Episode 14: Unshakable Alliance

"Everyone, please remain calm!" officer Shouya Ishida yelled. "Keep proceeding to your designated shelter areas underground! We will notify you when the attack is over!"

One of the Sergeants under Shouya's charge volunteered to take over for his Captain, to which Shouya thanked the dutiful officer. Not wanting to abuse his break time, Shouya quickly checked his phone to see multiple messages from his family and friends. At the top of his inbox was a message from his wife Shoko, wishing him well and reminding him of the son he would soon father after the New Year.

"Stay safe, my man!" Nagatsuka's text read. "We'll have a victory party at the donut shop once these alien freaks are beaten!"

After responding to as many messages as he could, Shouya relieved his Sergeant and returned to directing the evacuation. A certain young man in the crowd looked especially distressed, and Shouya ran over to see what was wrong.

"Sakura Yamauchi!" the young man said, holding up a picture of a girl who appeared to be around his age. "Did she come this way?!"

"I'm sorry sir, there's not much we can do right now!" Shouya said, trying to calm him down. "Please get to your evacuation area! We'll do everything we can to help you find her once this is over!"

Meanwhile, Kousei sat in the basement of his home, wringing his hands and trying not to go crazy.

Playing the piano to bring peace to one world? That had already been nerve-wracking enough.

Helping solidify an alliance in a different GALAXY?

"Even I'm not THAT good!"

Takahiko sensed his son's distress and put a consoling hand on Kousei's shoulder.

"You are more than capable, my son," Takahiko encouraged. "I believe in you."

"I do to!" Koharu squeaked, running up and giving Kousei's arm a hug.

Hiroko ruffled Kousei's hair from behind. "You'll be alright, bud. Come on, let's select a piece for this mission of yours! It'll be a while before those government folks say we can leave shelter!"

"But Hiroko, I'm not sure any solo performance will be good enough for this mission!" Kousei contested. "We're talking a Republic that spans an entire GALAXY here!"

"Well, then call some backup!" Hiroko suggested. "I'm sure this Watcher boss of yours wouldn't mind!"

"But who can I even call?!"

"The Ghostbusters?" Takahiko grinned.

Hiroko groaned. "I'm surprised it wasn't your puns that killed Saki."

"Hey come on now, that wasn't THAT bad!"

Kousei laughed, a sense of relief blessing his tensed-up veins. "I guess you're right. Now that you mention it, I think I have an idea!"

Pulling out his phone, Kousei punched in some contacts and created a group chat with Takeshi, Emi, and Kaori.

"So, guys," his text read. "Want to help me perform a piece?"

.........................................................

Grand Admiral Thrawn stood on the bridge of the Honorable Squire, the main flagship of the Chiss Ascendancy fleet. The name, which was an homage to the feudal period of the Chiss, served to remind the crew and their commanders of their heritage, rooted in unwavering honesty and dedication to one's duty. Hands clasped behind his back and black hair trimmed to exact regulation, the veteran fleet commander's blue eyes scanned the stars through the viewport.

The enemy fleet would be arriving soon.

But this time, Thrawn had backup for the forces of his homeland. And he'd gone over the maneuvers with all of his allies.

"Admiral!" One of his ensigns at the Comm station called out. "The boarding crafts are ready to deploy in an instant! Both Titan and Avenger squadrons are in their respective crafts!"

"Most excellent work, ensign," Thrawn nodded. "Ensure our communications remain at full operational capacity!"

"Yes sir!" The ensign replied, resuming his duties.

Thrawn's stoic demeanor betrayed zero doubt, hesitation, or fear. He had been the Chiss Ascendancy's spear and shield since his graduation from Her Highness's Naval Academy. Never once had he betrayed the Queen, encouraged sedition, or incited rebellion.

This Darth Sidious, who had knowingly sent a Dark Jedi into his territory, was clearly a threat to all people back in his universe and others.

And Thrawn would not rest until this foe was defeated.

Sure enough, the alarms on the ship began to go off, and the staff manning the various stations on the bridge began transmitting the alerts to the rest of the fleet. Thrawn stood there with unyielding stoicism as Sidious's fleet emerged from hyperspace.

Two hundred Trade Federation Battleships, three hundred Banking Clan Frigates, and one hundred Commerce Guild Destroyers. At first, the massive armada appeared invincible.

But upon further observation, the Grand Admiral already spotted multiple weaknesses. The battleships were concentrated in the center of the sprawling formation; putting the core of their strength all in one spot. The frigates and destroyers were unevenly spaced, leaving their flanks exposed in multiple pockets.

And last but not least:

The Dark Lord's entire force was one of droids. And Thrawn was not about to be outwitted by machines.

The consoles at the Comm Station pinged; the Honorable Squire was being hailed. Ordering the call to be put through, Thrawn maintained his bearing as the holograms of Darth Sidious and Count Dooku materialized on the bridge.

"Ah. I see you did manage to pursue us after all," Sidious said with condescending snark.

"Your conquering is at an end, Sith Lord," Thrawn replied in a controlled demeanor. "This planet is under the protection of the Chiss Ascendancy and its allies. Depart with your fleet at once, and we will accept your retreat as surrender. There will be no other offers of mercy."

Sidious and Dooku exchanged a glance, then just laughed with belittling grins on their faces.

"You? Alone? Against our entire fleet?" Dooku mocked. "Begging your pardon, Admiral, but I'm starting to think the Chiss neglect to teach their younglings basic mathematics."

Thrawn smirked. An arrogant enemy. That alone would make this battle a hundred times easier.

"Oh trust me, disgraced Count of Serreno. I have done more than enough to calculate how my forces shall defy yours." Nodding to the Comm station, he gave them the signal to give both Doctor Strange's the go-ahead.

In just seconds, orange sling ring portals opened up on the flanks of the droid army fleet, unleashing the hordes of SHIELD spacecraft, Wakandan fighters, and Chiss Ascendancy warships. Simultaneously, a contingent of Wakandan and SHIELD fighters appeared on the port and starboard sides of the Honorable Squire.

Sidious and Dooku may not have shown it, but Thrawn could sense the slightest bit of resentment as their holograms faded out of view. The enemy had fallen into the first part of their trap. Good. Exactly as Thrawn had predicted.

Down in the New York Sanctum, both Dr. Strange's continued creating more portals in the heavens above with their sling rings, with Strange Supreme creating at least two hundred all at once. 

"Show off," the regular Doctor Strange replied.

"That's because in my timeline, I actually chose to develop my power to its fullest potential."

"And in my timeline, I can still talk to Christine."

"Oof!" Strange Supreme said in faux heartbreak. "Man, even an alternate me doesn't stand a chance with her!"

"Would both of you shut up?!" Wong groaned in an exasperated tone. "Putting up with one of you is enough as it is!"

The space battle above was quickly developing, with the alliance of the Chiss Ascendency, SHIELD and Wakanda valiantly holding the line.

"Admiral, Colonel Nick Fury from SHIELD and King T'Challa have confirmed their forces have engaged!" A Lieutenant Commander reported. "They say the enemy is beginning to launch fighters in response!"

"Then launch our fighters in turn! Trebuchet Attack Pattern!" Thrawn ordered. "Stay behind the Wakandan Vanguard as we advance! We must hold as many enemy fighters here as we can!"

Even as Thrawn uttered those words, the cosmos above Earth filled with chaos as Vulture droids streamed out of the enemy hangars towards the Allied formations. Laser fire blazed red, blue, and green against the darkness of space as the Sith conquerors ordered their forces to press their attack. Thrawn saw that King T'Challa had been speaking the truth; the Vibranium-powered shields on the Wakandan fighters were indeed impervious to most enemy attacks!

"Remain steadfast, my brethren!" Black Panther admonished from the cockpit of his Lead Fighter. "We must not let our world fall!"

Now it was Iron Man's turn to fulfill his part of the plan.

"Coming up behind you, Big Guy!" Thrawn heard Stark say over the intercom. On the port side, Thrawn saw Stark and his decoy Iron Legion drones fire into the tide of enemy fighters, sending the droids every which way as they mistook the non-combat Iron Legionnaires for enemy fighters. This simple deception was all Thrawn needed as he ordered his vessel's gunners to fire at will. In just seconds, the batteries of the Honorable Squire reduced hundreds of Vulture Droids to molten slag.

An opening; perfect!

"Direct all boarding parties to launch!" Thrawn shouted to the Navigation personnel. "Verify their trajectories and coordinates!"

As Thrawn continued to observe the battle, he saw Omni Man and Invincible wreaking havoc on the enemy frigates and destroyers. Excellent; the Viltrumites were doing their part.

"These spacesuits sure do the trick!" Invincible celebrated as he punctured a hole through a destroyer amidships.

"Stay on guard, son!" Omni Man reminded him as he dodged a volley of blasts from a frigate's batteries. "Strange's protection spell can only take so much damage!"

Aboard the lead Helicarrier, Nick Fury gave Thor the signal to begin his attack on the battleships.

"Only stay away from the one that has Darth Sidious aboard," Fury ordered. "The rest are all yours."

"As you command, Director!" Thor confirmed, spinning Stormbreaker and shooting off into the cluster of massive warships. The guns aboard the battleships may have been backed by the latest targeting software. But Thor was much too fast, tracing zigzag patterns with his lightning as his axe (and body) crashed through the hulls of the battleships like they were paper.

On their end, Dooku and Sidious were in awe, shock, and anger at how quickly the tide of the battle had shifted. How in the blazes were their ships supposed to gun down a trio of foes who moved faster than sound?! And all of these newfound allies of the Jedi! Where had they come from and how had they appeared so suddenly?!

"We must retreat, Master!" Dooku insisted.

But even those hopes were dashed as the droids manning the bridge of their battleship announced more unfavorable developments.

"Enemy troops have boarded the vessel, sir!" a droid pilot reported. "And most of our escape craft have already been destroyed!"

"Seal off the bridge!" Sidious ordered, teeth bared. "We will make quick work of the Jedi scum ourselves!"

Down on the surface, Avatars Korra and Aang were having a hard time dealing with the vulture droids that had gotten past the allied blockade. Their combined Avatar states gave them more than enough power over the vast Pacific Ocean, and already many enemy squadrons had been reduced to smithereens by their icy projectiles. Even at that, for every mechanical fiend the duo destroyed, it seemed five more would take their place.

"This is worse than fighting the Dai Li!" Aang thought.

Fortunately, the elemental masters were not alone, as an air wing of the Australian Air Force zipped back and forth through the skies, discouraging any vulture droids that tried to bear down on the duo. There was no great amount of destruction across the world so far. With any luck, it would stay that way.

Sidious's arrogance would soon prove his undoing. Already, hundreds of sorcerers led by Wong had used their sling rings to board the flagship and were dispatching entire armored divisions. Professor Hulk, Eren, and Reiner remodeled the flagship's hangar, with captains America and Carter shielding their napes.

"Eren! On your right!" Reiner warned, jumping in front of his comrade to shield him from a barrage of missiles. The missiles impacted into the protection spell shielding Reiner's titan, harmlessly exploding but still forcing him back nonetheless. Eren, seeing his opening, sprinted in from the left and squashed the wall-mounted missile turrets with a side kick. Professor Hulk, for his part, spotted a squad of odd-looking rolling droids, and quickly sent them flying back into the bulkhead with a Thunderclap.

"On your left, Reiner!" Captain America called out as he threw his shield toward a group of STAP fighters. His shield ricocheted off of all six aerial vehicles, shattering the bodies of the droid pilots and engulfing the scrawny vehicles in flames.

"Nice one there, Rogers!" Captain Carter complimented while atop the nape of Eren's titan. "But how do you suppose to outdo this?" As she finished her question, Captain Carter threw her own shield, destroying an entire platoon of battle droids below. 

"You're not gonna quit, are you?" Captain America smiled at his dance partner.

"I could do this all day," Carter smiled back. 

Meanwhile, Obi-Wan led Mikasa, Star-Lord T'Challa, Hawkeye, Anakin, and Black Widow through the vents, updating Iron Man on their location in relation to the bridge. In just minutes, their maneuver was complete as they and Iron Man crashed through the roof of the bridge and surrounded Count Dooku and Sidious.

"It's over, Dark Lord!" Obi-Wan declared. "Your armada is beaten and this battle is ours! This is your last chance to stand down and stand trial before the Republic!"

"Jedi fools!" Sidious snarled, and sent Force lightning crackling towards Iron Man.

Who he mistakenly thought was the weak one.

At first, it looked like Iron Man was struggling. Then, Sidious's eyes grew wide as Friday's mechanical voice revealed his foolish blunder.

"Sir, armor charged up to 300%!"

Iron Man shrugged in a boasting manner. "How about that?"

KAH-PEEWWWOOOOHHHH!!! went Iron Man's unibeam as he blasted Sidious and Dooku to the other end of the bridge. The Master and Apprentice regained their footing and ignited their lightsabers, only to have Mikasa swing over on her ODM gear and cut off both their hands. T'Challa followed up with a stun blast to both of their torsos as Hawkeye and Black Widow hogtied their unconscious bodies.

"That's Jedi MASTERS, to you," Anakin boasted. "And as soon as you reveal the rest of the Sith secrets to us, your punishment is death."

Once Thrawn received confirmation of Sidious's and Dooku's defeat, he gave the last order of his plan.

"All Chiss Ascendancy vessels, move to pincer the remaining enemy warships! Target their engines so they cannot escape; the Viltrumites and Asgardian will neutralize their point defenses! We will board the defeated ships for intel and supplies later!"

In accordance with the final phase of the plan, the Chiss Ascendency vessels obeyed their Grand Admiral's orders and made quick work of the engines mounted on the sterns of the droid army frigates and destroyers. The once mighty enemy fleet soon crumbled to dust as the combined might of the Guardians of the Multiverse, Chiss Ascendency, and Avengers knocked down the last of their strength.

A smile briefly flickered across Thrawn's face.

Victory. What a wonderful thing it was.

............................................

From their safe haven in the Sanctum Sanctorum, the four young musicians watched the spectacle in awe. Takeshi shook his head in envious disbelief as he laughed. "So that's the team you got put with?"

"Yup!" Kousei grinned.

Emi couldn't help but be the tiniest bit jealous as well. "If I didn't believe you were from a different universe before, I do now."

"That's my accompanist!" Kaori bragged in a joking fashion, hugging Kousei from behind.

The four musicians looked over their repertoire again, showing it to Strange Supreme as he entered the rehearsal room he'd made for them.

"One Celtic duet and a piano duet from Debussy, huh?" Strange Supreme mused. "I think the next part of this mission will be very fun."