“The Siege of Lothal Part 2”

Duel with the Dark Lord
Igniting his lightsaber, Vader advances on Jarrus and Bridger as the stormtroopers move to flank the other rebels. Wren and Orrelios get in a firefight with the stormtroopers to cover Hera and Chopper as they load the shield generators onto the shuttle and prepare to take off. Meanwhile, Jarrus and Bridger engage Vader in a lightsaber duel, but they are easily overpowered. When Jarrus is knocked out of the fight, Bridger attempts to fight Vader alone, but Vader uses the Force to pin him against a wall and bring Bridger’s own lightsaber toward the Padawan’s throat. The Dark Lord taunts him, saying that Jarrus deceived Bridger into believing he could become a Jedi. Before Vader can kill Bridger, Jarrus returns to the fight and engages Vader, only to be driven back and slashed on the shoulder by the Dark Lord’s counterattack. Wren and Orrelios then throw thermal detonators onto some nearby AT-DP walkers, scattering the stormtroopers and distracting Vader; seizing their chance, Bridger and Jarrus use the Force to knock the Dark Lord of the Sith off-balance as the walkers crash down on him. The rebels believe that Vader is dead, but he uses the Force to lift the burning walkers into the air, with not even a scratch on him. A shocked Bridger rhetorically asks “If that doesn’t kill him, what will?!”; Jarrus simply replies “Not us. Run!” As Bridger and Jarrus retreat to the shuttle, Wren opens fire on Vader to try and delay him; however, Vader deflects the blaster shots back at her, scorching her chest-plate and helmet. Mere steps ahead of Vader, Bridger and Jarrus leap aboard the shuttle as Chopper flies it away from the Imperial complex. A stormtrooper offers to mobilize the Empire’s fighters to pursue the shuttle, but Vader refuses, explaining that the rebels will not leave Lothal yet. His plan is still in motion.

Having barely escaped with their lives, the rebels catch their breath aboard the shuttle—luckily, Wren and Jarrus’s armor saved them from permanent injury. Bridger wonders if Vader is an Inquisitor, like the one they faced in the past, but Jarrus believes he is actually a Sith Lord, the ancient enemies of the Jedi Order. Bridger asks how they could fight Vader in the future, but Jarrus incredulously tells him they were lucky even to survive the encounter with their dangerous new foe. Knowing that Vader will have a blockade in orbit waiting for them, the rebels decide they have to smuggle themselves off Lothal, and Syndulla suggests someone who could help them: Lando Calrissian, much to Bridger and Jarrus’s dismay.

Getting off of Lothal
While the rebels prepare to contact the smuggler, Kallus meets with Vader and informs the Dark Lord that the rebels have not yet left Lothal. In order to draw the rebels out, Vader orders Kallus to destroy Tarkintown, a refugee settlement that the rebels provided assistance to in the past.

Syndulla and Jarrus contact Calrissian, who is offworld when they call, and explain their situation. Calrissian thinks helping them will be a risk, one that could endanger the mining operation he set up on Lothal, but is willing to help them for a price. They agree to give him three of their shield generators, and Calrissian tells them to go to his farm where his droid, W1-LE, will assist them. W1-LE greets them upon their arrival, at which point Bridger notices the smoke from Tarkintown. He grabs a speeder and heads in that direction, where he finds the charred remains of the settlement. Jarrus arrives moments later and says the citizens have likely been taken into Imperial custody. All Bridger can sense is evil, and his master tells him that the city was destroyed in order to spread fear on Lothal. He feels that things are getting worse, much like they did during the Clone Wars; and back then, there were ten thousand Jedi protecting the galaxy. Now, Jarrus and Bridger are two of the only Jedi known to still be alive, facing off against an entire Empire. Jarrus is skeptical that they can make a difference, but Bridger believes that they can fight the Empire, declaring that he isn’t afraid of them—in turn, Jarrus mutters “That’s what I’m afraid of.” as his Padawan walks off.

The two Jedi return to Calrissian’s farm, where Wren explains that she and W1-LE have created sensor buoys that will replicate the signal of the shuttle and scatter Imperial forces when they try to track them. The rebels, who resolve not to return to Lothal due to the impact their rebellion has had on the planet, leave the farm and make their way toward orbit, casting the decoys into the atmosphere as they head for space. The Star Destroyer Relentless, under the command of Admiral Kassius Konstantine, tracks the signals, and the Imperial crew falls for the diversion. The rebels successfully make it past the blockade and into hyperspace, with a course set for the rebel fleet.

Back at the Imperial Center, Konstantine contacts Vader and Kallus to report his failure, but Vader simply orders that his ship be prepared for launch. Noting Konstantine’s confusion, Kallus explains that the shuttle used by the rebels contains a tracking device, which Vader himself plans to use to track the rebels to his true objective: the rebel fleet. It is revealed that Vader allowed the crew to escape from Lothal specifically for this purpose; even the gap in the garrison defenses was intentional.

Attack on the fleet
En route to the fleet, Jarrus wonders if they should return to the rebellion, still unsure whether he wants to be part of their fight against the Empire. The crew debates the issue amongst themselves to resolve where to go. Wren suggests they take the Ghost and lay low, while Orrelios likes fighting with Phoenix Squadron and knows that the other rebels are counting on them to return. Bridger casts the deciding vote, and the crew continues towards the fleet. Upon their arrival on Phoenix Home, Chopper discovers that the transmitter has been activated. The crew rushes to the command center to inform Sato and Tano about the transmitter just as a lone starfighter, Vader’s TIE Advanced x1, enters the area to engage the fleet.

Phoenix Squadron is deployed to fight the Dark Lord, but Vader—knowing that the rebels would underestimate a lone fighter—easily shoots many of the Phoenix forces down. As Vader attacks Phoenix Home, the Ghost crew joins the fight aboard their ship. Jarrus and Tano, who went with the crew aboard the Ghost, sense the Force is strong with the pilot of the TIE fighter and attempt to learn more about him through the Force. As they do so, Bridger begins to sense the same darkness that he felt on Lothal, realizing that the TIE pilot is the Sith Lord they fought. Tano, who feels something about Vader through the Force that terrifies her, screams and falls unconscious. She and Vader have sensed one another, and Vader realizes that Tano—who was his Padawan when he was still known as the Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker—is still alive.

As the battle nears its end, Star Destroyers enter into the fray, with the lead ship commanded by Admiral Konstantine. Vader orders them to prevent the rebel fleet from leaving, as he wants this group alive. At the Ghost crew’s urging, Sato and his crew abandon the critically-damaged Phoenix Home, evacuating to the rest of the fleet. The Ghost keeps Vader occupied during the evacuation before flying towards the Star Destroyers, Vader still on its tail—the crew questions this, but Syndulla has a plan for escaping. While the blockade runners jump into hyperspace, Syndulla pilots the Ghost between two Star Destroyers, which activate their tractor beams in order to trap the ship. The ship jumps into hyperspace just in time, leaving Vader’s TIE fighter to be captured by the tractor beams in its place. Upon hearing of this mistake, Admiral Konstantine tells the tractor beam operator that “It wasn’t your fault…but Lord Vader won’t know that,” implying that he intends to blame the operator for his failure to capture the rebels.

Aftermath
The Ghost meets up with the rest of the fleet and repairs the damage from the battle. Jarrus and Bridger speak to Tano, who asks about their confrontation with Vader in Capital City. Jarrus tells her he hasn’t sensed a presence as evil as his for many years—since the Clone Wars, as Tano interjects. Bridger asks her if she knows who the Sith Lord is, and Tano, somewhat unsettled about the topic, denies any knowledge of his identity. She does know, however, that he and the rest of the Empire will be coming for the rebels again to destroy them. Whether or not they fight Vader and the Empire, the Ghost crew tells Tano they will stand together.

Aboard the bridge of a Star Destroyer, Vader sends a holographic transmission to the Emperor. Vader tells his master that he has broken the rebel fleet, but the Emperor senses that there is more to Vader’s victory than his disciple has let on. Vader says that he has discovered that the apprentice of Anakin Skywalker is still alive and that she is in league with the rebellion. The Emperor is pleased by this news and believes that Tano could lead them to other lost Jedi—including, perhaps, Obi-Wan Kenobi. The Emperor urges Vader to remain patient in finding his old Jedi Master—for now, he orders him to dispatch another Inquisitor to hunt the rebels down.