Revival- A Star Wars Story

Chapter 25- Inimoni, The Balance

The sudden acceleration of the pulse knocks back the brigade of First Order starfighters. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Skor ships fire and destroy the brigade.

Rey opens her eyes again. "I did it," she whispers.

"You're clear," Concave Leader announces, "Let's bring them home."

Luke breathes a sign of relief. He can't believe what just happened. R2 whirls. Luke tells his droid friend, "Two in a row? Maybe I was wrong the entire time."

A Tau ship approaches the caravan. But just before it can reach it, a ghastly looking ship apparates out of nowhere, and guns the Tau ship down. Inside of the apparition is a phantom assassin.

"The First Order is trying to get the caravans back!" Vector Leader exclaims, "Pilots, protect those ships!"

They struggle to save the existing caravans in Nissdha, but one by one, the phantom assassins pop out and ambush the ships. Stronger, more fortified First Order starfighters charge in and fire wildly. They are led by Hailden and Serei.

Kylo's voice is now drenched in desperation. "Amp up the attack!" The First Order ships recklessly spew their blasters everywhere, and in their chaotic rampage against the Tau ships, they shatter the surfaces of the tunnels. It begins to crumble. Rey senses a foreboding anxiety, and gasps. Slowly, a darkness seeps into the tunnels. The Resepi begin to flow through.

The tunnels begin to shift now, as if it was an organic creature, and the boundaries crash into ships all around them. Nissidha has become a behemoth of ever-shifting corridors, and Rey narrowly manages to avoid being sandwiched in. Tunnels now boom and bust into big and small passageways. They shoot up and separate ships fighting one another.

The shadows snatch every ship in the way- Tau, Skor and First Order alike- and crush them, dragging them back into the forbidden depths of Nissidha. With each crush, there is a frightening wail; Rey can't tell if it's from the pilot or the Resepi. With their lack of coordination, Tau and Skor do not stand a chance against these new demons. The Tau ships are too weak to destroy a shadow, and the Skor ships are too slow to outmaneuver them. The Resepi draw closer and closer towards the caravans, and the people on board cry out in fear.

"Order your ships to coordinate with each other!" Luke yells out at both the Tau and Skor captains.

Concave Leader yells back, "And trust the Skor with our lives?"

"You say that right after your schemes have been exposed?" Vector Leader bites back.

Luke intervenes, "There's no time for this! The only way we're all getting out alive is if you both work out a plan together!"

The captains hesitate. But when the Resepi finally snatch several caravans, they enact upon the orders that they had sworn to never perform.

Concave Leader commands his brigade, "Whatever you think about the Skor, forget it. You are not a civilian. You are a soldier. We'll be combining our forces with the Tau. Drive these shadowy bastards outta here!"

The Tau and Skor concoct a new strategy, one utilizing the strengths of the other side to cover for their own weaknesses. While the Tau act to herd the enemy ships away from offensive Skor lines and into vulnerable positions, the Skor move less, lowering their defenses to concentrate on the accuracy of their attacks, relying on the Tau to keep them safe. As a Tau ship fires upon a Resepi shadow to drive it away from the slower Skor, the Skor finds the perfect shot, and fires at the shadow, vaporizing it with its cannons as it emits a shrill, deafening screech. The First Order ghost ships swerve in the new opening of Tau, but the Skor fire their blazing hot cannons at them, evaporating the First Order assassins.