Unite: Chapter Four

The ruined world of Shili is half covered in a dark matter cloud. The capital is overrun by droids and one general sits in the center control room. It is now up to the padawans to defeat them.

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Alina headed at a quick pace towards the building, her enter body tensed, her lightsaber in hand.

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P'yativ walked beside her, eyes narrowed. "Are you sure this is the best plan?" he asked, indicating the copious droids.

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With a grin, Alina looked over at P'yativ. "I'm not going to storm the place." She held up her wrist, which had a small device attached to it. "Show me the interior plans of the Shili capital." A 3D holographic image came up from the bracer and showed the building ahead and several tunnel systems underneath. "What do you think?"

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P'yativ stopped and scrutinized the image. "I think that we might find more deactivated droids in the tunnels..." he stated bluntly.

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Alina smiled, an almost dark look coming into her eyes. "Then we destroy them all."

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P'yativ smirked at Alina. "Fight off thousands of droids? Hmmmm. Well, I suppose I do fancy a good fight..."

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Alina's communicator went off suddenly. And image of Anakin appeared, his face cracked in a smile. "P'yativ, Alina? I'm sending two platoons of clones. They should be landing..." He trailed off while a large ship came down from the clouds. Several clones leapt from the ship, landing around the padawans. "Now."

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A clone trooper with red paint on his armor landing next to the padawans. "Sirs!" he saluted. "Captain Flash at your service. My troops are prepared to help in anyway possible."

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P'yativ beamed excitedly at the landing army and turned to Captain Flash. "Very good Captain! I am P'yativ and this is Alina," he said indicating Alina lest she try to shy away. "I have a plan in mind," he added conspiratorially.

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Alina hid behind P'yativ, not saying anything to the Captian. She put her hands on his shoulders, peering at the clones from over P'yativ's shoulder.

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Flash nodded. "Sir, if you would care to explain, I will explain it to the troops. We do have a few shinys with us, but they'll be broken in soon."

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P'yativ nodded at the Captain then gave an exasperated sigh and pulled Alina out to stand beside him. "Captain, I suggest we use the main part of our force to create a diversion. Alina and I will lead most of the forces in an attack on the capitol and draw out the bulk of the droid army into the open. Meanwhile a small detachment can navigate through the tunnels and infiltrate the capitol. We'll have the advantage on the surface because we can utilize the gunships and the squad in the tunnels will have the element of surprise."

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Alina squeeked when P'yativ pulled her out. She stood there, clutching her lightsaber tightly. Once P'yativ was finished, Alina held up her bracer with the hologram still on. "I suggest you use this tunnel," she said almost too quietly, pointing to one of the tunnels running from the canyon.

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Flash looked at P'yativ with a confused expression. "Sorry, sir, I didn't catch that."

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P'yativ sighed again. He turned and leaned towards Alina. "Sorry, ma'am, I didn't catch that!" he said in a sarcastically loud voice, just managing not to laugh while he said it.

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Flash took off his helmet, revealing his military cut hair. "Ma'am. I apologize."

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Alina elbowed P'yativ. "I said," she said louder, "to use this tunnel. It leads directly into the generator rooms."

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P'yativ turned to Flash, serious again. "What do you think, Captain? We'll handle the diversion to draw of the droids and buy you time to take out the generators."

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Flash nodded. "Sir, you want me to lead the group to the generators, then?"

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"That seems like the best idea to me," P'yativ affirmed. "Your helmate and equipment lets you see and communicate better if the situation gets rough. Besides, you're more experianced and the generators are the primary target. As long as you get through, what happens to us is irrelevant."

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Flash saluted and put his helmet back on, turning and barking orders at several of the clones. Ten hurried over to the padawans and saluted.

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Looking at P'yativ, Alina shivered slightly. "So we're the distraction?"

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Turning to Alina, P'yativ smiled broadly at her. "I hope you don't mind too terribly much..." He then addressed the clones. "Gentlemen, I need to know what we have to work with here. Tell me how many of everything we've got."

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"I don't mind," Alina said quietly. She looked at the clones. "And how many of you we have."

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One clone stepped forward and saluted, removing his helmet to reveal a shaved head. "Name's Tripwire. Been leading this group for awhile now. We're your demolition crew. Anything that can blow up, we got it."

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"Excellent. I'm sure Flash will be needing your expertise shortly," P'yativ said.

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Alina casually stepped behing P'yativ, crouching low on the ground and making doodles in the sand. The doodles quickly became a diagram of the assualt.

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P'yativ looked down curiously at the battle plan then resumed his conversation while she continued to draw. "Trip, how many LAAT's and AT-TE's do we have at our disposal?"

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Tripwire grinned and held up his commlink. "How many do you need, sir?"

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"Enough to fight, but few enough to convince the clankers they can beat us," P'yativ replied. "I'd say four AT-TE's and a dozen LAAT's. Combine that with out 70 or so troops, we have a strong force but nothing compared to their thousands. It'll be the perfect ruse."

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Alina tugged on P'yativ's pantleg, trying to get his attention.

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Tripwire nodded and put in the request. He looked at P'yativ. "Sir, if you want me to send my troops with the Captain, I will. But I would rather go with you, if that is acceptable."

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"As long as the Captain has the means to accomplish his mission, I would be happy to have you with us," P'yativ answered earnestly. He looked down at Alina and swatted her hand away, saying "You can always speak up!" with a laugh.

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"Thank you, sir," Tripwire said. He turned and started giving his troops orders before he froze, looking over at the capital.

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Alina grabbed onto P'yativ's pantleg again, tugging it harder. "Um...you may want to look at this," she said, pointing at the capital.

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From the capital, several dozen droid sentinels started out from the building. They headed right for the gathered forces.

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Flash gestured quickly. "My group, move out!" A quarter of the clones followed him out of the canyon, leaving the rest of the forces with the padawans.

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P'yativ looked back at Alina. "Looks like we're playing defense instead, but that means the droids are really buying it!" he said excitedly. Grabbing Alina by the arm he ran to a slightly raised ourcropping of rock in the midst of the Clone force's position.

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Tripwire yelled orders at his troops and they prepared their weapons while he pulled out something that looks suspiciously like a thermal detonator.

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Standing slightly behind P'yativ, Alina pulled out her lightsaber and smiled. "About time," she said quietly.

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The droids flooded into the valley, hundreds of them coming down on the padawans and clones.

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"Get the those AT-TE's into a "V," with the point towards the droids!" P'yativ called to Tripwire. "Clones, stay behind them!"

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Tripwire signal for the walkers to take position. He took careful aim at the oncoming droids and threw the device he was holding. The droids at the front were covered in a heavy fluorescent red. One of the walkers blasted the lead droid, the flame spreading onto those droids with the red on them.

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The droids opened fire on the AT-TEs and clones indiscriminately, taking out several clones easily.

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Alina jumped over in front of a group of clone troopers and ignited her lightsaber, blocking the laser fire that would have killed the clones. She sent out a Force wave and took out several battle droids at once.

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Four Droidekas rolled into the valley and set up their sheilds, taking aim and firing while two gunships came up behing them, firing canons at the group.

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P'yativ pulled out his comlink. "LAAT's, destroy the gunships and those droidekas, asap!" Then without waiting he force leapt into the air and landed in the midst of the clones, igniting his lightsaber.

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The LAAT gunships focused fire on the droidekas and droid gunships, disabling one and destroying the other. The AT-TEs moved forward, their fire on the droids as well. Tripwire made his way to P'yativ. "Sir, I think we may be outnumbered," he said simply.

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The droids diverted their fire to the LAAT ships, driving them away from the remaining two droidekas. They worked around the rocks the clones were using for cover. Several more AATs made thier way over the side of the canyon.

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Alina saw the devistation the droid army was causing on the AT-TE walkers and leapt over to the lead walker, taking out the droids in front of it so it could focus fire on the AATS that had appeared. "Focus on the tanks!" she told the AT-TE operators.

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P'yativ batted away several blaster bolts then grinned at Tripwire, "We knew all along this was going to get rough. Direct your men to clear the battle droids near the walkers so they can concentrate fire on the AAT's." With that he dashed to the aid of the most beleaguered group of clones and shielded them from as much fire as possible.

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Tripwire called over two of his men and they threw several small explosives into the middle of the advancing droids, taking out a group of them. He directed the other clones to clear the way for the AT-TEs, which began focusing on the AATs.

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The droidekas moved forward to engage the two padawans, who were doing the most damage. The battle droids took on the clones while the gunships fired away at one another.

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Alina yelped as the droideka fired at her and narrowly missed. She squared off with it before realizing she was outmatched. Dropping below the AT-TE's cannon, she signaled at him. The droideka was caught in the canon fire and Alina smiled, continuing her assualt on the battle droids.

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P'yativ faced the remaining droideka head on and blocked the laser fire coming at him, sweat streaming down his face as he weaved his lightsaber so fast it became a glowing blur. Finally, he crouched and jumped over the droideka, landing behind. He spun around and plunged his lightsaber through the shield and sliced off the droid's upper half.

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As two AATs were destroyed, the droids started pulling back.

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Tripwire looked over at the clones. "Keep 'em runnin'!" he yelled to them. The clones continued firing at the retreating droids.

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Alina hurried over to P'yativ. A rumble started underground and she tripped over a rock, sprawling into him.

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P'yativ was knocked flat on his back with Alina on top of him and thought dryly "What a surprise, Alina tripped..." He turned his head to the side to see the droids pulling back. Then he looked at Alina with growing alarm. "What if Flash doesn't get out? Those droids might trap him!" P'yativ never even considered that the shaking ground could be something besides the generators being sabatoged. "Trip!" he hollared at the top of his lungs, "After them!"

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Pushing herself up, Alina ignored P'yativ and hurried to the entrance in the side of the canyon. As she did, several clones came from the entrance, running quickly. Flash grabbed Alina's hand as he ran, physically pulling her behind him. Flames shot out where she had just been standing.

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Tripwire slid to a halt when he saw Flash. He looked at P'yativ. "Sir?"

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P'yativ dropped his head back into the dirt in relief. Then he looked at Tripwire and said more calmly "We still pursue the droids. This is an excellent opportunity to cut them down while their backs are turned. Quickly!" he added with urgency as he struggled to his feet.

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Tripwire directed the clones after the droids, taking out a good portion of them as they ran.

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With Alina in tow, Flash made his way over to P'yativ. His armor was covered in soot and his helmet was missing. "Sir," he said. "We set the charges and ran into some droids trying to get out. We would've been back sooner." He glanced up at the capital. As if on cue, the ground shook. The capital buildings started collapsing.

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"Well done captain," P'yativ congratulated Flash. "Now, let's finish them!" He pulled out his comlink, signaling the LAAT's and ordered them to hose down the fleeing the droids.

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With a nod, Flash signaled the remainder of the clone troops to attack. He pulled out his own blaster and followed.

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Alina ignited her lightsaber and looked at P'yativ. "Shall we?" she asked innocently.

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"But of course!" P'yativ answered with a smile. He spun his lightsaber in an arc then charged forward, quickly moving to the front of the attack.

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With a laugh, Alina followed, fightly alongside P'yativ. She lacked his strength, but she more made up for it by maneuvering around him expertly, catching the droids he missed.

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The clones drove the droids back to the edge of the canyon. The number of droids was diminished to the point that they only outnumbered the clones two to one. Flash gave his clones the signal to destroy them.

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P'yativ fell back and found Flash. "Captain, stop the assault! We're too strung out. And I don't want us getting close to that building. The droids will fire down on us. Let's reorganize."

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Flash nodded and signalled to his troops. "What's the plan, sir?" he asked. "Their machine is finished." He pointed to the black cloud, which was disappearing as they spoke.

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Alina followed P'yativ, still watching the droids pull back to the capital.

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P'yativ listened to Flash then spotted Tripwire and waved him over to the three of them. "That may be true, but the droids are still a threat and we need to destroy them to secure the planet."

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Tripwire ran over just in time to hear what P'yativ said. He smiled and pulled out some explosives. "We could just level the capital, sir."

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Alina looked over at Tripwire and held up a hand. "It won't work. They still have the station up top." She looked at P'yativ. "We could go...take care of it."

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P'yativ drummed his fingers on this cheek considering the suggestions. "Let's soften them up with artillery fire from the AT-TE's. Then we'll launch an LAAT assault and land in the upper levels of the capitol to capture whoever is directing the droids and deactivate them." He looked about for a reaction.

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Alina stared at him for a moment. "What if they aren't here?" She was convinced he hadn't heard or understood her. "There's the station in orbit," she said quietly.

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Flash looked over at Tripwire with a shrug. "Might work. With the droids deactivated, we'll be able to clear the planet without much trouble."

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P'yativ turned to Alina. "But what if they are here? Shouldn't we check the command spire at the top of the building? In fact, we can just blow it up with the AT-TE's instead..."

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Alina humphed and sat on the ground cross legged. Her lekku twitched slightly and she narrowed her eyes at P'yativ. "Fine. I'll check." She closed her eyes and started humming to herself.

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Tripwire looked at P'yativ. "Um...sir...We really don't have time for this."

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Without taking his eyes of Alina, P'yativ flicked his hand up to cut the clone off in mid-sentence.

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It took a minute before Alina opened her eyes again and collapsed spread eagle in the dirt. She stared at the sky for a moment then looked over at P'yativ. "You're not going to like this," she said. "It feels like Count Dooku's powers."

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P'yativ glared. "Well? Where is he?"

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Alina sighed. "Gone. He's not here. Or anywhere close. It's only droids here. They were given orders then abandoned." She looked at P'yativ. "Level it."

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P'yativ gave Flash a sharp nod then crossed his arms and gazed towards the capitol.

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With a single signal, the AT-TEs fired towards the capital. Four large explosions went off and a steady rumbling started as the buildings started crumbling. The walkers didn't stop firing until the entire area was leveled.

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P'yativ dropped his head, suddenly weary. He took out his comlink and contacted the LAAT pilots. "We need extraction, please." Then he walked over to Alina and pulled her to her feet.

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An LAAT landed and Flash nodded at the padawans.

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Alina looked at P'yativ. "I don't think I can fly back..."

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"What do you mean?" P'yativ asked, sounding concerned.

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Without warning, Alina doubled over, clutching her stomach. She gasped, her lekku twitching again. "Too exhausted. Someone will have to bring my ship back."

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P'yativ's eyes widened and he ran to her side. "Alina?! What's the matter?!" he asked panicking. "Captain, the fleet you arrived in, it's still in orbit?"

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Alina knelt on the ground, still doubled over. "I don't know what's wrong," she said. Her skin started turning a sickly yellow.

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"Atmospheric poisoning," Flash said quickly. "I've seen it with a few of my men before."

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P'yativ scooped up Alina and carried her into the waiting LAAT. "Flash, have your men pick up our ships. We'll link up at the fleet." Then he called to the pilot "Take us up!"

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The LAAT pilot looked back and nodded. He took off, then glanced back again. "She okay, sir?"

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Alina groaned and went limp.

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P'yativ looked down at Alina, setting her gently down on the ship's floor. "Not really," he replied glumly. He turned to the pilot and made a hand motion saying, "If you wouldn't mind picking it up a bit... And call ahead to the ship to ready the medical bay."

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The pilot nodded and made the call. They docked with an orbiting republic ship and the hatch opened to reveal Master Yoda and Master Skywalker waiting for them to disembark.

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United: Chapter Five



Jedi Mission One