The team walked down the docking ramp of the Gauntlet, anxiously looking around at their new surroundings. They were inside one of the many ventilation shafts that filled the frigate, all of those heavy modifications required a lot of technology to sustain them. About twenty metres ahead of them stood a huge fan behind metal grating, and next to it was some sort of maintenance ladder that led upwards. That would be their way into the depths of this ship. As the four of them slowly walked forwards, there was a sudden burst of movement that threw all of them to the ground.
"Ugh! Guessing that was the jump to hyperspace" Ezra commented, standing up and dusting himself down.
"We got any idea where he's going?" Skorn asked, gripping his rifle determinedly. Sabine nodded her head and looked down at a hologram on her wrist, a device she'd designed years ago. In a few seconds it would tell her where their trajectory was taking them. As the hologram gave an answer, Sabine frowned and shook her head in disbelief.
"That...that can't be right" she commented, tapping it to see if it was non-functional.
"What is it? What does your device say?" Ahsoka asked curiously. Sabine turned to her dramatically.
"We're on a direct course for Jakku" the Mandalorian stated. Ezra frowned.
"Isn't that where you said the New Republic is right now? Wiping out the remnants of the Empire?" he asked.
"Yes it is, Thrawn's long range scanners must have picked up all of the activity. We cannot let this ship reach Jakku" Ahsoka answered.
"Why not? I mean...it's only a single ship" Ezra asked again, he didn't quite understand why everybody looked so worried. Sabine gently grabbed his shoulder and turned him to face her.
"Right now, the Battle of Jakku is raging, it will decide who wins the entire war, the Imperials or us. The New Republic aren't wiping out the Empire...with the forces that the imperials still possess, it's bound to be a long and bitter battle. Any advantage on either side could tip the balance...and if someone like Thrawn flanks the infant New Republic's fleet...it could be the end for all of us" she explained in a grim tone. Now Ezra understood, Thrawn was a wildcard and if he arrived at the battle then the imperial remnants would be able to wipe out the entire New Republic fleet, there and then. The victory at the Battle of Endor would be inconsequential, a new emperor would rise and all of this would have been for nothing.
"Okay, I get it, everything is resting on us. So what's our play general?" Skorn asked. He was a soldier, he knew that the odds would almost always be against him and he knew what he was fighting for, all he needed was a plan to follow. Ahsoka opened her mouth to speak, but it was Ezra who gave an answer.
"We need to split up. Sabine and I can head to the command deck, climb right through the bowels of this ship and deactivate all of the core systems...and in the process put a laser bolt through Thrawn's head. But...if we fail, there has to be a backup plan...if Skorn and Ahsoka head to the reactor bay, then you can standby...our final option will be to blow this ship...with us on it" Bridger explained, provoking a look of slight shock on everybody else's faces. Nobody had expected him to ease into the role of command again so naturally, but it suited him. He was right. That seemed to be the best course of action ahead of them.
"Alright Ezra...that's our best idea, so we'll follow it" Ahsoka stated, causing Skorn to nod with a smile.
"Good luck, if this is the last time we're all together then...it's been an honour, and thank you...for coming back" Ezra stated, beginning to walk away.
"Wait just a moment, I think you'll be needing this" Ahsoka said, holding out one of her lightsabers. Ezra looked at her in surprise.
"But...what about you?" he asked, slowly reaching for the blade.
"I can use a single lightsaber, force knows where yours got to but you may need this in the fight to come. Take good care, both of you" the togruta stated, handing Ezra the blade before walking away with Skorn. The pair of them walked down a smaller side passage, leaving Ezra and Sabine stood in the ventilation shaft on their own. Ezra remained stood there for a moment, holding the lightsaber hilt in his hand with an unusual look. Sabine could tell he was troubled, but now was not the time for hesitation. She put a hand on his shoulder and gave a warm smile.
"Come on, let's get this done" she said, and together they headed away towards the maintenance ladder. They had a plan, now came the difficult part of actually acting it out.

On the bridge of the frigate, the admiral sat in his command throne, a thoughtful look imprinted on his face. As ever, he was staring at a data-pad showing ship readouts, everything had to be in order for what was to come. He could not allow his inferiors to fail and cause the downfall of the Empire, he had to reach the battle in time. A tactical droid walked up to him, silently bidding his attention.
"Report" the admiral said simply.
"Sir, as this frigate exited the planet's atmosphere, a breach was detected in the evacuation tunnel. We tracked four signatures in a nearby ventilation shaft, but they split away from one another and we have lost them" the droid explained.
"Bridger" Thrawn said, that boy was interfering with his plans for the hundredth time. This would not do at all.
"What are your orders admiral?" the droid asked.
"It is fitting that Bridger is present for the end...he must not be allowed to stop our plans...send all available units to lock down essential systems. And transfer a guard squad up here immediately...his personal feelings will no doubt draw him here for me" Thrawn ordered, the droid bowed its head and walked away. The admiral smiled a little, this was the final conflict, the last battle, and as always, he would emerge the victor.

Meanwhile, in the depths of this huge vessel, two heroes clambered their way up a maintenance ladder that had felt like it was going on for all eternity. Sabine was leading the way, with Ezra climbing just behind her. This was not a route for the claustrophobic, the walls felt as if they were closing in on them like a trash compactor.
"Can you see the top yet?" Ezra asked, looking upwards but being unable to see past Sabine.
"If you keep staring upwards, I'll shoot you. And no, I can't" the Mandalorian replied, just knowing where her friend was looking in this compromising position. But Ezra was largely distracted by the mission now, his cocky attitude largely dissipating and being replaced by a cool calmness.
"How long will it take for Thrawn to reach Jakku?" he asked anxiously.
"I don't know, I have no idea how much this ship weighs or even exactly where we set off from. Suffice it to say that we don't have long" Sabine answered, a little frustrated, the stress of this task was clearly getting to her. The minutes passed, and even Ezra, with his advanced stamina, was starting to ache in his shoulders. The thought of a turbolift delighted his mind at this point, but then Sabine interrupted his thoughts.
"Wait...I see something...we're close" the Mandalorian stated, Ezra silently thanked the force that this shoulder torture was almost over. The pair reached the peak of the ladder, and each sighed in relief as they clambered out of the maintenance hatch, but where were they? Ezra examined their surroundings, they appeared to be in a huge open hangar of sorts, with all manner of Clone Wars era Separatist fighters readying to launch. He shared a worried look with Sabine as they continued watching, a multitude of droid engineers were making final repairs on the assembled fleet, in preparation for the battle to come.
"We can't let these fighters take off...even without this frigate, a fighter fleet of this size could cause major damage" Sabine stated. Ezra nodded in agreement, and stared around the huge chamber, coming up with a plan to blow these ships to hell. With a smile, he spotted something above them that would serve perfectly.
"Come on!" he said, grabbing Sabine's hand and leading her on.

Ahsoka and Skorn ran through the side passage, slowly making their way through a maze of ventilation shafts. Every time they turned a corner, the new tunnel that they were greeted with would look familiar, making them more and more unsure that they were heading in the right direction.
"Can you remember the layout of a Munificent-class frigate?" Skorn asked curiously as they ran.
"Yes...but you've seen the modifications that Thrawn has made here...plus that was thirty years ago...just trust me, alright?" Ahsoka answered as they turned another corner.
"Copy that general" the clone answered, as long as she pointed him in the direction of something that could be shot at, he was happy. They continued charging through a long dark passageway, but as they continued going through it, Ahsoka sensed something. She skidded to a halt, and raised her hand to make Skorn do the same. Slowly, she approached the wall of the tunnel and placed her palm onto it, closing her eyes in concentration. On the other side of this wall she could sense a hive of activity; an army of droids busily working away, a multitude of heavy machines and a pulsating reactor core. They were close. With a smile of realisation, Ahsoka ignited her single blade and sliced through the wall, cutting a large circular entrance into it before leaping through into the next room. Skorn took a breath before jumping through after her. They entered into a large chamber of extended walkways, passing over distant black chasms. This was definitely a reactor room, it seemed like every reactor in history looked about the same, dangerous pathways and massive drops. Ahsoka and Skorn had entered onto a small platform that was elevated forty foot above the reactor controls, giving them time to come up with a plan of attack.
"If I distract the droids down there, then you can slowly move around and plant detonators on each of those four pylons. That way...if I fail to secure the reactor controls, we can still blow this ship...if it comes to that" Ahsoka suggested.
"Alright general, just...be careful out there. Don't go killing yourself on account of that cowardly admiral" Skorn answered, showing true concern for a woman that he would happily call his friend, as well his leader. Ahsoka smiled, and nodded her head, silently acknowledging his worry, before taking a deep breath to prepare herself.
"Here goes nothing" she whispered, before leaping off of the platform. She landed down gracefully on a walkway several seconds later, and the unsuspecting B1 droids that stood there suddenly turned in shock. The togruta pulled a confident smile, igniting her blade and charging them before they could so much as call for help. As she ran across the walkway, towards the central reactor controls, more droids began noticing her and a volley of red laser bolts came her way. She deflected each one of them but soon started to struggle with the amount that were being fired at her, it was strange to use only one lightsaber after so long. She needed to do something spectacular to turn the tables here, and it didn't help that many of the droids that were shooting at her were doing so from a platform above. Suddenly, an idea entered her head. It was simple, but an old favourite. With a dramatic flip, she threw her single lightsaber towards the raised walkway, allowing it to slice through one side of it. She then called it back to her with the force, slicing the other side and causing the dozen or so droids stood atop it to fall into the chasm. Skorn watched from above, raising an eye at this move.
"Whoa" he muttered, before jumping across onto another platform and stealthily planting a detonator onto the first pylon. Their plan was going well so far. But when did that ever last?

Meanwhile, in the main hangar bay, Ezra was beginning to put his plan into motion. Like any good strategist, he intended to turn his enemies' strengths and advantages against them. A hangar as large as this needed a multitude of fuel pumps to keep the fighters refuelled and ready for combat, he was going to blow them up, every last one.
"Where are we going?" Sabine asked, still being dragged by Ezra.
"Fuelling controls, that walkway up there, get ready for some fireworks" Bridger responded, leading her up a metal staircase on the edge of the hangar. It was a miracle that they hadn't been spotted yet, but that wouldn't last long. As Ezra looked upwards, he noticed a large group of B2 super battle droids guarding the refuelling controls and rolled his eyes.
"See you in a minute 'Bine" he said with a grin, letting go of her hand and using his powers to leap forty feet into the air up to the refuelling controls. Sabine glanced back at her broken jetpack and sighed, continuing to run up the endless staircase. Ezra landed in the middle of a trio of super battle droids with a combat roll, igniting his new white lightsaber and slicing all three of them in half with one smooth movement. With a spin, he stood up and began deflecting the multitude of shots that were coming his way from the other supers. They were on both sides of him, surrounding him and causing him to fall back a little. But this was one fight that he wasn't going to lose. He held his palm forwards, pushing one of the groups of super battle droids backwards and sending them crashing through the safety rail. The droids landed down on the floor far below with a loud noise, alerting most of the hangar bay to the pair's presence. Now they just had to hope that their plan would work. Ezra turned his attention to the remaining four super battle droids, and charged towards them, holding nothing back. He leapt up and stabbed one with a devastating strike, before ducking down and attacking another with a low blow. He slashed at another, but as he stood up dramatically, the final super battle droid held its wrist blaster up to his head, making a noise that sounded vaguely like laughter. A blaster fired. But it was not Ezra who was dead, the super battle droid fell down to the ground with an accurately fired shot burnt through its metal body. Sabine stood with one hand on her hip and the other holding a blaster pistol, a cocky smile on her face.
"Guess you still need me to save your ass then" she remarked with a grin, walking smoothly past Ezra and towards the refuelling controls. However, the moment she prepared to begin the process of blowing the fuel pumps, the entire frigate suddenly rocked violently. Sabine was thrown away from the controls and fell over onto the metal walkway. She and Ezra shared a worried look, they both knew what that shaking signified...

On the bridge of the frigate, Thrawn now found himself stood up, admiring the view that greeted him out of the main window. Ahead of him, a canvas of war, two fleets engaged in a massive battle with one another for supremacy over the galaxy. This was the moment that he had awaited throughout his entire career, the chance to kill those persistent terrorists in one fell swoop. The Battle of Jakku was only just beginning...