Chapter 8 (Chapter 26)

The Ghost crew and Gold Squadron had gathered back on Echo Base, greatly relieving General Dodonna. Once the Ghost crew met him inside the base, Hera noticed Mon Mothma's absence and asked, "Where might Senator Mon Mothma be?"

"She's on a mission with Admiral Raddus on Mon Cala. A friend of Raddus's is helping them set up a base."

"Admiral Ackbar?"

"Correct. I am going to meet up with her shortly. General Rieekan will be in charge of the base." General Dodonna said.

"Well General, after some serious consideration, we have some rather unsettling news." Hera informed.

"What is it?"

"We lost some of our allies, Bando and his friend Geoff, during the mission. On our way back, we thought about how much the Empire has been after the rebellion mostly because of us." Hera saw concern growing on General Dodonna's face before continuing. "We're..." She looked around at the rest of the crew, who all nodded, urging her to continue. "We're leaving."

General Dodonna couldn't form words. His expression was sort of unclear.

"Don't get the wrong idea. We're not quitting being rebels. We just thought that if the Empire wants us so badly, then they can come after us. We want to start our own rebel faction somewhere else in the galaxy. The main reason is that we don't want the Empire to keep numbering their forces to overtake all this." Hera motioned around her. "If they want us, then they'll go after us. By doing that, it'll divide their forces."

"I understand." General Dodonna said. He paused for a moment before extending his arm forward. "It was a real pleasure having all of you with us."

Hera shook his hand and said, "We're still a part of the rebellion. We'll always be here if you need us."

The crew took turns shaking hands with the General. On their way out, Dodonna called after them. "Ghost crew!" They all turned to him. "If you're going to leave, let us give you a proper departure ovation." He then turned, put two fingers in his mouth, and let out a loud whistle. The rebels stopped their work and looked his way. "I regret to inform you all that the Ghost crew will be departing from us. Now don't worry, I've been informed that they'll be starting a rebellion elsewhere, we can always contact them if we need them. Now, I want us to give them a proper departure ovation." The room erupted in applause for several long moments.

The Ghost crew slowly took in the moment, and as it ended, the crew saluted the rebels, who all saluted back. Once done, the Ghost crew turned around to get to the Ghost.

"Ezra!" The voice of none other than the one and only Princess Leia called out. Ezra stopped and faced her.

"Hey princess."

"A lot of us are going to miss having you all around all the time, right?"

"Yeah, I know. But this is for the greater good. It's better for the rebellion."

"I see. Well... goodbye then."

"See you soon princess."

"Hey kid." Ezra recognized that scoundrel's voice. Grinning, he turned to him.

"Han." Ezra replied.

"Be careful out there. You never know what you're going to encounter." Han said a little sarcastically.

Ezra laughed a little, then said, "Take your own advice." Making Leia chuckle. "Where's Luke?"

"That kid's scouting the area."

"Okay. Tell him I said bye."

"Sure thing, kid." Han replied.

Just then, Ezra was embraced tightly from behind, then lifted into the air. "Grarrrrrgh."

"Sorry. I'll miss you too, Chewie." Ezra said, laughing while struggling to breathe.

Chewbacca put Ezra down, let out some quiet growls, which Ezra understood and replied, "I wish I could stay too, but it's for the greater good. See you around hairball." He then rubbed around the top of his head. Chewie bid farewell back.

"Commander Bridger." Dodonna called out, yet again, catching Ezra's attention. "May the force be with you."

"Thank you general. You too."

Ezra met back up with the Ghost crew aboard the Ghost. They were starting to prepare to leave, then noticed Rex and Aang staying back outside.

"What's going on?" Kanan asked.

"If it's all the same to you, *sigh* I'll stay here with all them." Rex motioned towards the base.

Kanan approached Rex and said, "Through all the good and unpleasent times we've had together, I didn't think it would end like this."

"I didn't either. But my place is here, amongst other soldiers."

"Can't argue with that." Kanan replied. He backed up and saluted him, the others doing the same. Rex saluted back. They lowered their arms, and Rex retreated back to the base.

"I've always liked him." Kanan said.

"No you didn't." Ezra remarked, making Kanan grin.

"Aang?" Kanan then called out, apparently snapping Aang out of a trance.

"Huh?"

"You okay?"

"Well... I've had a vision. And..."

"Oh?"

"Yes. And I... I'm afraid I'm going to have to actually leave the rebellion."

"What? Why?" Hera asked loudly.

"Well, the force is calling me for a bigger purpose for my life. I envisioned starting a Jedi team of my own in an unclear time in the future."

"And you need to leave to make that happen?" Kanan paused for a moment. "You can't argue with the force. Do what you need to do to get more Jedi in the galaxy."

"I will roger that." Aang said, then laughed. He side-hugged Kanan, then went around bidding the rest farewell.

He fist-bumped Zeb, then they bumped their foreheads together. "Goodbye Zeb. Good luck beating my score on dejarik holo-chess."

He shook hands with Hera, "Good luck with your faction, pretty much the greatest captain in the galaxy."

"I second that." Kanan said.

Aang patted Chopper on his dome, then said, "Farewell ya' li'l rust bucket. Keep causing trouble."

"I'm going to miss my tech-buddy." Sabine said.

Sabine and Aang shook forearms, and Aang replied, "Same here."

Aang side-hugged Ezra, then as Aang departed, Ezra saw that he was holding a card. The card read

Keep in contact, and this between us. For now.

81100

Ezra laughed and shook his head, thinking 'That guy' as he stuffed it into a pocket.

"I will contact you guys from time to time. It was an honor to work with all you tough guys, you Jedi, artists of sorts, and... droid." Aang said, making Chopper grumble.

"Not sure how much we can do without you." Hera said with a hint of sadness.

"Don't worry, I'll always be able to help." Aang replied, grinning. "I'll always be with you guys."

Aang stepped out and watched as the Ghost closed the ramp door and took off.

'I'll need my A-Wing.'

The Super Star Destroyer Executor caught the distantly flying escape pod, flown by Darth Vader. Some Imperials met Vader in the hallway when he exited.

"My Lord-"

"The force has granted me a vision. Contact Admiral Ozzel and tell him to dispatch probe droids to the planet Hoth, then, bring him here." Vader interrupted, walking off. "And prepare a squad for ground assault."