The Last Apprentice: A Star Wars Story

Part 11: The Battle (Pt. I)

Silence. Tense, unbroken silence. The breeze in the air shook the trees. The sun, rising over the horizon already making the day warm. Not a bird was singing. The smell of death was in the air. The usually loud and bustling atmosphere of Andoridge had vanished. The marketplace square was full of people, yet not a single one made a sound. A crowd formed in front of the Imperial Headquarters, a crowd that was silent. In the center of the city, citizens gathered around a fountain, with no one eager to make a wish.

The executions were scheduled for today, and attendance was mandatory for all citizens. Governor Hardin wanted to make an example of the traitors who were set to be killed. The citizens wore their best clothes for the event. With all of them being Imperial loyalists, they were actually quite thrilled for the events. The doors to the Imperial Headquarters finally opened to reveal three groups of prisoners. The entire detention area was underneath the Imperial Headquarters, surrounded with Stormtroopers, so as to ensure that there was no escape. Unfortunately, there were attempts, and even through a group of 30 villagers were arrested during the invasion, only 21 were set to be executed.

While the villagers were being marched to their death, the rebels were moving quickly outside the walls of the city to enter the metropolis. They had good numbers on their side. About 150 rebels had been chosen to lead the attack, while the remainder of the rebel force was selected to work the command center, a makeshift HQ hidden in the trees, where they would monitor Imperial transmissions, provide time and situation updates. Those rebels also had the responsibility of calling in the air support for an escape, should it be needed.

One of the snipers aimed at a Stormtrooper patrolling on the high wall. Del was standing next to him, at the ready. The sniper pulled the trigger, the shot proving deadly as it silently killed the Stormtrooper. Del then used the Force to bring the lifeless body outside of the city, rather than letting it drop inside the wall and running the risk of being discover early. The rebels repeated this process for a majority of the wall, with Del, Mira, and Coris all quietly helping hide the dead Stormtroopers. When enough Stormtroopers had been removed, Commander Thorn gave the signal to use the ropes to scale the wall. All at once, the rebels began scaling the wall silently. Commander Thorn quickly stopped to update the command center

"Forest, this is Thorn, Spider is a go."

"Roger that Thorn, good luck in there."

Thorn put his communicator away and Del, who was climbing up as well, came beside him

"If this is heightened security, this base must be lightly defended."

"Yeah...it seems odd, but I guess that invasion force you talked about wasn't an on-world legion of troops. If I'm right, we'll take the capitol in no time."

The two smiled at each other as they finished their ascent over the wall. Staying low once they got to the top, they used the same ropes to slowly drop down into the city. In just 8 minutes, the rebels had made it inside.

"Forest, this is Thorn, Shadow is a go. Going dark."

"Roger that Thorn, we'll be waiting for your signal. Forest out."

The rebels moved their way to a back street, where no one was walking around.

"Alright. We part ways here. Coris, take your men to the marketplace. Del, head for the Imperial Headquarters. Mira, you and I will take the City center. Good luck everyone."

Out of nowhere, a squad of Stormtroopers appeared and discovered the rebels, still in the midst of planning.

"There they are, blast them!"

The Stormtroopers began firing on the rebel troops. The battle had begun. Fortunately, the rebels were close to enough cover to protect themselves, but now their entire plan of secrecy had just gone out the window. As both sides traded blaster fire, casualties were beginning to rise for both the rebels and the Stormtroopers. The three Jedi had not yet drawn their lightsabers, their reasoning being that it would be best to keep their true identity hidden until the right time. After some time, the city alarm went off, warning the entire city of their presence.