The Shadows of the Past Trilogy
Episode 9: Nemesis of the Force Part 18
The Falcon is shown landing on the flat portion of the roof of the temple. Nearby, two other ships are already parked. One is the freighter that the Felderra Dragons had used on Korriban. The other is the shuttle Stalker had used to get to the planet's surface. The Falcon's ramp lowers, and immediately troops pour out.
Finn, Rose, Golrit, R2, and 3P0 are leading the way as Kika hurries out of her ship. There is a brief exchange of some kind. Then Finn, Rose, Golrit, R2, and 3P0 hurry off with the Republic and Zyn troops to use a smaller entrance to get down into the temple. Chewie comes down the ramp last, and Kika appears to be explaining something to him.
In space, one of the shields on a fleeing Star Destroyer drops, the ship exploding just a few minutes later. Only three destroyers remain, but they have, at last, broken through to empty space. On the bridge of the leading ship, the Vindicator, Admiral Zelthen seems a bit more at ease. “Give the order. Get us out of here.” And then, just like that, the space battle is over. The last three Star Destroyers vanish through hyperspace.
Aboard her escaping shuttle, Hera sighs and slumps into her chair as the crew hoots with joy and relief. In his X-wing, Poe closes his eyes as if thanking a deity for this victory.
In the temple, making their way along quietly, Finn, Rose, Golrit, the two droids, Oniho, Temiri, Arashell and the rest of the Zyn and Republic forces, find the remains of the dead dragon and its minions. “We have to be close,” says one of the clone troopers. “The bodies are still warm.”
"Sir," one clone trooper says, gesturing to several lightsaber wounds. "This was made by a tri-blade saber."
"Lady Saydra is here," says the commander of the clone troops. "What is the Enforcer doing here?"
Finn ignores them. “All right. Almost in position. R2. Threepio. We’re counting on you.”
“Yes, Commander Finn,” says Threepio nervously, satchel of explosives slung over his shoulder. “R2 and I are at your command. I…”
Rose cuts Threepio off. “Why the droids?”
Finn smiles at her. “I don’t know much about the Force, but from what Rey has always said, it’s in all “living” things. So the way I figure it, if we distract Snoke, he won’t sense what the droids are doing until it’s too late.”
Rose smiles at him admiringly. “You’re a genius. You know that, Dummy?”
Finn laughs. “You make no sense sometimes.” Then the group continues on into the passage. As it reaches a cross-corridor, R2 suddenly branches off away from them. The little droid is carrying a satchel of explosives as well that is slung over his dome. He holds one end of it with his extender claw.
In the Gateway chamber, Jacen and Amelia continue to clash with Gnoza and Altaria, along with the Massassi warriors. Meanwhile, Saydra battles alone with the Mutated Duchata, the giant insect creature. At last, Gnoza smacks Jacen in the face, sending him flying to the ground. He then comes to finish Jacen off, but Rey springs up out of the nearby passage throwing Gnoza away with a Force Push. She then enters the fray, finishing off the last remaining Massassi in the room. Then she twirls around and comes at Altaria.
Altaria barely deflects Rey’s attack, staggers, and finds Amelia's golden blade hacking through the handle of her lightsaber, destroying it. Sparks fly, and Altaria stumbles backwards. A moment later, Rey kicks Altaria in the chest, sending her flying into one of the pedestals. She slumps to the floor, exhausted and too injured to keep fighting. Gnoza picks himself up just as Jacen does. Realizing he is outnumbered and there is no hope for victory, Gnoza turns his lightsaber off in surrender.
The scene cuts to Saydra diving sideways as a blinded Duchata makes another lunge for her. She swings downward with her saber, cutting its head off. Finally, Finn and the others burst into the chamber through the same entrance Saydra and Amelia had entered. They are ready for a huge fight only to find that it is over.
But then, the Gateway is activated, and Sala-tzar takes a new form. This time, he takes on the form of a hulking Yuuzhan Vong (from the expanded universe), his entire body encased in living armor. With his living serpent-like staff in hand, Sala-tzar laughs as he drops onto the dais. Everyone freezes, surrounding him on all sides. The tension in the room is palpable.
Sala-tzar smiles at them. “What a lovely collection I have gathered here,” he says. “All of you have done marvelously. Even if I fall now, even if I am defeated, I have won!"
As Sala-tzar monologues, C-3P0 is seen in the background, moving his way over to where Rey's father lies on the ground. As he goes, he plants charges on the Gateway pedestals. The droid then drops down next to Rey's father and picks him up. He carries Rey's father out of the chamber and back to the Falcon.
"Can you not see it? What a GRAND climax to my story! The First Order is decimated. They can’t conquer anyone anymore. They can only lick their wounds and hope to shell up their borders. The same is true for the New Republic, the Hapes Consortium, and all the mightiest governments in the galaxy.”
Then he turns to Amelia. “And especially the "lovely" Zyn Empire. Greetings, Empress Amelia! I’m so glad you could join us today as well. Thank you for luring your fleet here so it could also be utterly ruined. Now we've evened the playing field. No one government is stronger than the others. Now the Force is at last in Balance.”
Amelia doesn’t look at any of them. She merely tenses as she glowers at Sala-tzar. “That’s where you’re wrong,” she replies. “After this, I will ally my empire with the New Republic and the Hapes Consortium. We will sue for peace with the First Order and forge a new government, a better government, a Galactic Alliance.”
Rey, inspired by her, adds, “One in which YOU are not poisoning everyone’s minds.”
Sala-tzar allows their words to hang there in the air. His expression is, at first, full of worry and fear. Then it becomes deadly as if his anxieties were all feigned. His lips curl into an evil smile, like that of the most twisted psychopath. “What makes you think that ANY of you are going to survive this?”
And with that, he unleashes his full fury. Huge chunks of rock are torn off of the ceiling, walls and floor as they fly like missiles at his opponents. A sphere of lightning energy ripples around him, launching bolts at others. He strikes his staff weapon on the ground, and a shockwave tears the air, sending others flying to smack into walls and pillars. The ground cracks and begins to fall away beneath them all around the central Gateway platform. In various places, deep holes swallow a few clone troopers and Republic soldiers alike as they drop hundreds of feet to beds of lava that have poured through cracks in the surface to collect below the temple.
The clones and Republic troops begin to open fire on Sala-tzar, but his lightning sphere deflects their shots back at them. Many are cut down. Amelia turns to her troops. "Cease fire! Retreat! Get off planet. Tell your superiors, if we fail to return, bombard this entire facility. Leave nothing standing."
"Commander," Finn calls to the New Republic troops a moment later. "What she said!"
The New Republic and Zyn troops then flee, leaving only Rey, Jacen, Amelia, Golrit, Finn, Rose, Saydra, Altaria and Gnoza. Lightsabers spin and twirl in an effort to deflect projectiles and lightning blasts. Rose takes cover behind one of the pedestals.
And then, Altaria is struck by a bolt of lightning, and as she convulses, she falls over the side towards the lava below. Sala-tzar cackles in victory and triumph. A moment later, the entire platform that the Gateway rests on begins to rise as the ceiling opens to allow the storm to pour in on them. Even as this is happening, the roar of a larger ship's engines begins to rumble throughout the facility.
"You shall all witness my greatest moment of triumph," Sala-tzar bellows with arms outstretched. "The Force is in Balance, you shall all die, and Sala-tzar's Gateway shall no longer be bound to Uratsixo." He cackles insanely at this. "It shall vanish into the Unknown Regions of the galaxy, hidden in whatever pocket I choose for it at any given time. Forever, I shall live and die and live and die and manipulate the universe, ensuring that there will ALWAYS be perfect Balance. There will ALWAYS be wars among the stars!"
And with this, the walls begin to fall away, leaving only the massive pillar that the Gateway of the Whills rests on. Within a few seconds, suddenly a larger freighter appears in the open skies above the fortress; a sleek designed First Order assault freighter. The cargo hold lowers as the ship spins around and slowly moves to connect with the column the Gateway rests on. The column ceases to rise, waiting for its rendezvous with the ship.
As this is happening, Golrit is the next to fall, hit by a huge chunk of stone, and then Gnoza is next, who falls by lightning blasts. Finn takes cover behind one of the pedestals, and he whips out his comlink. “R2! Please tell me you are almost done, because it doesn’t look good for us up here.”
R2 is then seen in a dark passage in the bowels of the temple, wheeling by one section that has now been exposed to a pitfall into a lava bed. R2 whistles in reply. As he does, he ignites his leg-mounted jets and he flies to the base of the column. He reaches into the satchel and pulls out a charge with one of his extender claws. He plants the charge against the column.
Finn nods at the sound, still hiding behind the pedestal. “I don't think we're gonna survive this, so when you get clear, just do it. You hear me?”
R2 whistles mournfully in reply as he continues going about his business as fast as he can, planting more and more explosives on the column.
Rey is then caught in some sort of Force Whirlwind, spun in the air and then thrown against a still standing section of wall that remained connected to the platform. She drops like a stone right towards the edge, but she manages to stop herself before going fully over. On her stomach, she begins to slide the rest of the way when, at the last second, Rose grabs her. For a few feet, she slides with her, but her heels dig into a newly formed crack in the floor, causing both to stop their mad descent. Rey, barely conscious, is literally only still on the platform because of Rose.
Rose shouts over towards Finn. “Finn! Help me!”
Finn sees her but not Rey and is confused. Nevertheless, he rushes to her aid. When he realizes what is happening, he quickly positions himself, bracing one foot against the far lip as he reaches down, grabs Rey, and together they pull her back up onto the platform.
Jacen is then able to reach Sala-tzar, as is Saydra and Amelia. All three begin to duel with him as the whirlwind of debris and lightning dies. The ship draws ever closer. Beneath their feet, more of the column falls away into the temple below, preparing the upper platform to detach so that it can slide the Gateway on rollers into the approaching ship's cargo hold.
Sala-tzar deflects his enemies' lightsabers with his serpentine staff, avoiding their strikes and hurling bouts of lightning at them periodically. Saydra’s shoulder laser tries to shoot him, but he absorbs its energy each time without it even leaving a mark.
“You are all no match for me. I AM the Force!” he bellows gleefully.
Then with a wave of his hand, a flick of his wrist, Jacen is pulled off of his feet, and Sala-tzar brings the spear end of his staff down into Jacen's side. Just as quickly as the jab has struck him, it is yanked out as it defends against Amelia and Saydra. Jacen clutches his wound and rolls away, shaking violently from the trauma. He then rolls into the shadows behind one of the pedestals, gasping for air. He is not only severely injured, but the wound was poisoned as well.
Sala-tzar then smashes Amelia in the face with the head of the staff, and it leaves a bloody gash across her right cheek. She flies to the floor and does not get back up for some time. Seeing this, Saydra unleashes her own wrath and fury. Her lightsaber becomes a blur as it spins about her in defensive and offensive arcs.
Meanwhile, in a chamber below, Stalker sits crouching in the shadows. He has popped open the case containing the Nemesis disease. He pulls one vial out and examines its contents for a moment. A syringe is seen in the case next to the vials, and there is a vial marked as Anti-Virus. He places the vial he is holding into a grenade-like device.
Then Stalker looks up at the chamber where Saydra is battling Sala-tzar alone. Seeing from his viewpoint, Stalker analyzes the situation. Saydra is colored green and labeled as immune to the disease because she has already received the anti-virus vaccination. The same is true for Amelia. However, the others on the platform are not immune, including Sala-tzar. They appear in red.
Stalker steps forward, away from the case, and then he throws the disease vial up towards the chamber. He is obviously intent on shattering it and spreading a disease cloud instantly to all combatants on the platform, killing or incapacitating everyone but Saydra and Amelia.
The vial, however, suddenly stops in midair, hovering above Stalker's head. Stalker turns to his right and sees Kika there, hand outstretched. She has used the Force to catch it. Shadow is near her, only barely seen. Kika pulls the vial back to her, gripping it in her hand and deactivating it.
Stalker moves to attack her when a ferocious growl cuts through the noise. Chewbacca charges the droid and physically tackles it. The two roll away from the case of Nemesis, and as they do, Kika snatches it up.
"Bannick, Zelia, I have the disease and anti-virus," she reports into her comlink as she's fleeing. "Chewie's fighting the ST unit." She pauses, looking back. "I can't just leave him."
But then, it is as if the Force directs her attention up towards the battle, and she looks up as a lightsaber lands at her feet. It is Saydra's.
Chewie and Stalker then have an intense duel as the Wookiee engages it in hand-to-hand combat. For several furious moments, the two throw punches and exchange blows with fists and claws. Then Stalker attempts to pull out his vibroblade, but Chewie swats it away and bashes the droid in the head with a right hook. As the droid stumbles backwards, Chewie grabs the blade arm by the wrist and proceeds to toss the droid over his shoulder, smashing it onto the ground. He is in a full Wookiee Rage, and he twists the droids arm and smashes it onto the ground repeatedly until the sword flies loose.
But Stalker is well trained. He kicks upward and catches Chewie around the neck with his legs in a pincer-like move. He then yanks the Wookiee off his feet and throws him to the ground as well. After this, he tries to kick Chewie in the head as a heel spike juts out to impale him, but the Wookiee rolls away in time.
Both are on their feet a moment later, but Chewie’s rage gains the upper hand. He slams into the droid and rams it into a wall. He then proceeds to grab the droid’s right arm again, but this time only with his left claw. With his right, he cups the side of the droid’s head and yanks with all his strength and a mighty roar. The droid’s right arm is torn off at the shoulder joint as sparks fly in a terrific display.
Stalker bashes Chewie in the side and proceeds to kick him and pummel him with its free hand. Then its wrist laser pops out on its left arm, and it fires, hitting Chewie in the side. Chewie roars again, and with the droid’s torn-off limb, he proceeds to use it as a club, bashing Stalker over and over again in the head. Stalker staggers back against the wall as Chewie continues the onslaught. He then throws the arm down and tears the other out of its socket, using it, now, as a club.
We then see from Stalker’s view as the Wookiee pummels his face again and again, his display flickering and filled with static. Then Stalker slumps to the ground as Chewie continues to smash it violently over and over again.
Finally, the arm breaks, and Chewie uses it as a spear to ram it through the droid’s chest. Then with both hands, he reaches into the shoulder sockets where the arms were once attached, and he starts tearing wiring out by the fistful. He then proceeds to take both claws, locking them together and bringing them down on the droid’s head again and again and again until at last Stalker’s head breaks off at its neck joint. Chewie then tears the head off and proceeds to use it to batter open the droid’s chest plate. He finally tears out more circuitry until the entire machine ceases to spark and fizzle.
Then, rising to his feet with Stalker’s head in his right claw, Chewie raises it into the air above his head, issuing a Wookiee victory cry that echoes all around.
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