him in place.

This scuffle was fun, but Jadis wanted these Jedi and there would be time to study their fighting later. They tag-teamed attacking her, but Jadis simply bent out of their way, twisting her wrists to block the strokes that came close to her. She understood what the Grand Inquisitor had said about these Jedi now. Skilled? Yes, to a degree, but Jarrus was rusty and the child was undisciplined. They had not the talent that Jadis had gathered in the years past.

In a clean swing at Jarrus, her lightsaber struck his shoulder pad and burnt it. Jarrus recoiled a few steps, but it was then that the walkers next to them exploded. One of the other rebels had thrown grenades and the light caught Jadis' eye.

"Now!" Kanan called to Ezra, and they pushed Offee back so she was under the falling walkers. They crashed onto the ground, smoke and fire spreading across the landing pad. They couldn't see her body under the scrap metal.

Relieved, Ezra and Kanan walked over to the shuttle, finally able to take a breath. They relaxed too soon, though. A creak came from the destruction, and when they turned the walkers were beginning to float. Offee was still alive, raising the walkers as if they were nothing more than stones.

"If that doesn't kill her, what will?" Ezra asked, but Kanan pushed him back.

"Not us. Run!" He kept his gaze forward as Offee dropped the walkers behind her, then he decided he should probably run too. He and Ezra darted for the hovering shuttle, listening to Sabine urge them closer while she fired at the Sith to keep her occupied.

It was a mistake. Offee deflected the shots back at Sabine, hitting her helmet and knocking her down. The Jedi were able to jump on board as the shuttle was leaving, but Jadis was not disappointed as the ship escaped beyond the horizon.

A commander stood at attention behind Jadis. "My lady, I will mobilize our fighters to pursue."

She sneered at the idea. "Don't waste your time, Commander. The rebels will not leave the planet so quickly."

Jadis walked away, returning her lightsabers to her belt. The rebels were indeed fools, as she had predicted, but fools were easy to manipulate. Far too easy.