Star Wars Rebels: May the Force be with You
Me: Time for the shoutout! Thank you AnaMinesAtNight for following and favoriting me and my story. Thanks to StarWarsRebelsCrazy9090 for following and favoriting my story. Thank you IloveIt for the great comment and the help on my Star Wars vocab. (I'd also thank a certain guest for that vocab if they had a screen name) Thanks to Anova00for the comment, and I will try to make the chapters longer. My story river is starting to overflow, but so is schoolwork. Thanks to erzaSWrebels, sabineandezraforever, and Friendlylittlespark8 for the comments and staying with the story. So Ezra, eight shoutouts twice in a row if you count guest "no name". How does that feel?
Ezra: Good, but I'm hoping to get 9 in the next chapter. This is still pretty good. We're almost there.
Me: Yep. Okay. Since you're in a good mood, I have something to tell you.
Ezra: What is it?
Me: You might not like this, but...
Ezra: What?
Me:(breathing out) I'm scrapping this story.
Ezra: NOOOOOOOOOOOO! You can't! There has to be some kind of law against this! You can't just quit! Doesn't this website have a rule about- (I burst into laughter) You're kidding aren't you?
Me: Yep! You should have seen the look on your face! It was hilari- (Ezra activates light saber) -ous. (I slowly pull out light saber and activate it) Calm down. It was just a joke. What I actually have to tell you is much less extreme. (both retract light saber) I'm just going to be posting less frequently. As I mentioned before, I'm swamped with homework.
Ezra: What kind of excuse is that!?
Me: Well, you can expect this same excuse in May. Just because you don't have to do homework between chapters doesn't mean I don't have to. I have 5 projects and who knows how many tests over the next few weeks!
Ezra: (puts hands up in defense) Okay. Okay. At least get the story rolling so you can get back to work.
Me: Thank you. Disclaimer?
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Star Wars anything. Let's get this started.
Chapter 4: TIE Fighter Attack
Kyra P.O.V.
Ezra and I were left all alone, so I decided to catch up on a few things. Hey, I haven't seen him in more than 4 years! I think I deserve this.
"I see you have a new family," I said. He nodded. "Can I assume you guys are rebels?" Ezra eyed me suspiciously at this remark. Is something wrong with asking about family these days? (For a former Imperial kid, sometimes she is just clueless)
"You're not trying to get information out of us to report back to the Empire, are you?" Ezra asked. Sheesh. If that's what this is about then I'm offended. Who would risk capture by the Empire by running away just to get information from the rebels to send back to the Empire? It honestly makes no sense. (Remember Gall Trayvis? Pretend the rebels already know about him. Again…clueless)
"You think I would run away from the Empire just to get information from a group of rebels that I didn't know even existed? Harsh, Ezra. I thought I knew you better than that."
"I thought I knew you better before I found out you ran back to the Empire right after my birthday. Now that, my friend, is harsh," Ezra said almost sarcastically. I opened my mouth to say something in response, but Ezra did have a point. What I did to him wasn't fair. He was a kid all alone with no friends and no family. He had lost everything, and I didn't help any by just showing up and leaving.
I was about to apologize for what I had done all those years ago when the door to the cockpit opened and Hera walked out.
"Where is that droid?" Hera asked herself. Then, she turned to Ezra and me. "Have you guys seen Chopper lately? He needs to fix the signature modulator again." Ezra and I shared a look. All we knew was that Chopper was still on the ship. The only question is where. Ezra decided to answer Hera.
"He sort of rolled off after I introduced Kyra. At least he's still on the Ghost." Hera gave an exasperated sigh and cradled her head in her right hand.
"He is never in the right place at the right time these days," she muttered. Then she placed her hand by her side and asked, "Could you guys find him and tell him what to do? I need to keep an eye out for TIE fighters." Me looking for Chopper was not a good idea. If he left the room just because I walked towards him, he definitely won't listen to me. Again, Ezra took the lead and answered.
"That might not be a good idea. Last time he saw Kyra, he was pretty upset, and he probably won't be too happy to see me right now considering I brought her here. Him listening to us has about a 1 in a million chance of working." Hera thought for a moment and came up with a solution.
"This might be a little much to handle, but maybe you guys could keep a lookout in the cockpit while I look for Chopper. All you have to do is keep your eyes peeled because I set up the ship's autopilot. (Hera letting someone besides Kanan pilot!? Can you say trusting or what?) Are you up to it?" Hera said.
Ezra and I answered at the same time, but our responses were completely different. He said yes and I said no. As I pointed out earlier, I can fly a TIE fighter and work a speeder while evading the most precise of blaster shots. The key words are TIE fighter. Whatever kind of spacecraft this is, if there's danger, trust me. This ship is going down.
With my luck, I'd have to take the ship off autopilot and pilot it myself. I can just see it now. Literally. TIE fighters showing up, asking Ezra for help, panic, then turning off autopilot. The scene made me feel dizzy, and none of it had even happened yet.
Hera and Ezra shared a look of confusion and turned to face me. It could have bean because of my answer, or it could have been that I was swaying from side to side trying to shake my head from the thought of having to pilot.
"Is something wrong?" Hera asked in a soothing tone. "You know you wouldn't have to fly it, right?"
"I know that, but if a TIE fighter starts shooting at us, and you're not back in time, I don't want to be responsible for having to avoid any shots."
"Don't worry. I'll only be gone for a few minutes, and Ezra will be by your side the whole time. Besides, haven't you flown a TIE fighter before?" (How did she know? Lucky guess?) I nodded. She continued. "See? You already have experience. Trust your skills. You'll do fine, okay?" She placed her hand on my shoulder. I looked up at her and said, "Okay, I'll do it." She smiled and started walking away. As Ezra and I started walking towards the cockpit, I heard Hera's voice say, "Don't worry. Just trust your instincts." Only problem? That's exactly what I'm afraid of.
Ezra's P.O.V.
As Kyra and I walked into the cockpit, I saw a look of uncertainty and nervousness plagued her face. To hopefully ease her emotional stress, I tried to make a joke.
"What's the matter? You're not scared of ghosts are ya?" I don't think it worked.
"Haha, very funny, Ezra. This is serious. With the ship's signature modulator not in working order, we're bound to be caught. The only question is when." Another thing Kyra has always been was a worrywart. What are the chances that a TIE fighter would come when the original pilot is off duty? (No, Ezra. Don't say it. Knock on wood. KNOCK ON WOOD!)
"Come on, Kyra," I countered. "What are the chances that the TIE fighters are going to show up just because Hera's not piloting? Like a billion to 1, right?" (Dang it!) Of course, right after I said that, not one, but three TIE fighters surrounded the Ghost. Oh this was not good. Kyra's eyes widened as she looked out. Then, she turned to me.
"Has anyone EVER told you about Murphy's Law?" (yep. still exists)
"That's just superstition!"
"Tell that to them!" She pointed at the TIE fighters that were getting closer by the second. She thought for a split second and jumped into Hera's pilot seat. "Where's the autopilot?" Wait...is she going to do what I think she's going to do?
"Are you mad!?" I shouted. "You said it yourself that you didn't know how to fly this, and you didn't want to have to pilot." She turned back to face me once more.
"I don't see you coming up with any good ideas, smart guy! If you have some, please, be my guest!" Whoa. Okay, note to self: never put Kyra under stress...EVER! I did come up with part of a plan, though. I pointed at a square white button next to the steering mechanism.
"Fine. Here's the autopilot. I'll go get Hera while you try to steer." After saying this, I ran out of the cockpit as fast as I could to try and find Hera. Instead, I ran smack into Zeb.
"Watch it! What's the rush, kid?" Zeb asked. "Tired of the buckethead already?" He smirked and slapped me on the back.
"Not at all. She's about to give us some time while I find Hera," I answered. I was about to take off again when Zeb grabbed my arm and looked me square in the face.
"Time for what?"
"We're being attacked by TIE fighters!"
"What!? Where's Hera?"
"I don't know. I'm looking for her. She went to find Chopper to tell him to fix the signature modulator." Zeb angrily muttered Chopper's name under his breath saying, "That droid is going to get the circuits beat out of him." Then he realized something.
"If you're looking for Hera...and I just saw Kanan...whose piloting!?"
"Kyra." He blinked, and then started yelling at the top of his lungs, "You and Hera trusted a buckethead with the GHOST!?" I nodded and told him to man one of the blasters to give me some time to find Hera. As I ran off, I heard Zeb saying, "With the Empire itself piloting this ship, we're going down in flames."
Kyra's P.O.V. (again. Sorry, trying to get this out of the way)
I was able to here Zeb panicking from the other side of the door. Didn't he understand his panicking only made things worse? Panic. I remembered the scene that played out in my head right before Ezra and I entered the cockpit. It wasn't my panicking; it was Zeb's. I asked Ezra for help, but it wasn't in the way I had thought it would be. Something about this was a little fishy, but I had bigger problems to worry about.
"Here goes nothing," I said as I disabled the autopilot. I was just in time because a shot rang out from the first TIE fighter. I was able to swerve out of range as the others started shooting. Another shot rang out, but this time, it came from the top of the Ghost. It was able to take out one of the TIE fighters, but the other two were persistent. When Hera told me to trust my skills, she was right. I was flying circles around the TIE fighters, and none of the blasts got even close to the Ghost. I started actually shooting back and landed a shot right to the engine.
Whoever was piloting the third TIE fighter must have been even more experienced than the others. Whoever they were, they avoided every single shot, and they had almost blasted the Ghost when the doors to the cockpit suddenly opened. I was so startled that I accidentally shot the side of the TIE fighter. It was still in commission, but it wouldn't fly straight. Hera and Ezra swiftly walked toward me.
"Chopper fixed the signature modulator," Hera said while reaching across the control panel. "I'm sending us into hyperspace. Hold on." She pressed two white buttons and before I knew it, the TIE fighters were gone. I got out of the piloting seat so Hera could reclaim her rightful place as the pilot. Then Kanan walked into the cockpit.
"What just happened, and why didn't anyone tell me?" Kanan asked. Hera gestured to Ezra and me.
"These two were keeping watch while I looked for Chopper. TIE fighters showed up, so while Ezra went searching for me, Kyra and Zeb held them off." So, that's where those other shots came from. Hera started talking again, but it was directed at me. "I told you that all you had to do was trust your skill."
"Thanks." Then, I remembered the crates I had brought on the Ghost. "By the way, where are we going to drop off the crates of blasters?" Kanan decided to answer.
"They'll be dropped off with Vizago in Tarkintown. Hopefully, we'll be there soon. Sit tight." At this, Ezra and I exited the cockpit, and returned to the loading doc. When we did, I asked Ezra a few questions.
"Okay, so what is Tarkintown, and who is Vizago?" He seemed a little confused, but answered nonetheless.
"Tarkintown is like a refugee camp for people whose lives were uprooted by Governor Tarkin, and Vizago…once you meet him, you'll know. Why don't you know about Tarkintown? I mean, you were a cadet." (apparently, cluelessness runs in the friendship) I guess it would have been safe to say that Ezra forgot about the brainwashing.
"The Empire wouldn't exactly tell its future soldiers about all of their faults. Tarkintown was always described as a comfortable prison for anyone who spoke out against the Empire. A place for second chances, but we both know that's a lie." My words made me wonder what else the Empire had lied about.
"Whatever you saw was just a dream. You are not seeing anything out of the ordinary. If you were, we would tell you, for we are your friends, your family." That night had been stuffed in the back of my mind, but today's events had brought it to the surface. I wasn't really paying attention to what I said next.
"Ezra, have you ever seen the future before?"
Me: (lying back in chair) Done. Finally done. So. Much. Work.
Ezra: (walking in) Nice job, but it took forever to write.
Me: (sitting up) I know, but I wanted to get a lot of things out of the way so we can get to the good stuff. Since writing will be slowing a bit, I want to be able to start with where the story picks up.
Ezra: (thinking) Okay. I guess that makes sense. Come up with your next chapter quickly though. I don't like waiting for the good stuff. Anyways, after that scare you gave me earlier, you own me.
Me: Okay, okay. See you guys soon.