"Ghost moving to engage!" Hera announced as her ship released from the command ship. She flew straight for the TIE fighter, giving Sabine a clear shot at it.

"I'm on 'em!" she called, and red blaster bolts began flying through the space in front of them, just barely missing the ship.

From behind Anakin, Kanan spoke out. "Remember, don't shoot if the command ship is in the way! That TIE won't fire!"

Despite the reminder, the command ship was still falling apart. Commander Sato came through the communication console. "Phoenix home to Ghost, we can't withstand another attack from that fighter!"

With a quick glance at the Jedi, Hera responded. "Copy that. Phoenix Squadron, form up and focus fire." About fighters moved into position and flanked the Ghost as they went after the fighter, trying to herd it away from the command ship. The pilot had to resort to picking off a few of the rebel fighters in order to stay alive, but most of them were still in one piece.

Anakin could feel his senses spiking. "They're Force-sensitive. Kanan, let's find out how strong they are."

"How can I help?"

"Just remember your training."

Exhaling deeply, Kanan closed his eyes and rested a hand on his shoulder. Both he and Anakin reached an arm out and focused. If they worked together, their abilities would combine and become stronger.

It didn't take long before Anakin felt the signature chill of the Dark Side. It made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, but he pressed further. There were plenty of users on the Dark Side of the Force, and right now was a good a time as any to figure out exactly who it was.

Through their concentration, Anakin and Kanan heard Ezra through the Ghost's comm system. "I think I know who it is! Back on Lothal, I felt something. Kanan did too."

Anakin knew what he was talking about. The more he focused, the more he realized this wasn't just utilization of the Darkness, but devotion to it. It engulfed the pilot like armor, like a shield.

"The fear, the anger, the hate..."

He felt it. More importantly, he remembered it. Anakin's eyes shot open.

"It's the Sith Countess we faced!"

Sith Countess, indeed, Anakin thought, able to see through the shroud of Darkness. It was Barriss. His eyes narrowed and the corner of his mouth curled up the slightest bit. "Gotcha."

The fighter, which had taken another run at the command ship, broke off and flew away. Anakin and Kanan pulled out of the Force and returned to the moment, and Anakin turned around to look at Kanan. "Was that what you were going to talk about?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "Yeah, that was it."

Anakin looked at Hera. "You're going to have her attention, now. She knows we're on board."

"Better us than the command ship," she decided, leaning forward in her chair. To the rest of the crew, she called out, "Look alive, people."

Speaking of the command ship, Sato was talking to them again. "Captain Syndulla, whatever you're doing, keep it up! The fleet can recover."

Kanan said what everyone was thinking. "No! Commander, you need to get the fleet out of here now!"

"I will not abandon our command ship!"

Offee must have decided she was done playing games. She had circled around and snuck up behind the Ghost and the rest of Phoenix Squadron, taking out one of the fighters.

Anakin decided it was time to use his influence to his advantage. "Commander, Offee isn't going to be alone for much longer. Reinforcements will be here any minute and without a hyperdrive, the command ship won't stand a chance!"

"Speaking of reinforcements," Hera pointed out, and the three of them looked out the front windshield. Three Star Destroyers had jumped out of hyperspace and were advancing on the fleet.

From behind them, Offee had picked off more fighters and was targeting the Ghost. As the ship jostled, Kanan spoke up. "It's now or never, Commander."

"I regretfully agree," he admitted defeatedly. "All hands, abandon ship. You'll have to keep that fighter occupied."

"Don't worry, sir," Hera assured him. "We seem to have her attention." She pulled the TIE away from the fleet while the rest of the fighters broke off to protect the escape pods as they ejected.

Anakin's mind went on overdrive as they flew. The Star Destroyers hadn't fired on them yet, but the Ghost was definitely in range. They had orders not to, which wasn't necessarily a good thing. Offee wants us alive.

Zeb, who was at one of the gunner positions, came through the comm. "Suddenly, there's a lot to do back here!"

"Sorry to spoil your fun, Zeb, but I'm ordering Chopper to divert all power to the hyperdrive," Hera instructed, "including cannons."

Chopper saluted and got to work. He certainly didn't have a problem with spoiling Zeb's fun. Sabine was a little less compliant. "Hera, what are you doing?!?"

"I think I know," Ezra realized, though he was one of only a few.

They made for the Star Destroyers, which were still not firing. A few moments later, Sato came through again. "Ghost crew, the escape pods are secure. Fleet, commence hyperspace jump."

"Copy that, Commander," Hera replied, knowing it meant they were on their own now. "We'll meet you at safe haven."

When the fleet jumped, Sabine let them know from the turret. "The fleet is away. Get us out of here!"

Hera obliged. "Everyone, hang on. Chopper, angle all deflectors astern."

He grumbled in defiance, but Hera wasn't having it. "The Star Destroyers aren't the one firing at us! Now do it! Fast!"

The droid complained but did as ordered. Hera continued to dodge Offee's fire but flew the ship toward the decreasing space between two of the Destroyers. Anakin raised an eyebrow when he saw her plan.

Kanan wasn't on the same page. "Hera!"

"Wait," he told Kanan, holding an arm back to him. "She's got this."

Hera, boosted by Skywalker's faith, licked her lips in concentration. She had to time this right or their day was going to get very bad very quickly.

It took an eternity, it seemed, but they were finally close enough. "Gotcha!" she cheered under her breath as she activated the hyperdrive. The Ghost shot away, leaving the TIE to suffer whatever end the Imperials had planned for the Rebels.

Anakin leaned back in the copilot seat, relaxing. Offee may be the second most powerful person in the Empire, but she still wasn't much of a pilot. Only a really bad...or really desperate, pilot would have fallen for that.

~

Much later, after the Ghost had reunited with the fleet, Anakin was still in the copilot's chair thinking. He hadn't moved much since the fight had ended. Chopper was outside the spacecraft repairing some of the damage from the fight earlier, but other than that, all was quiet.

As severe as this new adversary was, Anakin wasn't surprised by the sudden appearance of Tyrannus' number two. He had all but expected it, actually. He had hoped there would just be another Inquisitor, but they had no such luck. His mind was already reeling with ways to pinpoint Offee's movements. If she had been on Lothal, there had to be a way to track down what alias she was operating under these days. As soon as he was back on his ship, Anakin planned to back through his Fulcrum intelligence. This was the break he had been waiting for.

Offee had also wanted them alive. There was something to that, although Anakin wasn't sure what exactly. She probably wanted information or perhaps to kill them in person, but there could be another alternate motive. He wouldn't be surprised if she or Tyrannus had plans for any of them, particularly himself. He wasn't exactly buddy-buddy with the Sith anymore.

The cockpit doors opened. Ezra and Kanan walked in behind Anakin. "Master," Ezra spoke up first. "Hera said you wanted to speak with us?"

"Come on in," he invited them, rotating the chair he sat in. "I wanted to ask about the Sith you encountered on Lothal, the one who was in that TIE fighter."

"You know we encountered an Inquistor before, but this was nothing like that," Kanan explained. "The fear, the anger, the hate. You felt it. I haven't sensed a presence like that since..."

"The Clone Wars," Anakin finished, knowing all too well.

Kanan nodded, slightly defeated. "Yeah." He paused, looking to the side and exhaling before he went on. "You expected her to show up from the beginning, you said as much yourself that she might be interested in us after what we did."

"Either her or someone like her, yes," Anakin confessed, picking at one of his gloves. "Anything was possible, this was just one of my guesses. She's going to be coming, now, though. More might be on the way."

"Then we've got to be ready to fight," Ezra declared defiantly, but he was the only one.

"We must find the strength to fight," realized Kanan, "but the greater courage is knowing when not to fight."

Mid-sentence, the cockpit door opened again and the rest of the crew caught the last bit of what the Jedi said. With certainty, Hera told him, "And we'll be beside you either way."

Anakin looked back at them, grateful that they had each other to rally behind. It was always better to not do something alone.

As he looked forward again, though, he knew why it was tempting. Alone protected people who didn't need to get involved, and Anakin had just associated himself with the Ghost crew, as far as Offee was concerned. Wherever she was, whatever she was doing, she knew Anakin was alive and kicking. The easiest way to find him would be through the other rebels, and that made them all targets. Being the target of a Sith was never a good thing.

~

Aboard the Star Destroyers, Lady Jadis walked into the command center of the bridge. Admiral Yularen and Agent Kallus were debriefing the attack, but dropped silent when she made herself known to them. Kallus took the initiative. "With their command ship destroyed, the rebel fleet has been shattered. You have them on the run-"

"Clear the bridge," she ordered, not caring for his analysis. Her business was more important at the moment. The fleet would wait, for now.

The men weren't sure what had prompted the instruction, but they knew better than to object. They walked out of the other doors, leaving the Countess to herself. Kallus paused behind the doors before they closed, though. Something had struck a nerve in the Sith, and that wasn't something that happened often.

Once alone, Jadis lowered onto one knee and bowed down as a hologram of her master appeared above the holotable. His voice filled the dimly lit room. "Lady Jadis, have you dealt with the rebels in the Lothal system?"

"Yes, Master," she answered obediently. "They are broken, but more has been discovered. Another survivor from the Jedi Order lives, one we thought was dead."

"Who is it?"

"I believe Anakin Skywalker lives," Jadis declared, the muscles in her neck tensing. Just the thought of the Jedi was enough to put her on edge. "He is in league with these rebels."

She could hear the displeasure in her master's voice. "Are you certain?"

Jadis furrowed her brow but replied all the same. "It was him."

"He is too great a liability to allow to roam free," the Emperor explained, the tension in his vocal chords rising. "I always suspected he managed to escape his execution."

"I will hunt him down personally, Master," Jadis promised him, looking up at his flickering image. "I would like to give him a proper sendoff before he dies."

"No," Tyrannus ordered harshly, making direct eye contact with Jadis. "He is too smart to allow such a thing to happen. If he believes he is being hunted, he will take measures to protect any rebels connected to him. I doubt Skywalker is any less the warrior he was in his youth."

She fought to keep her fury under the surface. The subtext of her master's statement was clear: 'He is too powerful for you.'

"For now," Tyrannus went on, "dispatch another Inquisitor to hunt the rebels down. Let Skywalker believe he is safe."

"As you wish, Master," Jadis said, bowing again. The hologram disappeared, and Jadis rose to her feet. Her golden eyes stared ahead, not giving away the storm inside her.

Of all the Jedi to survive Order 66, Jadis wished Skywalker hadn't been one of them. He had been one of the only decent Jedi of the Order, he deserved to die without pain if he would not join the Dark Side. Her master may have a personal vendetta against him, but Jadis had seen him up close and personal for years. Skywalker was on of the only ones who cared more about people than honor. If he had died all those years ago, he wouldn't have to suffer the way all the other survivors had.

Yet he would not support the Empire. If he was connected to the rebels, it was because they were allies at least. Republic sympathizers were still everywhere, and most of them were the type to trust someone like Skywalker. They had good reason too: he had been one of, if not the most, notable generals in the Clone Wars. Who knew what kind of connections he had across the galaxy these days?

If it came to it, Jadis intended to find out. Hopefully there would be a way to spare Skywalker the torture of forcing the answer out of him, but if she had no choice and she couldn't kill him, then she knew her duty was to serve her master. The sides had been chosen and the line had been drawn between them. Even her inclination to be merciful to him couldn't stand in the way of that.