Chapter two
Sabine and Zeb were in trouble. The stormtrooper patrol had managed to call for reinforcements and now they were facing a squad that outnumbered them one to six.
Zeb blasted a stormtrooper with his bo-rifle, then picked up another crate and hurled it at some troopers, knocking them over like angry bowling pins.
Sabine jumped behind some crates so she would be protected from enemy fire and picked the stormtroopers off one by one. In a few seconds, she had killed four and wounded another.
In the space of about thirty seconds, the two spectres had diminished the patrol of twelve stormtroopers down to three. Then, things started to go wrong.
"They're rebels!" one of the remaining stormtroopers screamed before Zeb could blast him. "Rebels!" So just as Sabine finished off the patrol, they were ambushed by another squad of stormtroopers... and an AT-ST.
Ezra was meditating. After he had finished his Jogan fruit, Chopper had practically dragged him into his room and started beeping rapid-fire binary insults. Finally, the droid got bored and left—after about ten minutes. That annoying trash can had no idea how distracting he could be, but that was probably a good thing in the long run. Now that he was alone, Ezra could sense Kanan and Hera in the cantina. He could feel his master's impatience as they waited for Hera's father to arrive.
He reached out with the Force. He could sense Kanan's familiar Force signature, as well as Hera's bright one. He could even sense Cham, whose Force signature was similar to Hera's, although it was muted and somewhat less vivacious. Ezra frowned. Something was wrong. A cloud of darkness hung over Hera's father. He was in danger...there was a Zabrak with a Force signature full of the Dark Side, and he was trailing Cham. Ezra's heart beat faster. This mysterious figure would follow Cham right to Hera and Kanan! They would be unprepared for an attack by a Force wielder. He was about to contact Kanan through the Force when he sensed another glimpse of danger. Sabine and Zeb! He quickly turned his thoughts their way.
Sabine and Zeb were surrounded by a patrol of stormtroopers backed by an AT-ST walker. Ezra could tell from Zeb's Force signature and the Mandalorian's colorful one that they were blasting troopers left and right, but they were outnumbered and forced to hide behind cover. What had gone wrong?
Ezra opened his eyes, ready to go help his friends, but he still saw them in battle around him. Slowly, the chaos shifted until he was looking at a tranquil field in the plains of Ryloth. Ezra realized he was having a vision. Just then, he felt an overwhelming surge of danger. The Dark Side was strong. His vision darkened until everything was black. He swayed on his feet. Just when he thought he was going to pass out from the overwhelming fear and hatred radiating around him, there was a soft light glowing beside him. Dim at first, but then it grew brighter and brighter until it lit up the scenery around him. He was still in the peaceful rock grassland. He couldn't see the person within the glow, but whoever it was had a strong powerful Force signature. It flickered uncertainly at times, but it was bright, glowing with curiosity and excitement. This person was strong with the Force.
Slowly, the vision faded, and Ezra found himself back in the cabin he shared with Zeb. Chopper rolled into the room, beeping urgently.
"Chopper!" exclaimed Ezra. "The others! They're in danger! We have to save them!" He grabbed his lightsaber and started for the door. The droid stood in his way. "Come on, Chop! Don't you care?"
Chopper flailed his arms. "Wap da wap!" he beeped. "Wap da wap!"
Ezra frowned. "A message?"
"Wrr bop wa wap," replied the droid.
"Yeah, I don't care if Hera commed you and said to stay with the ship no matter what," growled Ezra. "Our friends are in danger; we can't just abandon them!" But even as he said this, logic told him that if the Empire was closing in on his friends, they would soon be closing in on the ship. If they discovered it while he was gone, they would be without a way off the planet—and Hera would skin him alive. Even worse, she would let Zeb trap him in the ventilation shafts and give Sabine permission to paint his hair and his bunk—if they even got the ship back.
Ezra sighed. His friends were out there somewhere, their lives in danger. Yet the only thing to do—the only right thing to do—was to sit here, safely out of harm's way. "Fine, Chop. We'll stay here, but it doesn't mean I have to like it."
Kanan and Hera were waiting in the cantina, and Kanan was getting bored.
"When is he gonna get here?" asked Kanan for the eleventy-millionth time.
"For goodness sakes, Kanan!" cried Hera, exasperated. "You sound like a little kid! Aren't Jedi supposed to always be patient?"
"No!" said Kanan. "Well, actually, yes. But right now, I'm an impatient Jedi. You can get over it."
"Is that the way you talk to your captain?" teased Hera.
"Sorry, ma'am," said Kanan. He closed his eyes and tried to be patient. Perhaps the fact that he was only trying was the reason he didn't sense the danger of the dark side assassin following Hera's father.
The fight with the Imperials was going badly. Sabine and Zeb had been outnumbered and forced to retreat down an alley and hide behind some crates for cover.
"There's too many of them!" yelled Zeb. "Do you have any miracles on you?"
"Yeah, just a few, answered the explosives expert as she picked off another stormtrooper, only for two others to step in his place. "I was planning on saving the in case we got in a really bad situation."
"Well," said Zeb, flinching as the AT-ST walker pounded the crates they were behind, "I think this counts as 'a really bad situation'!"
"'kay, here goes!" said Sabine as she jumped up and threw a bomb across the alley at a large cluster of troopers. She pressed the detonator. BOOM! The explosion killed about half the group, reducing their numbers by about ten troopers. It didn't make much of a difference, however, as the Empire had plenty of others that came rushing up and soon there were more troopers than ever.
"You know what, I think this exceeds the title of 'a really bad situation'!" said Zeb. "Spectre Four to Ghost! Spectre Four to Ghost!" he yelled into his comlink. "Argh, they're jamming us!"
"This is why I hate jam on my toast! It reminds me of these situations!" said Sabine.
"Yeah, peanut butter is so much better than jam," agreed one of the stormtroopers as he shot at Zeb's head, once again missing by about three yards.
Zeb laughed and switched his weapon from bo-rifle to bo-staff and smacked the troopers upside the head. He proceeded to push forward and make a gap. Sabine stayed behind the crates, throwing the occasional bomb and picking off stormtroopers left and right.
"You rebel scum!" yelled a stormtrooper. Sabine shot him in the head.
Just then the AT-ST shot another blast at the crates where Sabine was taking cover. They finally gave way and collapsed on top of her.
"Zeb!" she cried, pinned down by the crates. She threw her last bomb and shot her blasters frantically. "I'm being overrun!"
"Sorry Spectre Five, I can't get to you now," yelled Zeb. He had charged forward at the mass of stormtroopers, which had worked well at first, but then the stormtroopers closed in behind him. He was surrounded.
Seeing that Sabine was trapped underneath the crated, the stormtroopers surged towards her. Although she managed to shoot down about half of them, the others kept coming. "I have a bad feeling about this."
Suddenly, the stormtroopers began to fall, cut down by an unseen attacker. "It's those rogues again!" shouted one of the troopers as he fell. The AT-ST toppled over and crushed a mass of stormtroopers. Zeb saw a flash of green as the person took down the stormtroopers behind him. With the troopers gone off his back, Zeb was able to take care of those in front of him.
"A little help here?" cried Sabine, still stuck under the crates. A large brown shape leapt into the air and bowled into Sabine, sending the crates flying.
"What—AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" screamed the Mandalorian in a very un-Mando-like manner. There was an enormous, brown, shaggy dog standing above her.
"RUGH!" barked the dog. Sabine flinched. "Don't eat me...please?"
"RUGH!" the dog barked again, and took off running down the street after a small figure in a dark green cloak. The two leapt onto the roof of a building and were gone.
"Well, that was interesting," remarked Zeb. Sabine climbed shakily out of the crate debris.
"Interesting yourself, you're not the one who got sat on by a giant hairy carpet," grumbled Sabine.
"First of all, it didn't sit on you, it stood over you," said Zeb as they walked down the streets. "Second of all, it wasn't a carpet; it was a dog."
"Yeah, whatever," said Sabine. "I'm still not going to be able to hear anything after that thing bellowed in my ears."
"You can hear me," said Zeb. "And it didn't bellow, it barked."
"I don't care, Zeb!"
"You should be more grateful. Whoever that was and however large and loud their dog was, they certainly saved us back there." They looked up at the hidden tunnel entrance.
"C'mon, the fuel should be just inside."
Author's note:
I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please comment! I will try- wait, do or do not there is no try- to update again this week, but maybe not because softball season is in full swing and we have standardized testing this week (I have a bad feeling about this).
This chapter was written in memory of my dog, Boomer, whose picture is now my profile picture. Today would have been his twelfth birthday. I miss you Boomer!
By the way, people happy late Resurrection Day and May the Force Be with you!
Thank you for your reviews, I can always use the feedback considering that the only person who reads over it for me is my little sister. I could use some expert opinions.
RebelStarbirdPadawan