Rex would have been welcome support but Vader was under no delusions that he would be able to shield many from the flames. And it wasn't a fate he'd visit upon his men.

Vader Force-pushed balls of flame back, aiming for the mage. The dragon could lash out at him. He would prefer that. Vader dug into the ground with the Force and shoved. Created a wave of dirt, rocks, debris, and bits of vegetation straight at the dragon and the mage. He heard the dragon growl and toss it's head, heard and exclamation of alarm from the mage.

As soon as he could get a visual of the mage he threw his saber in a arc, aiming for the mage. She moved sideways, barely, but there was a fresh line of burn over her cheek and ear and Tech would be able to see warmth on the dragon scales from the impact of the saber. It flew back to Vader's hand and landed with a hard thud.

"I want to angle so there's a mound of dirt between us and them." He was formulating a plan. Fill the dragon's mouth with dirt - see hope that effected it.