Star Wars: Rebels: Obscured Ambition

Disclaimer: Star Wars Rebels and all Star Wars characters and Lore are not my property, as they are all owned by Lucasfilm and the Walt Disney Company.

A/N: The requested sequel to The Rising Darkness begins now! Set several months before Steps into Shadow, this is once again a separate mission that will not affect the overall continuity of the show, but one that will further expand on character development and pick up the plot from where The Rising Darkness left off.

In addition to also expanding development for the main pairings, Ezrabine and Kanera respectively, more familiar faces from the Original Trilogy and popular Expanded Universe titles will also be introduced, beginning in this chapter like in the first story. This story begins a few months after the events in Twilight of the Apprentice.

Chapter 1: Divergent Paths

"From within the darkness, one will rise to deliver our race to their salvation. Only one born of this darkness can guide us, for they will understand better than anyone what it means to endure through the harshest agony our oppressors can bring down upon us; the torment of loss after losing so much already. Their strength and endurance through such agony will be the key to do what must be done to reach the Promised Day, the day of our deliverance. From within the darkness, we shall find salvation," – The prophecy of The Promised Day, spoken by Balatta the Farseer

It was a typical dark and stormy day on Kolhma, the infamous burial moon of the Inner Rim world of Bogden. The barren, jagged, and mountainous landscape was battered by a torrential downpour, the bleak and dark grey skies allowing only traces of sunlight to ebb through. Upon the northern edge of a peninsular mountain range, standing out from the cliff faces plummeting down on three sides around it, stood the imposing dark citadel that, in the years leading up to the Clone Wars, had served as the headquarters of the dreaded Bando Gora cult. The manipulations of the Sith, and the actions of their hired Mandalorian mercenary named Jango Fett, had seen to it that the cult was dismantled. Now, decades later, the formerly sacred halls of what was an ancient cathedral now served as one of the main bases of the Imperial Inquisition.

The remote and widely-forgotten or feared location of the burial moon of Bogden provided a desirable location for the sinister agents of the Sith to meet in secret. And so it was that the Imperial Inquisition came to regard the dark citadel as a second home. Deep inside the foreboding structure, within the atrium to the inner sanctum on the cold stone floor, ten holoprojectors stood aligned in a perfect circle in the middle of the room, flanked on both sides by the dual-curved stairway that led to the inner sanctum one level above. The room itself was dimly lit by archaic but eerie blue-fire wall torches.

Suddenly, five of the ten holoprojectors hummed to life, all at once shimmering and static-flickering humanoid holograms appearing up and out of each. The hologram that appeared out of the projector that stood at the top of the circle was none other than Grand Inquisitor Dunkel Nachtgeist. The cloaked master of the Dark Side faced four fellow Inquisitors. He addressed them by name one by one.

"Inquisitor Jerec, Inquisitor Starkiller, Inquisitor Garnac, Inquisitor Barris, thank you for not delaying in answering my call. I have come to relay orders direct from the highest levels."

"Direct from Lord Vader and the Emperor himself, eh? Must be serious," Jerec grinned as he spoke. The thin-shaved, tan-skinned Human male easily distinguished himself from his peers by the silken black blindfold which was wrapped around his head and covering his eyes, blind since birth. Also, patterned, black tattoos of Sith design draped down his jaw from the corners of his mouth. His uniform consisted of black boots along with matching gloves, combat pants and tunic, as well as a utility belt. A matching single-plated piece of chest armor protected his torso. Twin shoulder plates were stark red in color, and in contrast to the rest of his ensemble. He listened intently, his teeth barred in a twisted grin that never left his face.

"What is the will of our lords?" Starkiller inquired next, his voice mechanized as it emanated from beneath his helmet. Like Jerec he too was a Human male, though he was also significantly younger. His uniform was reminiscent of an armored warrior, signifying his preferred hands-on approach to combat missions. It was a full suit of chrome armor with a black bodysuit underneath, as well as matching boots and gloves, and utility belt. A long black cape draped down his back and covered the back half of his shoulder plates. His helmet had a built-in mouthpiece that was crowned by a wide visor giving a clear, unobstructed view. His face held no grin. Instead, he waited respectfully with a completely neutral, albeit hidden expression.

"I have received full authorization from the both of them; Operation: Infinite Horizon is a go," Nachtgeist elaborated, then gauged the reaction of his cohorts.

"Tell me, sir, will we be eliminating more Jedi in the search for the objectives? It's been too long since I've killed my last Jedi…" Garnac trailed off as his reptilian tongue slithered across the bottom of his upper lip. The young Trandoshan's snake-like eyes glimmered and narrowed in raw bloodlust. He was every bit the son of his father, driven by the hunt, anticipating the thrill of every kill. His savage disposition was so extreme it unnerved many of his fellow Imperials, but most of those within the ranks of the Inquisition had grown used to it. He stood clad in a full black bodysuit with matching armor plates covering his chest, shoulders, and knees. He was also sporting a matching utility belt. His three-fingered hands and three-toed feet were both bare, displaying his claws. The scales that covered his flesh were pale green in color. His own sinister grin, displaying his razor-like teeth, was easily a rival of Jerec's.

"Tell me, Garnac, when the last of the Jedi are finally dead, who will you hunt with such relentless passion, then?" Barris spoke drolly as she eyed the Trandoshan curiously. The Mirilan was an older Inquisitor, and herself a veteran of the fallen Jedi Order. A former Padawan who lost faith in the Jedi and brushed with the Dark Side before being apprehended, she was a logical choice for recruitment into the Inquisition after the fall of the Old Republic. She stood clad in a simple pitch black, hooded cloak with matching boots and gloves similar to the Grand Inquisitor, but no mask obscured a portion of her face, leaving her light green skin and purple facial tattoos visible though veiled under her hood. Her typical expression was one of stoic discipline, but right now she mused curiously, both regarding her fellow Inquisitor and the upcoming mission.

"There will always be more prey. Perhaps I will find some sport in these rebels who have chosen to ally with the Jedi? Any friend to those filthy trash is an enemy of mine!" Garnac snarled before resuming his twisted grin, contemplating a very bloody massacre of the Rebellion wherever their forces had chosen to hunker down to evade Imperial forces. The other Inquisitors turned back to their superior as he raised a hand to silence them.

"Let us remain focused on the here and now. This mission will undoubtedly attract undue attention from the final remnants of the Jedi Order, especially considering we know one of the two holocrons we must secure is already in their possession," Nachtgeist elaborated.

"They have to be holocrons of considerable power, greater than average devices. Have the names behind these two been isolated?" Jerec asked, a single eyebrow above his blindfold arched in the process.

"Indeed they have. The first one we will acquire is the Holocron of Darth Revan, hidden away on the ancient tomb world of the Sith," the Grand Inquisitor further explained.

"Korriban," Starkiller finished, and Nachtgeist nodded.

"And the second that we must retrieve as well?" Barris asked next.

"The Holocron of Darth Traya, currently in possession of the two Jedi who eluded Lord Vader on Malachor 1," Nachtgeist didn't miss the vicious grin that returned to the face of the young Trandoshan.

"I'll rip it from their dead hands! Just tell me where they are!" as Garnac raved in anticipation, Starkiller spoke up in clarification.

"Not so fast. Those Jedi are a part of the Rebellion. We don't have the location of their secret base, as of yet."

"I am currently working on a solution to that dilemma, but in the meantime, our first step is clear. Jerec and Starkiller will be joining me on the trip to Korriban. Barris and Garnac will be following a lead the ISB recovered regarding a link to the primary objective on Manaan. You two will be leaving for Ahto City immediately. Be mindful of your surroundings, as your mission will be taking you to an old research station on the ocean floor."

"I wonder if you can swim in deep, frigid water, with that cold blood of yours, Garnac?" Jerec joked grimly, and the Trandoshan snarled as Barris rolled her eyes.

"Prepare yourselves. Stay focused, stay alert, and remember, glory to the Empire!" Nachtgeist decreed.

"Glory to the Empire!" the four inquisitors repeated in unison.

A few days later, across the galaxy in the Mid Rim, an aging AA-9 transport freighter barreled through the beautiful chaos of hyperspace en route to its destination, fully loaded with supplies to be offloaded once docked. The minimal crew and security team traveling on board were completely unaware that they had unwelcome stowaways in the aft cargo hold near the engine room. Ezra Bridger, Garazeb Orellios, Sabine Wren, and C1-10P aka Chopper were hunkered down behind a stack of crates, two of which were broken open, signifying they had been the vessels of infiltration for the freedom fighters. Utilizing a portable holodevice, Sabine showed a rough map of pieced-together data from underworld sources that displayed what little info of the freighter's destination.

"Ovoo IV, one of the most infamous maximum security prisons in the Galaxy. Once housed the most dangerous criminals in the Old Republic before the Clone Wars. Now, the inmates are both criminals and anyone else the Empire deems unfit to walk around free," the teenage Mandalorian explained to her teammates who were eyeing the holographic display warily.

"Such as General Dodonna," Ezra added.

"Precisely. We have confirmation he's in there, but that's about it. We'll need to gain access to the manifest in their computers to determine where they're holding him," Sabine continued.

"Building a prison into an asteroid. I would have expected that kind of ruthlessness from the Empire, but never figured the Republic to be the same in their incarcerations," Zeb commented disapprovingly.

"This prison was designed to house the very worst the criminal underworld had to offer. An inhospitable environment makes thoughts of escape all the more difficult," the young artist elaborated.

"Has anyone ever escaped?" Ezra asked, curious about their own chances.

"Yes, there have been numerous riots over the decades and a handful of successful breakouts. All escapees were either killed or recaptured, with the exception of a single incident; a hired breakout led by a Mandalorian mercenary."

"Well then, it's good we have a former Mandalorian mercenary with us," Ezra commented with a smirk. He missed the faint blush that tinted the face of his female teammate from under her helmet. She quickly shrugged off the compliment, however. Focus had to remain on the mission at hand.

Of course, ever since coming to terms with what Ezra meant to her, Sabine had found being in close proximity to him for an extended period eventually caused her mind to wander in one way or another. She had toned down her dismissals of his obvious attempts to flatter her, but wasn't overly obvious about it herself. She found his awkward moments regarding her less irritating and more endearing in a way. Of course, the situation wasn't helped by the fact that over the last few months since the fateful mission to Malachor 1, puberty had hit her fellow teenaged teammate like a ton of duracrete blocks. She had previously mused it wouldn't be too long before Ezra had completely overtaken her in height. He was maturing both physically and mentally, and the teenage Mandalorian would catch herself dwelling on him more than she would ever admit to anyone else. She also frequently found herself remembering that "spur of the moment" move she made to kiss him while he was unconscious and recovering while temporarily comatose after the earlier mission to Ord Mantell. She was also rather particularly relieved that he had no recollection of what went on while he was out of it.

Little did Sabine realize Ezra hadn't missed her change in attitude towards him and his company. The young Padawan considered bringing up this noticeable shift in their relationship to her directly more than once since he first felt it, but his uncertainly with how to approach the subject and the ever-increasing frequency with which missions were assigned to them left him silent on the matter. He was still kicking himself over how awkward he'd been when Sabine unveiled her new hair style and color to the crew. He could practically sense Kanan and Zeb mentally face-palming at his stammering. Enamored was perhaps the most generous way to put what he'd been feeling at the sight of her. He'd always thought she was pretty, but these last few months had redefined such a definition for him. And her courage and heart remained just as prominent, not helping his dilemma with his persistent feelings one bit.

Before either of the teens could lose themselves to these thoughts once again, their Lasat teammate pulled them back to the mission at hand by clearing his throat abruptly.

"Ahem… so where on the rock will this ship come to stop?"

"Right here, at the only cargo supply port on the asteroid," Sabine elaborated as she pointed to the supply port on the holographic display, highlighting the location in red as she did so.

"Are there lifts from the port down to the cellblocks?" Ezra asked.

"No, but we should be able to use the freight lifts in the port to access the storage areas below, and make our way over to the cellblocks from there. Prison labor is used for most of the heavy lifting and carting in this place. Of course, we'll need to isolate where Dodonna's cell is, first. Fortunately, any security station we find on the way should have a terminal I can slice into to find out that information," the teenage Mandalorian further explained.

At that moment, the old transport dropped out of hyperspace within sight of the prison facility, its sparsely-positioned surface lights dotting the surface of the asteroid. The stowaways were slightly thrown forward from in their crouched positions in the cargo hold by the sudden force of the engines shifting and the hyperdrive being deactivated, the sublight drives being relied on for the brief duration of what remained of the voyage.

"Well, looks like we'll be landing any minute now," Ezra mused aloud. As if on cue, the ship's comm frequency rang to life on the announcement system, and the captain's voice updated everyone aboard on their status.

"Attention all hands, we'll be dropping speed as we wait for clearance to pass through the energy shield. We should be docking within five minutes. Over and out."

"Wait, energy shield?" Zeb abruptly asked as Chopper chimed in binary inquiry as well. Sabine explained as she pointed to and highlighted the largest structure on the asteroid on the holodisplay.

"In order to maintain an artificial atmosphere and block incoming meteorites from striking the facility, the entire asteroid is surrounded by an invisible, high-powered energy shield projected from here, the central security tower. In the old days the entire thing had to be deactivated every time a ship was coming or going, but after the Empire took over a portal ring was installed to allow medium-sized transport ships like this one to pass through without turning the whole shield off. It's the only access point through the shield, so we'll need to break out through that portal ring on our way out of here."

"So any ship that tries to pass through the shield anywhere else is just smashed to wreckage on impact," Ezra deduced.

"Precisely, so I suggest we remember this fact and avoid that fate," Sabine finished drolly.

"No arguments here," Zeb replied in a like manner.

Once security clearance was granted from the central control tower, the aging AA-9 transport freighter passed through the massive portal ring mounted high above the surface on four tall and wide durasteel columns. The shield, temporarily retracted from inside the ring only, instantly filled the space inside once more within a moment after the aft of the ship cleared it. Slowly and steadily, the transport maneuvered over and finally came to rest atop the large rectangular landing platform that stood aloft over a crater ringed with guard posts, the port control station, and connecting walkways. Four freight lifts descended down into the crafter from the large platform above, linking the port to the storage areas far below the surface.

Now with their way inside open to them, the four Rebels moved from their perch inside the aft cargo hold on the transport. Another mission was underway once more.

Across the Galaxy on the Far Rim world of Atollon, the Rebel base was bustling with activity. The small but compact facility had finally finished construction in the weeks after the fateful mission to Malachor 1, though being down two of their three Jedi leaders and operatives had put an unprecedented damper on morale amongst the personnel. Ahsoka was officially listed as MIA and presumed deceased, and Kanan was out of commission as he had to learn to cope with his loss of sight. Fleet Commander Jun Sato wasn't much for words, but Captain Hera Syndulla of Phoenix Squadron did her best to keep spirits up through inspirational speeches and assigning continual tasks to keep everyone occupied.

Now however it was Hera who found herself assigned with a task of her own; a supply run to the infamous underworld haven of Nar Shaddaa, the city-moon in orbit of Hutta. It took some serious nagging, but finally the rogue Twi'lek pilot convinced Kanan to accompany her.

"I'm only going along because the thought of you going to that giant slime ball alone is too much to bear," the blinded Jedi Knight told her as he took his seat in the co-pilot's chair on the bridge of the Ghost.

"And I sincerely appreciate it, dear," Hera rolled her eyes as she replied sarcastically, knowing that he knew she could take care of herself, "However I'm pretty sure it's the planet below Nar Shaddaa that's the real giant slime ball," she finished with a smirk.

"You know what I mean," Kanan replied in a slightly annoyed tone.

Hera couldn't help but let her smirk grown slightly wider. It was already starting to feel like old times. The engines of the Ghost hummed to life and the landing gear retracted as the modified stock freighter took off from its landing pad at the base. Had Kanan made an attempt to center himself and try focusing enough, perhaps he would have been able to sense the power of the Dark Side emanating from the holocron hidden away in the cabin shared by his young apprentice.

The paths of these allies and foes would take them to separate destinations, for now anyway…

A/N: And there you have it my readers, the debut of the sequel to The Rising Darkness. Please let me know your thoughts by leaving reviews! As always, I place great importance on reading what you have to say about my work. :)