Hiccup POV...
Ever since Mara and her... adopted parents I guess, left I was really busy with myself. Meeting actual legends from the old stories that have been the birth of our culture for thousands of years was absolutely amazing, and I still couldn't believe it! Sure they aren't actually messengers from Asgard, or immortal like we originally believed, but it was still stunning. And their powers with that 'Force' thing... I've never seen something so bizarre. No wonder we originally thought they were gods from Asgard.
Hidden away in my back room of the forge, I was sitting at my desk, pictures of Jedi all around me while I scribbled on the current drawing I was making. I already had drawings of Mara, Ahsoka... and Jarik I think was his name? Yeah, I had plenty of pictures of them, as well as the brief glimpses of their lightsabers that I saw. The idea of a fire sword being a thing was also crazy, but the rest of the teens tried to spy on them, which failed obviously but they viewed those weapons in action. Apparently Mara is a very skilled sword fighter, but Jarik even more so.
The more you learn right?
Then there was Ahsoka, who was apparently a whole different species, not human at all. That was probably one of the weirdest things about them, since we've never seen other people like that. When my dad announced to the tribe that the foreigners were actually Jedi, some of the villagers went insane, claiming that as a lie. I knew my dad was uncomfortable with that, and he did let the people know he understands their skepticism, but some still refuse to believe it. Mildew in particular. You can never please that guy, and now he's saying that the 'witch' has taken control of my dad, sprouting lies.
Of course no one believed him on those points, but it was still absurd and stupid.
Jarik POV...
While our ship was getting repaired, I spent the time hunting through the holonet for a suitable sensor in order to reach the galaxy from Ahch-To. From what I've been able to find, an Imperial Outpost, military base or even a simple Gozanti class cruiser should have the sensor array with the quality I need. So now I focused on tracking different Imperial hyperspace lanes, looking for one that has a Gozanti class cruiser. What makes it a good choice to attack is that the ship itself doesn't have too large of a crew, and only has basic weaponry. Anything larger than these three options would be too tough of a mission to handle, and as for a Star Destroyer? Forget that bullcrap.
"Alright... where are you hiding you little punks, I wanna steal from ya," I muttered to myself, glancing between the different files I cracked open and the map of Imperial hyperspace lanes. The computer then let off a beep and I focused my attention on it. A new message came through, orders from some Imperial officer, unaware that I was listening in. I smiled as I heard them talk about sending the right ship I needed on a simple supply route. Or so they think.
"Bingo," I said with a grin, saving it's location.
"You found a ship?" Ahsoka says.
"Do you even need to ask at this point?" I question rhetorically, raising an eyebrow at her. She shrugs in response.
"Well, doesn't hurt to check," she replies simply.
We entered a small shuttle that Bail was lending us for this mission. It was essentially just a simple, four seater ship that is used for small groups to get around easily. Upon entering the ramp however, we see Mara sitting in one of the back seats of the cockpit.
Ahsoka sighs. "Mara..."
"Can I come this time? Please?" she pleads, hopping off the chair to give us her best puppy-eyed look.
"Not until you're older," I said, leaving no room for argument.
"Come on! It's just a simple raid! On a Gozanti cruiser no less, and those things are tiny. What could I possibly be endangered from?" she demands, crossing her arms with a displeased glare.
"Lot's of things. Look what happened last time we went on a raid," I pointed out, referring to the ambush that brought us to Ahch-To in the first place, nearly killing me in the process. The thought that I flew through space at all still has me shaking my head in disbelief.
"But this is a simple supply run for that Gozanti ship. Besides you two will be right with me the whole time anyways right?" she retorts. I move to answer but she immediately cuts me off. "I'm going whether you like it or not, and you won't stop me!" she says firmly in declaration.
I share a glance with Ahsoka, and we open up to each other across the bond.
"Should we really consider taking her with us?" I ask.
"No... but she does make a good point. Gozanti cruisers are not too dangerous in the first place," she says.
"But I don't want to put her into danger like this! What if something happens?!" I protest.
"You're worrying again," she reminds me, and I let out a disappointed sigh. "Nothing bad will happen this time I'm sure of it. Besides, even if we did prevent her from coming with us she'd probably sneak onto the shuttle somehow anyways."
"So unfortunately true," I muttered, turning my attention back to Mara. "You can come with us Mara."
She pumps her fist into the air with a cheer, twirling around in excitement. "But ONLY, if you do exactly what we say," I reminded her.
"I know dad!" she beams brightly in excitement ready for some action. So much like Ahsoka before the Clone War... speaking of which, Ahsoka thinks of her younger self as well, seeing the influence we've had in Mara's growth shining through in her eagerness for action and adventure.
"Coming up on the supply route... now," Ahsoka says, pulling the switch back. We dropped out of hyperspace, coming up on an empty void of space, nothing anywhere in sight except for the bright spots of stars far in the distance, light-years away. I pulled out a datapad, checking to see how far along the Gozanti cruiser is while Mara looks over my shoulder.
"Any second now..." I said, seeing the blinking red dot that indicates the Gozanti getting much closer. Then with a loud thud, the cruiser emerges from hyperspace directly above us, our ships mere feet away from slamming into each other. Because we're so close to the ship and in a smaller sized shuttle, they don't notice us as they sit and wait for the ship they'd be resupplying from to emerge from hyperspace as well. That won't last for very long, so it's time to make our move. Ahsoka slowly shifts the shuttle so that it flips upside down the other way, and then lands it on the hull of the Gozanti, connecting to the emergency airlock right next to the slots holding two TIE Fighters.
Oh Force do I love my absolutely stunning and accurate coordinates that allow maneuvers as insane as this one.
"Alright Mara, time to watch and learn," she says, getting up from her seat as she shuts off the ships power.
"I'm ready for some action!" she says hopefully, stretching her arms.
"Not yet sweetie. First you watch, then you learn, and then you join in once you have experience." Ahsoka replies knowingly. Mara sighs in disappointment but nods in understanding.
"Good, then let's go!" I said, getting up from my seat as well and moving towards the entrance of the shuttle. I open the door, and we step inside, immediately adapting to the Gozanti's artificial gravity compared to ours. Changes like that were strange, because you could stand up in one ship like normal, but on their ship it looks like you'd be standing on walls, and nothing is falling. Stepping inside, I glance around a corner with a cautious gaze before waving my hand, stalking forwards.
Ahsoka and Mara follow behind me, and we sneak through the ship, headed for the bridge. Our shuttle won't be able to carry the sensor array, so that means we'll have to commandeer the entire cruiser. How wonderful.
"So what's the plan?" Mara asks, buzzing with excitement.
"Get to the bridge, take the pilot's out, then knock out the crew with some nonlethal gas, and send them on their merry way while we steal the ship!" I replied quietly, but with a hint of confidence. I open the door leading to the last room between us and the bridge, only to stop in my tracks once it's opened. Right there, just a few feet away is basically the entire crew of stormtroopers on the Gozanti, about twenty people in total. Ahsoka and Mara stop beside me in surprise as well before Ahsoka levels me with a glare.
They all stare at the three of us and I slump my shoulders in response, an irritated expression on my face. "How typical," I muttered.
"I hate you Jarik," Ahsoka muttered in response.
"Intruders!" one of the stormtroopers sayd in alarm, raising his blaster. Ahsoka raises an arm and blast him back with the Force, and the three of us rush in. The rest of the troopers raise their blasters at us, but they were still too surprised to react to us in time. I grab one's arm with my metal arm and toss him across the room, kicking another in the chest. Ahsoka leaps up into the air and slams her feet dropkick style into the helmets of two others, landing with a flip before shoving another guy. Even Mara is surprising the troopers, as one fires off a shot in her direction but she already dodged, jumping up and over his head, twisting around to grab his head and bring him to the floor.
Another stormtrooper charges at me and shoots his blaster. I lean my head out of the way before spinning around, activating my lightsaber in the process to slice his blaster apart. He only has a moment to glance at his destroyed blaster in shock before I slam my metal fist into his helmet, knocking him out cold. Ahsoka pulls out one of her lightsabers as well, blocking two laser bolts before destroying the rifles of three other troopers, sending them into the wall with the Force. Finally, Mara gets up from where he had bashed one troopers head on the floor and pushes outwards with both arms, sending the last two troopers into another wall with a quick Force push.
Me and Ahsoka deactivate our lightsabers with a sigh. "Well that could have been worse," I commented.
"Yeah, so much worse," Ahsoka says in annoyance. "Let's just be glad these were only shiny stormtroopers."
"Are you kidding mom? That was awesome!" Mara exclaimed. "Why can't I go with you on more secret missions?"
"You know what, how about we have this conversation later?" I suggest, moving on to the bridge entrance. They follow after me, although Ahsoka rolls her eyes. Walking up to the control pad, I yank off the outer panel and mess around with a few wires before the door opens smoothly. Ahsoka strides in with Mara behind her as the pilots turn around in confusion.
"No one's supposed to be-" one starts to say before stopping in surprise as Ahsoka aims a blaster at his head, an eyebrow raised. I walk up behind the other pilot as well, smirking in amusement.
"Hey, could we borrow your ship please?" I ask, very politely.
He quickly whips out his own blaster, about to aim at me. "You rebel-"
However his words are cut off when Ahsoka stuns him in the head, quickly shooting the other with a stun blast as well. They fall out of their chairs with a cry, and she puts the blaster away with a satisfied smile.
"Well that was easy," she comments.
"Hey, you wanna pull off bad luck like I did?" I ask with a raised eyebrow.
"I don't need to. You are bad luck," she replies, and I frown at her.
"These guys are wimps," Mara says in amusement, nudging one of the pilots.
"No argument there," Ahsoka says in agreement. "Alright Jarik, pile them all into the escape pods."
I frown. "Why me?" I demand.
"Because I said so, and I'm the pilot anyways," she says in response.
"Yeah, but I'm the tech guy, here to help take the sensor array," I argue.
"I thought we were taking the whole ship?" Mara speaks up questioningly, face shining with confusion, and Ahsoka flashes me a triumphant grin while I sigh reluctantly. Yeah, I did say that earlier. Because of our shuttle being smaller in size, it won't be able to transport the sensor if we managed to disconnect it from the cruiser. So, we're taking the whole thing.
"Alright, I'll get it done," I say in resignation while Ahsoka sits down in the pilots seat. I grab the pilot's by the arms and drag them back out into the other room, and start piling everyone by the escape pods while the other two work on the ship.
"You done?" Ahsoka calls out.
"Yeah I'm good," I say back, tossing the last guy into the escape pod and closing the door. In response, Ahsoka presses a few buttons on the terminal and all of the escape pods carry the crew are shot off into space. They should be fine anyways, when the ship they were supposed to meet with arrives or if they get into contact with someone. And speaking of which...
"Ahsoka, you better jump into hyperspace now because the other ship just arrived," I informed her.
"Working on it," she says as I rush into the copilots seat.
"As fun as this was, I'm not looking forward to getting blasted in space again," Mara says nervously.
"They won't fire unless they realize something is wrong, which of course, there is because we hijacked this thing," I say. "But they don't know that."
"At least until they notice the shuttle attached to the underside and the escape pods, which will be too late," Ahsoka says, setting in the coordinates to Polis Massa. The intercom then crackles to life as the other ship makes contact with us.
"Gozanti cruiser 8567, what is your situation?" an Imperial officer demands.
I respond immediately. "Oh no sir, don't worry everything's fine. We just have someplace to be," I tell him.
"What? Who is this!? What's your identification number?!" the officer demands angrily.
"See you later boys!" Ahsoka calls out with a grin, and pulls the lever that blasts our ship into hyperspace.
"Can I do that next time?" Mara asks hopefully.
Yay, they got the sensor array. As well as a whole 'nother ship by being awesome. Kicking the crap out of all of those stormtroopers!
Sorry for the late update I've just been preoccupied by other things, and am currently on a short vacation right now. Also inspiration to write this chapter was a little bit blank because it's more of a side plot in my opinion, considering I've written a similar chapter like this back during the Clone Wars.
But enough of that. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and thanks for supporting my story so much! Never thought I'd get this far when I first came up with the idea of Jarik Shan. :)