The Last Apprentice: A Star Wars Story

Part. 12: The Battle (Pt. II)

Mira and Commander Thorn moved quietly and quickly through the street of Andoridge. They knew Stormtroopers would be on the lookout for them, but they had hoped they would still have a bit of the surprise factor on their side. As the alarm siren continued to ring throughout the streets, the rebels made their way towards the center of the city. As they ran towards their location, Commander Thorn received a call on his communicator

"Thorn, this is Forest, we hear sirens. What's going on in there?"

"Shadow is a no-go Forest. Resistance inside was much higher than expected. We're most likely going to need the air lift."

"Copy that Thorn, should we call the reinforcements now?"

"No!" Mira screamed. The rebels all looked at the young Jedi.

"We can't leave this fight now. We've already made it this far and—"

"And this is far enough" Thorn said. "We are far too outnumbered and outgunned. We are the only hope for the planet's freedom. If we all die or get captured, Calda will never be saved from Imperial tyranny."

"So you're cowards?"

Thorn was taken aback by the bold claim made by the Jedi

"If you run and refuse to fight now, not only will innocent people die, but you will prove to the Empire that they cannot be beaten, and your cowardice will result in the killing of the planet's hope for a better future."

"And what do you I propose I do? Lead my men into a suicide mission?"

"No. Here's how we do it. Forty-five minutes. That's all I ask for. Tell the command center to give us forty-five minutes before they call the air lift. If we complete our goal before then, great. If not, we escape, but at least we can say we tried, and maybe even save some people while we're at it. Please Commander."

Commander Thorn was torn. His mind was caught between a rock and a hard place. A very important decision was in front of him, and for the first time, the decisive Commander didn't know how to react. Finally, after some thought provoking seconds, he made his decision.

"Forest, this is Thorn. Give us forty-five minutes. After that, call in the air lift."

"Copy that Thorn. We've got our finger on the button. Good luck and stay safe until then. Forest out."

Thorn put his communicator away and looked at Mira, a questioning look in his eyes

"Alright, you got your forty-five minutes. So what's the plan?"

"We get to that city center, and we show those Imperials that the people of Calda will not stand for this oppression any longer."

The troops all shouted in support of Mira. She had convinced Thorn's men that the fight was still worth it. Thorn was skeptical about going forward, but agreed to it in the end. He wouldn't admit up front, but he admired Mira's determination and drive to do good. Thorn thought in the back of his mind that Mira would be a very capable leader one day.

The troops arrived to the center of the city, meeting little resistance along the way. As the firing squad, lined up the prisoners, they attacked. Mira showed no hesitation and immediately drew her lightsaber to kill all the Stormtroopers who were in the firing squad.
The prisoners were released from their shackles and given weapons to help aid in the fight that was surrounding them. Thorn and his men took care of the surrounding Stormtroopers, and once they had been cleared, the city center became eerily quiet. The sirens had stopped. The only sound they heard was the water of the fountain in the center of the plaza.

"This was too easy" Thorn said.

"I agree" Mira replied. "We should contact Coris. Maybe they redirected the troops to his location for reinforcements. We can help them out since we're done here."