"The admiral demands your presence" the B1 stated in an authoritative tone, causing Ahsoka and Sabine to gulp. The Mandalorian's hands slowly reached down her leg, grasping carefully around the triggers of her holstered blaster pistols, but Ahsoka shook her head. There was no way that they could take on this many droids. Times like this it paid to act like a Jedi, step confidently into the lair of one's enemies.
"We will come quietly" the togruta said calmly, eyeing up her surroundings before slowly strolling up to the officer droid. The officer turned its head towards Sabine, who sighed and nodded in agreement, following behind. The droidekas parted, letting the pair walk through them as they followed the officer droid. It was only now that they noticed an entire army of B2 super battle droids, hidden just out of sight. Enough soldiers to easily kill the two of them, so for some reason or another, the admiral wanted them alive. Sabine swore that when she saw that sleemo Chiss again, she'd put a blaster bolt straight through his head, and watch it burn through to his skull. A little extreme perhaps, but he had been personally responsible for some of the worst moments of her life. And for that, he would pay. Ahsoka could sense her friend's anger, even at the mere mention of the admiral, Sabine was at boiling point. Her fists were clenched at her side as they were escorted past rank upon rank of droids. The togruta knew it would do little to calm Sabine's demeanour, but regardless she used the force to send a small wave of calmness to her friend, if only to keep her focused for what was to come.

The pair were marched for miles and miles, through many hours of the day, the constant clanking of metal feet all around them the entire time. Ahsoka managed to enter an almost meditative state during the journey, her mind absent as her body simply walked forwards. Sabine did not have that luxury. The whole time for her was spent imagining breaking free of the shackles that they had not so gracefully been forced into and blasting every single one of the droids here. Perhaps this was a mere fantasy, but she was sure that the anger driving her right now would allow her to take out at least half of this army, if not more. However, she never got the chance.

After what seemed like a lifetime, the group finally ascended over a small hillock, and the view from the top of it shocked even Ahsoka, forcing her out of her meditation. Sabine gasped at the sight in front of her. A massive Separatist warship stood before them, a machine of war and death, colossal in size and scale. But unlike the other ships here, this was no wreck. The bulky hull of this vessel was suspended in the air, and hundreds of droid engineers welded at its exterior, repairing it in every sense of the word. By the looks of it, the ship seemed ready to go into space at that very moment. Ahsoka recognised the model of ship immediately, a Munificent-class star frigate, but this ship had been heavily modified, it was almost twice the size of a normal vessel of this type. It was armed to the teeth, covered in hundreds of heavy turbolasers that could tear apart an entire fleet. In short, it was an invasion waiting to happen.
"Look at the size of that thing..." Sabine whispered in awe, a little afraid at the power before her.
"If Thrawn made it back into known space with that vessel...he could slaughter the cosmos" Ahsoka answered, but both of them were suddenly whacked in the back by super battle droids.
"Prisoners will remain silent" the droids muttered in unison, and the pair shared a worried glance. What had they gotten themselves into this time?

Meanwhile, back at the Gauntlet, night was beginning to fall, and Skorn could not help but find himself worried. The scavenging team had been gone for far too long, and before they had set out they had agreed to be back by nightfall at the latest. Something had happened. It must have done. He longed to rush out into the shadows immediately and find them, but he had his duty, he had to protect the boy. Speaking of which, it was time for him to do his routine check. The clone pulled himself aside from the rudimentary campfire that he had set up outside the ship, and walked inside, standing over Ezra. The boy was sleeping soundly, no rapid convulsions or variations in heart rate, that was a good sign. Skorn had seen some of his best men reduced to gibbering maniacs thanks to that damn plant, the general seemed to be right when she had said that Ezra was strong. He might just pull through after all. Suddenly, the clone heard a noise from outside, a sort of scuffling sound. With a suspicious frown, he grabbed his rifle from its position on the wall nearby, and slowly walked outside. The night was dark, and without the flashlight on his helmet, Skorn could only see as far as the light from the campfire allowed him. After several seconds of silence, he heard a whirring sound from nearby, and the rustling of leaves after that. Something was out there.

The inside of the star-ship was no less grand in scale, with huge hollowed out chambers, full of engineer droids, busily working away. A mountain of munitions was slowly being sorted out into different piles, with a tactical droid overseeing the task, and many huge turbolasers lined the sides of the vessel. As they continued moving forwards, a tactical droid approached the B1 officer.
"Well done captain, we will take the prisoners from here" the tactical droid stated in a monotone voice. He was flanked by two intimidating looking magna-guards, each holding ignited electrostaffs.
"They're all yours sir" the B1 said, and suddenly the super battle droids behind them pushed Ahsoka and Sabine towards the tactical droid. The officer droid gestured for his small army of droids to disperse, and now the only force guarding the pair was a small contingent of magna-guards, and the tactical droid of course. In a fair fight, Ahsoka and Sabine would easily have been able to take care of their captors. But here they were bound and shackled, and though Ahsoka could use the force to escape, she was curious to meet the admiral who had caused so much misery for her friends following her disappearance. The guards escorted them into a turbolift, and silently they took the journey, ascending upwards and upwards, until they'd reached a height which felt like it would breach the clouds. Suddenly, the door behind them opened, and they walked out into a dimly lit room. This looked like a command deck of sorts, with all of the monitors and computers, but the way it was decorated made it seem like a throne room, with long flags of the Empire draping down the walls. Ahead of them stood a raised platform, several feet above where they stood with no visible way to climb up. The platform housed a throne, a throne that was currently turned away from them. But even in the shadows of the room, Sabine could spot a blue hand resting on the arm of the chair above them.
"Relieve them of their weapons" a cold voice commanded calmly from above. In an instant, a pair of magna-guards descended on Sabine and Ahsoka, forcing them to kneel on the ground and harshly plucking their blasters and lightsabers. The weapons were tossed to the side of the room, metres out of reach. A head seemed to glance backwards from the throne, only for a second though, and then the cold voice spoke again.
"The backpack" it stated simply, and one of the guards swiftly tore it from Sabine's back, causing her to yelp in shock and also making one of the straps snap as she was relieved of it. The backpack was placed just in front of the Mandalorian, and four magna-guards stood right next to Sabine and Ahsoka, with many more filling the room. Finally, the throne turned, slowly and agonizingly, until at last, a face that Sabine had grown to fear and hate simultaneously was revealed. The face of Thrawn. The Chiss smiled widely at the sight of his prisoners, while also examining a data-pad in one of his hands. He eyed the pair up silently for many moments, as if calculating what to do with his prey. His harsh eyes penetrated Sabine's very soul, causing her to shudder and shiver within. Even now, a single look terrified her to her core. At last, Thrawn made a movement, turning to a commando droid that was stood next to him on the raised platform.
"A craft crashed in section D-24 not two days ago, send a squad" he stated, causing the commando droid to bow almost before leaving straight away. Thrawn stared back at his prisoners, and leant forwards in his throne. As his face suddenly became bathed in the glow from a light above him, Sabine noticed a long, ugly scar embedded into his face. She couldn't help but smile at that. An imperfection. It was about damn time.
"It is a strange fate...that after so many years of isolation...the very ship that marks my salvation is flown by an old foe" the Chiss said slowly, finally addressing the pair directly. Sabine frowned in confusion.
"How are we your salvation?" she asked curiously.
"All in good time...as the only sentient beings that I have encountered in a...long time, I would like to savour the chance of conversation with you" Thrawn said, swiping away mindlessly at his data-pad.
"Why?" Sabine spat spitefully, she had no desire to shared words with this sleemo.
"The art of conversation is one of those privileges that becomes more apparent when it is lost, Miss Wren. And I have a great many questions that need answering, but first, I fear I am neglecting my other guest. It is my honour to host you...Ahsoka Tano" the admiral said, bowing his head slightly, he always respected a worthy opponent.
"Grand Admiral Thrawn I assume, I've heard of the horrors that you caused for the Rebellion" Ahsoka answered with a defiant glare.
"Indeed? I too have heard of your exploits...you caused the Empire a great many problems yourself, but I imagine by now that none of that matters...tell me...why have you come?" Thrawn asked, out of curiosity alone.
"We came for Ezra...but now that we're here, I won't hesitate to put a blaster bolt into you...sleemo" Sabine shouted upwards. A magna-guard moved its electrostaff closer to her face, singeing her skin and causing her to howl with pain. Thrawn amusedly raised a hand, causing the guard to back off once more.
"Impressive, aren't they? It was not difficult to reprogram these droids, and they all had enough blueprints in their databanks to build more droids, and more, until an entire army was under my command. An army...that obeys without question" he stated, frowning at that last part. The admiral had been foiled in the past by inferiors who could not obey him, not this time. But Ahsoka was now in no mood for games.
"What did you mean when you said we were your salvation?" the togruta asked.
"When the Chimaera crashed here, its hyperdrive was damaged beyond repair. The same was true of this Separatist craft, and indeed the Republic Venator that landed somewhere out in the wildlands. While I can build up my force, and rule here with an iron grip, I could never leave the planet. Until now. Fortunately, your ship has a fully functioning hyperdrive, one that will allow me to leave this planet and return to charted space" Thrawn explained, standing up and pacing as he spoke.
"This planet has driven you mad! That hyperdrive is designed for a freighter, you would need one a thousand times larger for a ship of this size, it will never work!" Sabine shouted out, but Thrawn simply smiled.
"Whoever mentioned using your hyperdrive? I simply needed to scan it" he stated simply.
"The blue light..." Sabine said in realisation, thinking back to when they first crashed on the planet.
"With the correct blueprints now in my possession, my engineers can simply make the appropriate changes and craft a hyperdrive that will carry my conquest onwards. In fact...I believe that they are already nearing completion, very effective...a workforce that needs no breaks or food. Now do you see Miss Wren? The philosophy of war that your alliance never truly understood, even now, I use your strengths against you. The very emotion that brought you here in search of your friend, will be the foundation upon which I return...and bring peace and security to the galaxy" Thrawn explained. His plan was revealed. He intended to pilot this warship back into the charted systems, and once he realised that the Empire was no more, he would establish his own. Even if the New Republic had won the Battle of Jakku by now, which was doubtful, it was in its infancy, on the back of a galactic war. It would never be able to withstand Thrawn's legions. The galaxy had to be warned.

It was time. Sabine glanced over at Ahsoka, who aimed a sly wink her way, the togruta had a plan. Sabine simply needed to be ready. All of a sudden, Ahsoka suddenly pushed her hands backwards, shattering her shackles and causing the magna-guards to stumble back. Before the droids could recover, she reached out, summoning her lightsabers into her hands and igniting them with a glare. She swiftly sliced the shackles that bound Sabine, before turning her attention to the guards. Thrawn simply watched in amusement. The Mandalorian looked to her left and saw her blasters a few metres away, but before she could reach them, one of the magna-guards was bearing down on her, electrostaff ignited. She knew she'd never reach her weapons in time, so she had to be inventive. With a cocky grin, she reached her hand into the backpack at her feet and retrieved a vibrodriver, plunging it right into the magna-guard's chest. The guard sparked and collapsed backwards, the light leaving its eyes almost immediately. The admiral gave an impressed nod from above. Sabine then performed a combat roll, scooping a westar blaster pistol into her hand and swiftly turning around to face Thrawn. She took a second to aim, lining a shot up with his head and squeezing the trigger. But Thrawn did not move, and soon it became apparent why. The blaster bolt flew through the air in a blur of heat and energy, but as it moved to within inches of the admiral's face, it dissipated onto an energy shield that protected the raised platform. Sabine glared at Thrawn's confidence, before turning her attention back to the magna-guards. Ahsoka was currently fighting all three of them off, parrying every strike they made and kicking up at them. But she needed help. The Mandalorian rushed forwards and leapt into the air, kicking one of the magna-guards to the ground before putting a blaster bolt between its eyes. Ahsoka nodded with gratitude, using the force to push back the remaining guards and retreating into the turbolift. The magna-guards were soon upon them again, and Sabine hurriedly pushed a button, trying to get the lift doors to close. But they were taking too long. Ahsoka took a breath and held her palms forwards, letting loose a blast of force power that propelled the guards backwards, causing them to slam against a wall and break apart. The door closed, and the pair shared a relieved smile. Now all they had to do was escape Thrawn's vessel alive.

Skorn stood in the darkness, holding his rifle with both hands, a frown on his face. He began to hear noise all around him, and was beginning to feel ever so slightly concerned for his position. There was no cover here, it was a shooting gallery. Suddenly, a number of B2 super battle droids loomed out of the shadows, raising their blasters at the commander.
"The admiral's orders were to capture survivors alive" one of the droids said to the others, but Skorn soon put a blaster bolt through that droid's head.
"You won't get the chance" he said in a determined voice. A fight soon ensued, as Skorn ran behind a small boulder that was nearby to take cover from the volley of red laser shots. He estimated that there were half a dozen droids at least, maybe more. Normally that wouldn't be a major issue, but it was dark, and his cover here was weak. He was outgunned and at a disadvantage, slowly being pushed back towards the Gauntlet by the droids. Despite this, he continued to fire at the onslaught of droids, managing to take down another of the heavily armoured B2s. But pretty soon he found himself with his back against the hull of the ship, trapped and surrounded. The droids soon pushed closer, and it seemed like every unit he destroyed was replaced by another. But, as the super battle droids loomed over him and he thought his end had come, they all suddenly stopped firing. Skorn pulled a confused look, even the droids seemed surprised.
"Weapons non-functional, error" one of the supers commented in a low tone. And then, they all suddenly began to split apart slowly, limb by limb, until a mass of metal arms and legs was left floating there in front of the commander. Shocked and confused, he turned to see the boy in the orange jumpsuit stood with his arm held forwards, a look of concentration on his face. He lowered his hand, and the droid limbs all dropped to the floor in a clatter. The boy then turned towards the commander with an inquisitive look and a mischievous grin on his face.
"Am I right in thinking that Sabine was holding my hand earlier?"