Star Wars Rebels: Time of Deception Part 1
Hera Syndulla strode down the ramp of the Correllian Civilian Transportation Shuttle on Corellia, keeping her cloak pulled up over her Lekku, hiding her appearance from curious passengers or the Stormtroopers that patrolled the Civilian Space Port. She hoped that the secret contact mission was worth all the precautions that she was taking. Not bringing the Ghost, or any of her friends not even Chopper. Therkin Horm had told Mon Mothma that there was a large Rebel Cell on Corellia that was ready and willing to join, only if the leaders of the Cell could meet a Command Rebel Officer. Of course, she volunteered. Especially since Horm had told her that most of the Cell members were Twil'eks. Getting through Customs was easy, returning and leaving would be a little difficult. The Imperials made it relatively simple to go to another world from one of the other. Leaving certain worlds, not so simple. Passing two Cor Sec officer's, she kept her head down, trying to remain unsuspicious as possible. One of them touched her arm then moved in front of her.
"Excuse me Maam, can I see your identification." The tall man said as he released her arm and waited in front of her.
"Any problems Corran?" Another Cor Sec Officer asked as she too approached.
"No, Iella. Just checking on this visiting citizen. Identification please." Watching Hera closely as she pulled out the forged Identification.
"Did I do something wrong sir?" Hera asked in a pleasing voice, hoping that the Cor Sec officer with the name of Corran would not scrutinize the ID to closely. It was a good forgery but if it was scanned to closely it would show that it was a fake.
"Have you?" Corran asked her as he looked at her ID. "Please remove your hood." He ordered as Hera pulled the cloak down. "I thought so, ok Miss…" He looked at the ID. "Talia Forsona, we have some on Corellia that prey on Twil'ek's, especially female Twil'ek's. For your own safety I would suggest that you stay out of the Gray Sector at night." Giving her ID back to her. Then waved for her to proceed.
"Thank you, sir I will." Hera stated as she took her ID and pulled her cloak back over her head. Moving on towards the local inn, where she would check in and stay until contacted.
"She was really pretty, Corran. I did not see a marriage bracelet. You should have asked her out." Iella said to him as he watched the green skinned Twil'ek walk towards the Haven Hotel. "I thought that is why you stopped her."
"No, Iella. I just got a feeling that, I do not know it was just a feeling. Like she is someone special." Corran replied as he turned to continue monitoring those coming from the Space Port.
"See if she is special, then why not. After all you have dated a couple of Twil'ek's and Togruta's, why not another." Iella stated as she thought that she had convinced him to find Talia and see about taking her to dinner.
"Will you stop trying to set me up, I just have not met the right one yet. Come on we better check those Bothans, I bet they are trying to smuggle in Spice." Corran said as he walked over to three Bothans that were trying to avoid everyone. Iella followed, placing her hand on her blaster as they questioned the Bothans.
Reaching her room, Hera exhaled. Removing the cloak that hid her normal clothes that she usually wore. She was a bit worried that Cor Sec Officer Corran with a name Horn on his uniform confused her. Usually when a Security Officer stopped someone it was to interview them, ask a bunch of questions in hopes of finding out if you are doing something illegal. This one just warned her about the dangers that she was already aware of. Corellia was a hub of corruption in some areas. Such as kidnapping other races and selling them into slavery. It bothered Hera that on some worlds, Twil'ek's were sought after for nothing more than playthings for depraved men and sometimes women. Sitting on the bed she had to be patient, her contact would come here and see her as soon as it was safe. Flopping back onto the bed she put her hand over her eyes, and she instantly started thinking about that Corran Horn. That bothered her, she loved Kanan and here she was thinking about another man. Yes, Corran was attractive as human men go. Shaking her head, she sat up and undressed, she needed to take a bath and most likely go to bed. It had been a long day.
Slipping under the cool blue sheets, Hera closed her eyes and she instantly started to wonder how it would feel to have that Security Officer in bed with her. "Stop it Hera." She said loudly. "You love Kanan." But something about Corran reminded her of Kanan and it was not just the name. There was something about how he moved and reacted that indicated that Corran was like Kanan in some ways and different in others. Slowly falling asleep she rolled over and almost wished Kanan was here now.
"She went by herself! What the hell are you thinking?" Kanan said angrily at Mon Mothma and Therkin Horm. Sabine and Ezra were also staring at the two civilian leaders as Kanan looked blindly at them.
"Careful, Jarrus. I do not like that tone!" Horm threatened as he hovered in his repulsor chair. The fat man looked at Mon Mothma for confirmation. "The Rebel Cell Leaders on Corellia wanted to meet with a high Military Leader, Colonel Syndulla was a perfect choice." Then he smirked.
"I do not like having my girlfriend sent alone onto a world that is infested with Imperial Stormtroopers and Security Officers that are trained investigators. You as a Corellian must know that Cor Sec are the best at finding criminals and Rebels in the galaxy." Kanan stated as he frowned.
"I would not worry about that; most Cor Sec Officers believe that Twil'ek's are victims not suspects on Corellia." Mon Mothma injected as she tried to reduce the tensions in the room. "If we do not hear from Colonel Syndulla on her scheduled check in then I will authorize you and your group to go and support her."
"I still do not like it." Kanan replied as he stalked out of the room, followed by Sabine and Ezra.
Smiling Horm watched the Mandalorian leave, eyeing her body and ass as she walked. As soon as she was out of sight he floated out of the command room and headed for his room, several air coolers were humming away. As he entered he started to laugh, Syndulla was a threat to him politically and she had to be removed. Soon he would signal his friends on Corellia to remove that threat and no one would be the wiser. Turning up the air coolers to maximum he exhaled and wondered if it was too early for lunch. He felt hungry.
Sabine stopped Ezra outside the command room, putting her helmet down on a table and waiting for Kanan to get out of earshot. "Ok, I think there is something wrong with this whole situation. Hera going alone, not even taking Chopper with her." She said quietly to Ezra, seeing that he was thinking the same thing.
"What should we do?" Ezra asked leaning against a wall as he looked around to make sure no one was listening.
"I think we should to go to Corellia as soon as possible. I do not trust or like that Therkin Horm, he gives me the willies." She had confided in Ezra that Horm seemed to look at her in a way that made her feel subconscious about being around him alone. She had made Ezra promise never to leave her alone with the fat man.
"I know what you mean, there is something I do not know, slimy about him. Like he has an alternative motive about everything he does." Ezra replied as he felt Sabine move closer, gazing into his eyes.
"You do know if we go, we could get into trouble with Mon Mothma and the Rebel Command. I just want to make sure you are prepared for that." Sabine said as she looked around to make sure no one could see them, she put her arms around him. Pulling him closer, leaning her head to the side and slowly kissed him. As their lips met, she started to breath harder, liking the intimate contact. Ever since the rescue of her father, she had secretly been involved with Ezra. Not wanting anyone not even their friends to know. When she moved back slightly she smiled at him.
"It is your call, Sabine. You know I will go if you do." Ezra said as he held Sabine close, feeling her body against his. It felt good to hold her as he leaned in and kissed her again. As her tongue entered his mouth and began to twirl around he ran his hand down to her waist, pulling her closer. Then before anyone could stumble upon them they separated. She clasped his hand briefly and gave it a gentle squeeze affectionately.
"Ok, we go. I have an idea how we can get there." Sabine led him to the Ghost and she went to her room. Opening one of her drawers she moved her underwear aside, not caring if he saw it or not and pulled out a ring box. Two identical blue bands shone in the light. "Here put this on your left finger."
Ezra did as commanded and did not quite understood. As he held it up and wondered what she had in mind. Especially since they had not even been together long enough to even have slept together yet. "What do you have in mind?"
"We are going to Corellia for our honeymoon, after we eloped." Sabine said as she saw Ezra's eyes widened in shock.
"What?" Ezra stammered out, feeling light headed.
"It is a classic ploy. We are a young married couple that fled Mandalore to get married and now we are going to Corellia for a honeymoon and to find a place that we can live together." Sabine said as she put on the identical ring. "So, what do you think Husband?"
"I guess that it would work Wife, no one would suspect that we are there for another reason. Just a very young couple that is seeking a place to go." Ezra felt sheepish as he looked at the smiling Sabine. An hour later they were flying a Y-wing officially considered to be on patrol but instead went to a Transportation Hub on Bespin to catch a Transport to Corellia.
Feeling glum and frustrated Kanan walked around the Base on Yavin, after an hour he went to look for Ezra and Sabine, only finding Zeb and Chopper. The disagreeable Droid was working on the Ghost and Zeb was just lounging outside. Not being able to find the two teenagers, he began to worry. Seeing a Deck Officer, he approached the man. "Have you seen Ezra and Sabine?" He asked as the man looked down at his data pad, disturbing him from whatever he was doing.
"Yes Sir, Commander Bridger and Sabine Wren just left about an hour ago in Y-Wing four. They marked it as a patrol." The Deck Officer reported as he went back to work.
Kanan knew exactly what they did, turning back to the Ghost he walked right up to Chopper. "Ok, Chopper where did they go?" The Droid hummed and blurted out a bunch of tweets and other unrecognizable noises. Picking up a translator Data Pad he had the Droid repeat what it just said. Then had Zeb read it for him.
"It seems that Sabine and Ezra left to go on their honeymoon." Zeb bolted off the crate he was sitting on. "What do you mean you rust bucket, they left to go on their honeymoon? When did they get married?" The Droid again squeaked and chirped, throwing its mechanical arms in the air for emphasis. "They didn't, so why are they going on a honeymoon?"
"I know what they are doing, they are going to sneak onto Corellia to make sure Hera is alright. They are pretending to be a young married couple to fool the Imperials and Customs, into thinking that they are just going there to have a honeymoon away from their families. Smart." Kanan said with aggravation that they did not invite him to go along. Exhaling he sat.
"What are we going to do?" Zeb asked as he watched Kanan sit and lean back against the Ghost.
"Nothing, and do not tell anyone. It will come out soon enough when they do not return from the so-called patrol." Kanan stated as he sensed Zeb return to his comfortable position. "I just wish they invited me along. Of course, that would not work, what would I pose as a tag along uncle. No, they have the best chance of fooling the Imperials this way."
Waking just before dawn, Hera arose and got dressed. The contact had not yet come, of course whoever it was should have at least called by now. Sensing a problem, she went to the window and looked out at the landscape of Corellia. A local Bar was just closing and several of the customers were clumsily leaving. Wavering as they walked, obviously drunk or close enough to it to have problems walking in a straight line. A young human man saw her and blew her a kiss, smiling lopsidedly at her as he stumbled on. Rolling her eyes, she retreated into the room, not wanting to encourage the man to try to come up and proposition her. She did not need the complications or having Cor Sec come to investigate. Of course, she would not mind if that Corran Horn came to see her again. Then she cursed herself, she was still thinking about Horn even after sleeping most of the night. Slowly moving back to window, she noticed that the young man had moved on, probably going home she thought as she again watched out the window. Deciding that she would wait until tomorrow and if the contact did not show she would leave. She had no intention of searching the City for the Rebel Cell, that would be both dangerous and foolish. Especially for her.
Cor Sec Officer Corran Horn and Iella Wessin walked their patrol with confidence, only having to direct a couple of rowdy intoxicated men to go home. It was going to be a quiet night, and Corran was feeling happy about that. He hated having to arrest or shoot anyone. Another hour and they could return to their own quarters and get some sleep. They both shared a two-bedroom apartment two buildings down from the Haven.
"You know if it remains quiet maybe you could go visit that pretty Talia and see if she wants to join you for breakfast." Iella said as she kept pace with him.
"Again, with trying to set me up with someone. What is it with you?" Corran said with frustration.
"Hey, I have to get my jollies somehow, that and when you get lucky you are in a much better mood." Iella said as she smirked at him.
"Are you saying that I am happier when I am having sex with someone?" Corran asked as he saw the glint in his friend and partners eyes. "Maybe you should find someone and get laid then. It might put you in a better mood."
"I am more selective then you are." Iella replied, then pointed to a man skulking in the shadows around one side the Haven Hotel. "What do you think?" She whispered at Corran as he also saw the man.
"Let's move back into the alley and watch him. I definitely do not like the way he is staying in the shadows, seems he is waiting for someone." Corran said as they moved to watch the unknown man from the darkened alley. "Looks like he is up to no good."