Chapter 9: The Saviors

Rex jumped through the opening to the tunnel hesitantly, the dark, ominous environment bitterly reminding him of the tunnels on Geonosis during the Clone War and how easy it had been for the bugs to ambush them repeatedly. He supposed this wasn't too different from that experience; after all, they were going down to fight off another type of bug. This one just wore the seemingly harmless faces of Humans.

As his boots hit the hard ground below, he took a flashlight out of his pocket and flicked it on, illuminating the otherwise dark recesses of the earthy tunnel system. He shone his light down the path as he waited for the others to jump down to join him. The tunnel seemed to go on forever, but he knew that wasn't true. All things had to meet their ends eventually, after all.

Sabine jumped down into the tunnel behind Ezra, signaling that it was time to focus on the mission at hand. Alena took out her own flashlight and lit it. "All right, this should be enough light to get us to see where we're going," she said, shining it down the path like Rex had a few moments before. "Since I know these tunnels better, I'll lead, and the rest of you can follow. Let's go." Alena ended her words with a nod down the tunnel and set off, the rest following her.

Rex walked beside Alena as they continued down the passageway. He couldn't help but study her from his position. After all, she had practically been raised by Rebecca; she was bound to have picked up some of her characteristics. Unfortunately, since she was just walking while holding a flashlight, he didn't see a whole lot of Alena's characteristics. But he did notice that she walked gracefully, a little like a dancer might. And Rebecca, during those times when she wasn't running or walking quickly, had also walked the same way.

He still found it hard to believe that she was just…gone. He'd never see her again, except on his hologram. It was a disheartening thought.

Then there was Victoria, Alena's coworker, to take into consideration. He wasn't quite sure what to think of her anymore. When he had met her the other night, still reeling from news of Rebecca's death, she'd actually seemed to be understanding. Maybe she hadn't acted in the kindest way, but he had gotten the sense that she had cared about his grief. However, it seemed that now she was on some kind of fuse that got lit whenever Alena was around. He still wasn't quite sure what had happened between the two, but he knew it had to be something harsh to make them hate each other in the way they acted around one other.

After a while of walking, Rex couldn't take the silence. "So, Alena, what was Rebecca like when you knew her?"

Alena sighed as she answered. "Where do I begin? Well, I remember that she was very kind and understanding to her students. She hardly got angry with them, and did her best to help them with their abilities." Rex nodded in agreement; he remembered how caring Rebecca had been of the men under Rex's command during the War. His smile faded, though, as Alena continued. "But when she started leading the Shadow Squadron, she started acting different. I remember that she started looking sadder and really tired. I also remember she seemed stressed, I guess because maybe the Court was giving her a harder time about things. They helped fund the Squadron, after all."

"Wait, so the Court helped start the Kalifan rebel cell, then?" Ezra put in from behind Rex.

Alena nodded. "Yes, Rebecca had a friend in the Court who helped influence the majority of the members to help the Shadow Squadron, but they did it in such a way that nobody would ever find out who the benefactors were. And it's a good thing that happened, too, because the Empire was trying to sniff out Kalifan dissenters right and left. If they hadn't covered their tracks so well, we might still have the Empire here today."

"Well, good for them, then," Rex said. "Do you think that they'll help our cell out, then?"

Alena sighed sadly as she despondently shook her head. "Honestly, you guys…I have no idea what the Court will do now. They may have helped their own cell back in the day, but the Empire's occupation changed things. It helped us realize that we need to be more careful about things concerning the Imperials. And the Kalifans don't normally mix with foreigners very well. We tend to keep to ourselves. So, I don't really know."

Rex grimly nodded as the group continued walking. He knew first-hand what fear of the Empire could do to people; he'd seen it happen to Wolffe when the Ghost crew first came to him on Seelos. It was a sad and wasteful fate for people to resign themselves to, whatever their reasons for doing so were. Rex hoped that the Court wouldn't decide on that.

After a few more minutes of walking, Rex saw a lighter passageway up ahead, and Alena stopped and turned to the others. "All right, guys, we should be getting close to where the gang rounds up everyone, so we need to be on our guard."

"And right now, all we're doing is trying to bug the rooms the leaders have underground." Sabine put in, holding up a small bug that could be cleverly concealed in a room, and also wouldn't be detected by bug-finders, thanks to Sabine's modifications. They just had to sneak into the rooms and place them.

The group started walking toward the tunnel that was lit up by various old lanterns, and also had a few imposing-looking people standing against the walls every ten feet or so, silently glowering at the rebels. But Alena kept up a bright smile and walked confidently, encouraging the others to follow her lead.

Eventually, the tunnel exited into a large cavern with several other people milling about aimlessly, talking quietly with one another while more guards stood around the cavern.

Ezra stepped up to Alena. "Now, tell me again, when do you think we should, you know…bug the place?" He said in a cautious whisper.

Alena answered quietly, "I think we ought to do that once the meeting's up and running. We can just sneak back here and find the offices. Then we leave. It's as simple as that," she finished proudly.

Rex was about to tell her that bugging the headquarters would probably be more difficult than she thought when a piercing whistle rang out throughout the cavern, silencing the others. The man who had whistled stepped out of the crowds and called out, "All right, everybody follow me! And remember the rules: be quiet during the speeches, and please don't exit until the presentations are over and/or the police attempt to raid the building we're in! If that happens, please just go through the tunnel entrances in the building! Thank you!" With a wave of his hand, he beckoned the others to follow him.

Rex was about to go forward when Alena placed a hand in front of him, stopping him from moving forward. "Remember, we'll want to stay near the back so it'll be easier to sneak out of the building." With those words in mind, the group made sure to stay at the back of the crowd of people as they moved through the tunnels. After a few minutes, they were led up through one of the tunnel openings into a tall, dusty, obviously abandoned building. Rex noticed that the windows had been boarded up at some point as the crowd settled throughout the building and waited.

After a few moments of silence, a young man with pale blonde hair stepped up onto some type of stage in front of the crowd and began to speak. "Peace. Harmony. Love. Hope. These are the words that we have all grown up with, my friends. These are the words that we were told to always hang on to, no matter what. That is what the government told us." He paused for a few minutes as the crowd digested his first words, then continued. Rex silently wondered where he was going with all this. "But they lied."

Many people in the crowd gasped audibly at the man's last sentence, and Rex saw Alena narrow her eyes at the speaker as he spoke on. "I know that many of you in this crowd tonight don't like hearing these words. I know that many of you probably believe what the government says about us. But you need to know that the government is wrong," he spoke with conviction, "that they are the ones who are trying to brainwash you into becoming complacent citizens, always going along with what they say. But who here is willing to follow them into destruction right now?" He paused, apparently waiting for the audience's response. When he got none, he continued. "I doubt any of you here want that. Yet," he started as he began pacing, "that is what is beginning to happen. They are starting to set the stage for their people's destruction. And they don't care about what will happen to us because of it." He paused again as he let his words sink in, eyes roaming around the crowd. "Some of you wonder how it is I have realized this about them. Well, I'll tell you; unlike the Court, I hide no secrets," he said, spreading his arms out for effect. "It all started five years, in a town not far from the capital. A town where innocence reigned freely, without concern for what would happen next. For them, it was just another day. I doubt I need to tell you which town I'm talking about," he said as the crowd quietly murmured to one another. "But that village was razed to ground because the Empire came. But the Empire wasn't there to kill the whole town; no, that was just collateral damage. Their real targets were the rebels that had chosen to take refuge in that town after the Shadow Squadron was destroyed. But because they didn't find those people, they punished the innocent. Those people's blood are on the hands of those surviving rebels today!"

Alena inhaled sharply beside Rex at the speaker's vehement statement, jaw clenching tight. Rex wanted to ask her why she was so upset, but then he remembered. Alena had been one of the rebels to hide in the destroyed town, and he knew that she probably didn't enjoy being called worse than dirt.

The aged clone's attention was diverted by the speaker's next words. "I know that you may think that to be an unfair accusation. But, the Squadron was helping us; why would they ever want to hurt us? The answer to that is simple. They were living on a war-like mindset. And that mindset includes the expendability of civilians, whoever they are, for the good of a greater cause. I'm sorry to say this, but the rebels were using us. You didn't see them try to help us during the Imperial occupation, did you?" He paused to hear several people in the crowd say no, then continued. "And we all know who bankrolled and funded the Shadow Squadron in the first place, don't we?" His voice rose above the people who were crying out the answer, dripping with disdain, eyes like fire as Rex watched him. "It was the Court! The Court of so-called Justice! They chose to stand by while we all suffered and died for them! For their sakes! Because we trusted them! And because of our naïve and blind trust, we were the ones who paid the price! Not them! Do you think we ought to let them get away with it?!" He cried out as the crowd's voices rose with an emphatic no. "Well, guess what? We won't! We are in the process of toppling their corrupt power and government as I speak! We are going to fight back! We are going to save this world! And we can help get it done faster with all of you joining and helping our cause. We are your Saviors; not the Court! The Court will never change, but we can help establish a new government where we can have peace, and hope, and all the things we were promised! We can make it happen! They wanted a war, so now they'll get one!" He cried out as the crowd around the rebels erupted in a large applause. "We won't let them win this time! The time has come to give them what they deserve!"

Rex stood stock-still at the amount of affirmation this speaker was getting for his ideas of overthrowing the Kalifan government. This was…this was…Rex couldn't even describe what he was thinking, but he knew that he was appalled by this man and his beliefs. Talking about how the government was…corrupt…didn't seem to be very reasonable to Rex. After all, he hadn't seen anything that even hinted that there was anything particularly horrible about the government like the Empire was. He hadn't seen any indications of abuse during his time on the planet, and Alena hadn't said a word about anything like that. There certainly didn't seem to be any real reasons to bring violent actions to the government.

His thoughts were interrupted by Alena tugging on his arm, a sour look on her face as she looked at the jubilant crowd. "Come on, let's go, before I get sick."

Rex followed Alena as she quietly led the rebels back to the tunnel entrance. Unfortunately, they were immediately stopped by a guard stepping into their path. "The meeting isn't over yet; what do you think you're doing?" He said gruffly, an intimidating expression on his face as he crossed his arms threateningly.

"Sir, we're just—" Alena started, but Ezra suddenly stepped in front of her, his hand hovering in front of him.

"You don't need to ask us what we're doing," Ezra said as he waved his hand, obviously calling on the Force. The guard's grim expression immediately melted into a vacant, blank face as the teenaged Jedi spoke.

"I don't need to ask you what you're doing," the guard agreed monotonously.

"You are going to…show us to your leaders' headquarters, then forget that any of this happened."

"I am going to show you to my leaders' headquarters, then forget that any of this happened." The guard repeated as he promptly turned around and started down the tunnel entrance. Ezra beckoned the others to go as he followed the guard, smiling proudly at his accomplishment. Rex was about to follow when he noticed Alena's expression just a nanosecond before she switched it to neutral.

As he slipped down the hole he thought about it. Just for a second, Alena had the strangest expression cross her face. She had looked…

Scared.

"So, what you're telling me is that...you're a magician?" Violet asked incredulously as she stoked the fire in front of the two girls. They had run for what seemed like hours into the forest before they finally stopped to rest for the night.

Jezebel looked embarrassed as she nodded. "Yes, I am one. I'm sorry it had to come out like this, but I couldn't take any chances. I know how afraid people can be of people who are...different."

Violet crinkled her brow in confusion. "But..." she paused for a moment to collect her thoughts before continuing. "Don't you know who I am?"

Jezebel tilted her head curiously at the younger girl. "You're my friend, Violet. You were just framed for a crime by your employer."

"I'm Violet Storm, though!" Violet said, watching as comprehension dawned in her friend's eyes. "I'm the daughter of Skylar Storm!"

"Oh, oh my." Jezebel said quietly, eyes widening. "That is...very interesting, Violet; I had no idea."

"It's all right," Violet said, shrugging dismissively. "It's not really anything that big to me anymore. But it's just...incredible that we're both magicians, and, somehow, we both found each other. It's like fate!"

"Yeah, I suppose so..." Jezebel trailed off uncertainly, clearly thinking about something else. "But what are you going to do about your frame-up?"

"What can I do, Jezebel?" Violet asked as her shoulders slumped. "I can't go on the run all my life, and I can't just go home, either. The police would probably show up there at some point." She groaned loudly as she imagined the looks on Skylar and Rebecca's faces. Rebecca would be devastated, and Skylar...Violet couldn't imagine the disappointment her mother would have for her.

"Why don't you fight?" Violet looked up curiously at Jezebel's words. Fight? How was she supposed to do that? Seeing Violet's face, Jezebel clarified. "I mean, it's obvious Vizino has connections with organizations like the police, so we can't really trust them or the government that bankrolls them. If we want to prove you innocent, we're going to need to fight to get it."

"But how are we supposed to do that?" Violet asked uncertainly.

"You just need to have the power to bring justice to the corrupt," Jezebel said, eyes gleaming excitedly. "You know, there are stories I've heard about something that could do that, actually. It's a magical sword with the power to vanquish your enemies."

Violet leaned forward at that, intrigued by this information. A...sword? Could that really be possible? Looking at Jezebel, she read the truth in her eyes. Maybe...this could work? Anything to clear her name and keep her family from being disappointed. And...to protect her sister from those kinds of people rising again.

"How can we get to it?"

Jezebel smiled broadly. "Did I mention that I have a ship that we can use?"

A/N: Remember, reviews are food for a fanfiction writer's soul! Please leave a comment of what you thought!