RUHLSAR000 Here! And pumped for the Seige of Lothal. So excited I finally made a cover for Ner Vod, which may change in a few weeks when Talia is not major to the plot of the chapter. And yes, I know I accidently put her helmet on her right lekku instead of her left. Just ignore that. So yeah, I apologize for errors, delays, and long-winded author's note. I DO NOT OWN STAR WARS REBELS! ALL HAIL EMPERIOR MOUSE! I am running out of clever and slightly annoying ways of saying Disney.
Vivi is scared for her family. That had been her first concern. But, a second fear edges it way into her mind with each passing hour. What if she never got to meet her father? Earlier today or was it already yesterday, she wasn't even sure she wanted to meet him. Now, with that opportunity torn away from her, she realizes just how much she wanted it back. She still didn't know what she'd do if she ever did meet him, in fact she feels less sure now than she did before, but she just wants to see him. Tears stream down her face.
"Hey," Aeries voice broke through her haze. Vivi looks up at her fellow tribe members. "Wind 1 has broken me out of here five times. She'll break us out again." All of the tribe is scared. Scared of separation, scared of slavery, scared of being taken away to who knows where.
"Wind 1 always had at least Wind 2 and probably Wind Z as back up." Caleb says. Zhu buries his head into Collin's chest. Mzia and Yue, the twins who haven't been apart since their parents were taken over six years ago, cling to each other, knowing they would be ripped apart if no help arrived. Alex sighs looking into a wall, not wanting to permanently leave the planet his family died on. Rodi has been quite in the corner ever since he was shoved into a separate cell with Sophia cutting off visual, though they could still hear his crying.
Then Rodi spoke for the first time since coming here, "If Wind 1 can't get the Wind Tribe out, the Wind Tribe needs to get the Wind Tribe out."
"How? Not even Ezra could pick these locks. They're forty two centimeter constant shifting data locks." Caleb growls back.
"We need to try." Rodi says, before they hear Rodi squeal.
"Wind 5! You okay?" Aeries calls.
After moment the cell doors open, revealing Ezra, with a devious smirk, flanked by Sophia and Rodi. "Who was doubting my lock pick skills?"
Aeries's raises her eyebrows, "And here I thought I was glad to see you earlier." No one needs to be told to start getting out of the cell. "Zhu's ankle is twisted badly. Caleb has a pretty serious cut to his forehead, that's been treated in the loosest sense of the word. My wrist hurts... really badly. Other than that we're all a little banged up or aren't admitting it." Aeries admits. Judging by the looks she was getting, Aeries wrist was one that no one knew about.
"Mixed with Sophia's concussion, this is going to be fun." Ezra sighs, kneeling down for Collin to put Zhu on his back.
Though Caleb feels the need to ask "How did you pick those locks?"
Ezra smirks, "The idiot guard had the keys on him."
Sonya walks up to the head of this awful little department. He has just finished ordering his men around. "Commander." He turns around to face her, as the troopers leave.
"Inquisitor Yon. We are having a bit of a situation right now." He wipes the sweat from his brow. "Seems the Loth-Vermin have escaped." He turns her back on her.
"Don't turn your back on me, Officer. That is your third mistake." Sonya says, coldly. The man rolls his eyes looking over the data screen. They are alone. She use the Force to lock the door.
A burst of pain shoots through the man's chest. He glances down to see what he recognizes as one of the Twi'lek's arrows poking out of his chest. His legs begin to shake as his knees give out he falls to the floor. Sonya bends down, looking him strait in the eye. "Your second mistake was threatening a four year old in front of me. Your first was threatening my brother, multiple times. Oh, my brother? He's the boy you grabbed the night you lost that." She pointed to his eye patched covered eye. It took quite a bit of digging, but she had found everything this man has done in his carrier.
He died a few moments later. As much as Sonya wish to follow her master's example of not killing other Imperials if possible, she couldn't bring herself to think that he would be too upset with her. Then again, she might just be idealizing her very flawed master.
Talia rubs her the back of her head, wincing as she come to a tender spot. She and Orin were glancing around the yard. Talia didn't let Orin see her surprise when she noticed the sensors were down. But he knew something is up. Orin glances around the crates they are hiding behind. It seems that ten of the best trappers have appeared out of nowhere. They already had taken three of the trappers out. Since Orin is only able to stay awake through sheer will, Talia had to fight them alone. That had gone as well as they could hope. The three are unconscious at various spots in the Pin, but that last one managed to dislocate her left arm. Any other rescue attempt, Orin would have already popped it back into its socket. But all things considered that hadn't happened...
A hand covers Talia's mouth. Orin immediately goes on the defensive, before relaxing.
"It's me." Talia visibly relaxes at the sound of Ezra's voice. He remove his hand. She turns and smiles at her tribe, almost whole.
"There is a troop transport over there. The only one on base. We swipe that, they won't be able to follow for a while." Talia says.
Ezra nods, "So we sneak-"
"There they are." A trapper yells, sending out a stun bolt. They duck behind the crates
"Or we could barrel in without any weapons." Ezra sighs, exasperated.
Talia chuckles, "Where's the fun in doing it any other way? Move NOW!"
The groups scatter, Mzia taking Orin. Those who can move fast provide cover and distraction for those who can't move as fast. Blaster shots and darts are flying around the place. Aeries snags a blaster from a trapper before stunning him. She starts blasting, single handedly putting the trappers on the defensive with a blaster that is supposed to be wielded with two hands. The blaster causes her wrist throbbing badly, but allows them to make slow progression to the transport.
It was not easy. There are more and more trappers coming, seemingly endless, even if the whole trapper unit of Lothal consist of seventy-two trappers and twelve officers. "Where do they keep coming from?" Zhu groans from Ezra's back.
Sophia shakes her head, trying to clear it. She picks up a blaster, insanely glad that providing cover doesn't require being a good enough shout to hit the enemy. "Personally, I think they clone them." With her starting to see double, her hitting anything will be luck. "I'd like to believe there aren't this many messed up people in the galaxy."
"And the Empire are more than willing to use clones as Ezra's dad can attest. Ain't that right, Kamino?" Talia jokes, using the nickname for Ezra she uses when she want to riley him up. They are all joking, though. The trappers have been on Lothal for nine years, according to those who have been takens longer than that. Too short for any cloning, but it is a nice idea. Talia grabs a discarded blaster and starts shooting with one arm.
"My dad was not a clonetrooper." Ezra huffs, not riled up half as much as normal. There isn't time to be, though he does get a jab in. "How is your shoot worse than the girl with a concussion causing her to not see straight." To Talia's credit, the string of swear words she lets out is certainly creative as it is colorful. Suddenly, Talia feels something brush against her skin, as the sound of wind rushing through a tube surrounds her. She glances around quickly listening and feeling until she sees what message the Wind is passing to her. She sees barrels of something on the side. She takes a moment to aim.
She breathes, as Ezra shoots a trooper about to shoot her. "Com'n, Wind give me a little help." She shoots the target, barely. But it is enough. The barrels contained some sort of highly explosive fuel, no doubt for the ships taking takens off world. It erupts into a fire ball, engulfing a huge portion of the landing platform and some of the building, becoming more than enough of a distraction for the Tribe to get to the transport. Ezra shoots Alex a look.
Alex rushes to the driver seat before everyone is on. He types into the controls, "Uh... It's not turning on."
Sophia grabs him and shoves him to the side. "Move." She rips open a panel. After a few minutes of her head being in the wires, the transport roars to life.
Alex shouts, "Transport on." He type a few more thing. "We're ready."
Sophia pulls her head out, "Trackers deactivated."
"Wind 3 come on!" Ezra orders. Aeries, Talia and Vivi are still outside. Aeries is good five feet away, though. She takes a few steps towards the transport.
"Wind 3!" Vivi screams, seeing a trapper come from who knows where. He fires stun blast. Vivi is between them before he finishes pulling the trigger.
Seeing all of this, Aeries eyes go wide. Tiny stones float around her. She blasts the trapper, grabs Vivi and flings her into the transport with more strength than any nine year old should have, then hauls herself into the transport. The transport blasts through the fences and they are gone. It is then that the pain in her wrist, hits Aeries full on, she falls to floor trying not to cry. "Aw, aw, aw" She goes with each breath.
As concerned as Ezra is he is for Aeries more concerned about them being followed. He checks out the rear window. Sonya is standing in the middle of the hole they tore open, a slight smirk barely present, leaving Ezra with the feeling he may have made a big mistake.
Sonya couldn't help but smirk. And she'd be lying if she said she didn't know why. Whether she would use that against her brother in the future or not, she did not know. But it still warmed her a bit.
A trapper runs up to her, "We will pursue as soon as-"
"That won't be necessary." Sonya cuts him off, not taring her eyes from the shrinking transport.
"Ma'am?" He asks, confused.
"I have what I need. The takens are not working directly with the Rebels, any connection was long in the past. Should we pursue these takens anymore, we may push them to the Rebellion" Sonya says, her voice even, almost like a computer. "Moreover, during their escape, at least twenty-eight of the forty-one on base trappers were injured and we are still waiting on the exact numbers. It seems to me, that any attempt to pursue them would be folly and just lead to possible exposure to the public. Isn't that the last thing higher ups want?"
"Officer Hunge will not like it." The trapper says. As he says the name, Sonya remembers it as the name of the sick man she killed.
Her smirk deepens, "If he has a problem with it, he can take it directly to me." She turns to face the trooper, "Find him and tell him that for me."
"Yes, Ma'am." The man salutes, before rushing off.
"You there," She shouts to a standing trooper. He salutes. "See to it that every able man is doing first aid on the more severally injured. This husk of a base doesn't have enough medical personnel."
"Yes, Ma'am." The man salutes. Sonya returns to shouting out orders.
Ezra is hardly surprised that the injuries of the Wind Tribe pushed the Ghost medical abilities to the edge. The fact that they were helping made Ezra exceedingly grateful. Though when he attempted to thank them, Hera shrugs it off saying, "This is why we are rebels." Ezra couldn't help but smile at that.
Ezra, Talia and Orin sit a little ways away from everyone in the meadow near the Great Sea that they had settled in because the Ghost is too small to treat everyone. "Seriously, the one thing you didn't need was detox." Talia shake her head before wincing. Her gaze doesn't leave the rest of the tribe though. Sabine is currently wrapping Aeries wrist.
"How is that even possible?" Ezra asks, watch Hera check Vivi. The blast was set on stun but Vivi is so young. It is rather worrying, but other than a limp that she should recover from, she seems fine. Well as fine as a taken can be. Talia shrugs, not quite sure how it is either.
Orin sighs, "Your sister's a real piece of work." Orin stretches.
"Sister? Sonya was there?" Talia asks, turning between Ezra and Orin.
"Yes, she was..." Ezra pauses before sighing. "She... I wouldn't have found the other if it hadn't been for her." Both Orin and Talia look at him expectantly. Ezra sighs "When I came to a fork in the hall. She stopped me... told me the map was wrong... that as soon as Talia turned off the power the best trappers went to where the prison was marked and that it was a trap. I... I trusted her... and she didn't let me down."
Talia is quiet for a moment, looking at the blue sky, "I never turned off the power. Or the sensor"
"What?!" Both Ezra and Orin yell. Ezra stands from the rock they are sitting on and faces her.
"I was going to, but something closed around my throat. When I came to, the power was already cut off and I was outside the torture chamber with a bad headache. Saw it was in use, and knew I had to get whoever it was out. Had no clue it was Orin." Talia sighs. "And one of my arrows is missing." She huffs out.
"Sunny did stop Vivi from being tortured..." Orin admits, after a moment.
"So, is your sister a hero or a villain?" Talia shakes her head.
"A villain." Ezra says sighing, "But one who may be redeemed." Ezra smiles.
Vizago paces, his worry increasing each hour that passed. The twi'lek, Talia, is late for their meeting. If she decided against it, would she even tell him? Still, he waits. Finally, the Ghost shows up. Vizago stops pacing. The ramp goes down, Talia comes down several small bandages on her face and her left arm is a sling.
"I apologize for being late, but the entire tribe want to be here and getting thirteen kids ready to move always takes forever." Talia say, the last part sounds very exasperated.
"So..." Vizago prompts.
"So, Viviana wants to meet you. It is she and only she who will decide what happens next after spending some time with you. Word of advice, let her come to you. Don't run up to her and hug her." Talia nods, turning to the ship. "Vivi! You ready?"
Vivi, hidden from site, shakes her head. No, she isn't. She'll never be but she has to go. She walks down the ramp, a few bandages covering her face, seeing the man who is her father for the first time. She steels her courage and goes up to him stopping on the other side of Talia. Talia tilts her head, surprised, "Vivi?"
"I'm Vivi Vizago of the Wind Tribe." Vivi starts. "I am small and young, but by no means weak. I'm not some daddy's girl or little princess. I heard female devarorian are supposed to be gentle. I'm not. I can clean a dead tooka for dinner. I can out shoot most adults and like stories involving a lot of action and fighting. I like running around and getting covered in mud. I am a taken, that means people known as trappers will come after me and try to kidnap me. It means I can't go to a doctor when I get sick. It means I will wake up at night screaming from nightmares. If you aren't up for any of that, then you can leave right now."
Vizago is momentarily stunned by the boldness of his daughter. He notes the use of a nickname. He smiles, kneeling down, "I think I can manage."
Not quite the answer Vivi wanted to hear but close enough. "So... you're an arms dealer? Got any stories to tell?" Vizago nods. They sit there talking, for hours and hours.
They barely notice the entire tribe sitting on the ramp listening in. As the sun sets, no one is surprised by Vivi's decision.
Talia looks Vizago in the eye, again, leaving him wondering how an injured hundred pound girl can be so intimidating. "I am trusting you with Vivi. DO NOT make me regret that trust. If you do, you will wake up blind and with your tongue cut out, among other things missing."
"I have no intention of betraying that trust or doubt you would go through with that threat." Vizago holds up his right hand.
"You do anything, we will find out about it." Talia says. Ezra groans internally. He just got recruited to play secret social worker. Talia kneels down to Vivi, her entire demeanor changes, becoming sweet and loving. "Hey, no matter how far apart we are, if you miss use just close your eyes and let the wind brush your face. Know that we feel the same wind on our own...
"No matter where you are, you'll alway be a member of the Wind Tribe. You'll always have a home with us. It just not your only home now." Talia smiles, for no matter how much they grieve over a member leaving them, it is a happy event. "Nothing is forever. Not our time together. Not our time apart. We will meet again. Let the Wind bring you home." Vivi being with the Tribe for so long had no issue telling which wind Talia was talking about.
Vivi bites her lip, "May I have a hug?"
Talia smiles, "Always."
Each member comes up to her, hugging her when asked. She asks every time. By the time Aeries gets up, Vivi is bawling.
Aeries smiles, sadly, "Hey, no tears. We can't waste water on that." Aeries lifts something up and holds it out to her, carefully with her wrist. Vivi's eyes widen at the site of Miranda. "You don't want to forget her."
"But... You only let me borrow it..." Vivi feels a new wave of tears.
"I think, she'd miss you. Besides you're going on a new adventure and when has she ever turned down adventure." Aeries smiles.
"Never." Vivi takes the doll and hugs it tight. Everything becomes real at that moment, she is leaving. But the little doll makes it just a little less scary.
"May I have a hug?" Aeries asks. Vivi barrels into her. Aeries lets out a sad chuckle before whisper into her ear in Mando'a. "Miranda has a com from Talia. If anything happens call us. Ezra will also check in, too." She shifts a pistol size blaster into Vivi's hands, keeping it hidden. "My gift, keep it with you." She leans back. Talia, being the only one who spotted the pistol, is shaking her head, mouthing 'Good idea'. Aeries flashes her a subtle thumbs up. "Understand?" Aeries asks in basic. Vivi nods, putting the doll in her bag while hiding the pistol in her boot so no one saw. The rest of the tribe realized Aeries has given her something else but didn't know what. Vivi would never put Miranda in her bag without reason.
Vivi smiles to her tribe before shouting with as big a smile as she could muster, "See you." She runs and takes her dad's hand. The smile on his face causes her to never doubt her decision.
Time for everyone's favorite part of the chapter, where I thank people and beg for more reviews. Thank you Ichichi05 and Paint the Wolf for reviewing. Thank you eiassassins for favoriting Ner Vod. And thank you GriffinMan for following Ner Vod.
Please review. There is a very simple equation, (RFaFo+V)/V=H or (Reviews X Favorites X Following + Number of Views) / Number of Views= Happiness of the Author. So, increasing the amount of reviews increases the happiness of the author.