Star Wars: Rebellion and Betrayal

Chapter 37

Leneh rolled her eyes. "Oh yes. You do know about the long-range ray shield. But I assure you, it is still quite safe. Your friends may have destroyed one Star Destroyer, but the Kaali won't fall."

"Oh, I wasn't talking about the machine. I was talking about you," Lena replied with a smirk. "While you will never admit it, you are afraid. Afraid of losing your power. Afraid of losing your influence. Afraid... of me." As Lena said this, she brought her blade in front of her face.

Leneh balled up her fists and clenched her teeth as she listened to the girl she once trained to be her personal Force-sensitive assassin. "You insolent child!" she shouted. "You know nothing of me! Your ignorance will cost you. Troopers, finish her!"

Seconds after Leneh gave the order, stormtroopers were marching past the AT-ST, their blasters already sending bolts toward their enemy. Lena was quick to react, flipping backwards to avoid the first volley. She landed a few meters back where she began to deflect the incoming shots, her purple blade waving gracefully in front of her body. Despite deflecting every accurate shot, Lena was just batting them to the side.

The stormtroopers continued to advance toward her, wading their way through the grass. As the stormtroopers reached her original position, Lena grinned. With her off hand, she reached to her belt and grabbed a small device. She dropped to the ground as she pressed a button before a shrill metallic noise echoed throughout the meadow. From the grasses all around the stormtroopers sprang disc shaped pieces of metal. The discs jumped above the grass line before exploding outward. The shrapnel slammed against the helmets and torsos of the stormtroopers, knocking all ten of them to the ground.

Lena deactivated her lightsaber and twirled the hilt around in her hand before hooking it to her belt. She walked through the field of dead or unconscious stormtroopers before standing in front of Leneh's AT-ST.

The Admiral looked down in disgust with her arms crossed. "Killing my escort will do you no good. The fact remains that my weapon is beyond your capabilities to destroy. I will..."

Leneh's words trailed off as she heard a beeping noise coming from her belt. The Admiral rolled her eyes before grabbing a small holoprojector and activating it. It was Captain Siva, and he did not look happy. "This had better be important, Siva!" Leneh barked.

Torr Siva bowed his head before looking back up. "Grand Admiral Rod, I regret to report that the Kaali has fallen. It has been an honor serving—"

The Captain's words were cut short as the connection abruptly ended.

Leneh quickly looked to the sky to see a series of bright orange and yellow flashes. The look on her face contorted into a twisted scowl as she watched the explosions in the sky. Seconds later, the tip of her prized Star Destroyer could be seen piercing through the atmosphere, crashing toward the oceans of Serenno.

Leneh shook her head as if snapping out of trance. She quickly turned her gaze toward Lena who was standing with crossed arms and a smile on her face. Before either woman could say anything, Lena rotated her right arm up and pointed to her left.

Leneh looked to see a man standing with a rocket launcher aimed right at the AT-ST. It was a man that Leneh recognized to be Captain Timber, the clone that led the battalion stationed on her ship during the Clone War. "Evasive maneuvers!" the Admiral yelled while diving down through the hatch.

Despite the warning, it was too late. The rocket launcher fired before the AT-ST was able to move. The rocket sailed across the meadow and impacted against the main joint of the walker's right leg. Even though the ray shield was now down, the weapon was still tough. It was able to stand for a few more seconds before the half-melted metal of the right leg finally snapped in half. The rest of the AT-ST was quick to tumble forward, landing on its side at the edge of the meadow.