The TIE fighters grew closer as the ramp sealed shut. It was hard to tell how many were chasing them this time. The supply run may have been successful, but they blew their low profile. The crew may be able to take on the Empire with the fleet backing up them up, but that did not make being short one member hurt any less. The last squadron that tailed them almost literally turned the ship into a ghost escaping the same base eight weeks ago.
Hera's voice came over the intercom system. "Zeb, Sabine, man the nose guns!"
"Got it!" Zeb climbed up the ladder followed by Sabine.
With the Ghost in the air, Kanan headed to the cockpit where Hera was gunning the engine. Like the rest of the crew, she understood what the risks were if they decided to take on this mission. There were nights when he found her running diagnostics after everyone went to bed or sitting in the pilot's seat for hours in silence, crying. When Ezra disappeared, he left a large gap that could not be filled.
"Are the supplies alright?" She asked as he sat in the co-pilot's seat.
"They are," Kanan reassured her.
"Good because I don't think we'll be able to stay on this planet for long."
"Well, infiltrating the base was not easy."
Hera tilted the ship to the right, avoiding in-coming TIES. Their only hope was to lose them somehow, but that seemed unlikely seeing they were on a desert planet. The Phantom might be small enough to fly through the narrow canyons here; the Ghost, however, was too big to take cover. Their Tatoonie contact them told it was not going to be easy to keep an low profile considering this was a safe haven for criminals.
"You got that right," the twi'lek agreed. "This has to be the third time we had this many TIE fighters on our tails!"
She shot one down that was trying to cut them off and turned left. The haul of the ship jolted as Chopper appeared at the door.
"Chopper, damage report!" the pilot snapped.
He waved his mechanical arms wildly, whirring.
"Well, go check the engines!"
The stubborn droid grumbled something, which made Kanan glare at the robot. "Chopper!"
The pilot spoke into comm. "Spectres Five and Four, are you alright?"
"How do you think we are doing?" Sabine dryly remarked.
The jedi returned his attention back to the situation when Chopper left the cockpit. He steadied himself in his seat as another violent jolt shook the Ghost. A plan was forming in his mind, but would this work? The last time they tried to this tactic it nearly backfired on them. Then, the mission objective was to smuggle an informant with information about the Empire's next move from Lothal to a moon called Iego.
"Hera, you think you can circle back east and try to lose them?" Kanan looked over at her.
"I might," the pilot nodded. "What do you have in mind?"
"We passed a few cliffs back there," he explained. "If we can turn around, maybe we can escape without further damage."
"Remember what almost happened the last time we tried that?" Sabine reminded him.
"She has a point, Love," Hera argeed. "If we try that again, I don't think the Ghost will be able to take much more of this."
Kanan took a deep breath. "Well, does anyone else have an ideas?"
"Yes," answered Zeb. "We shoot 'em down!"
"Out of the question!" He insisted. The longer they kept this up, the more likely it would call for another supply run for fuel after crashing. That decided Hera's decision as they both heard a light and heavy footsteps running towards the cockpit.
"Hold on!" Hera leaned forward over the controls to pick up speed. The ship shuddered under the strain, making her stomach lurch. Was it becoming too much for the Ghost already? One shot and they were done for!
Both of the TIES scattered in separate directions. Their escape route was wide open. The pilot scanned the cliff's shadows for openings big enough for the ship, shaking her head. Where were they going to land around here?
"I don't see anywhere where big enough to land the ship!" she told them.
"How about over there?" Kanan pointed out an arched passage way to their right.
"That'll work!" Hera said. "I'll try to set it down gently, but prepare for a crash landing."
The crew all held their breathes as the Ghost roughly landed. The sound of the two aircraft passing overhead faded to their relief, leaving an tense silence. They were lucky Kanan's plan worked out this time.
Kanan spoke up after they all sighed in relief. "That's was close. Is everyone alright?"
I hope you enjoyed reading chapter two. What will happen to the crew now?
Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars Rebels.