Garel:
"I didn't do it!" Anakin exclaimed sleepily as he shot up from his bed. The ex-merc groaned in frustration after looking around for a few seconds before realizing it was the noises from Ezra and Zeb's room that had woken him up.
"I'm gonna murder that kid." he mumbled while sliding out of bed and ignoring the amused smirk on his girlfriend's face. After stretching Anakin and Sabine exited their room to see Hera standing in the hallway and Ezra frantically looking around his room for something.
"Where's my helmet? I... I need my helmet." the kid said out loud as he kept looking around the room. "We want you to find your parents, Ezra, but even if you're right, you can't go now. We need a plan. The entire Imperial sector fleet has the planet in a blockade." Hera explained.
"Um, not anymore. Been listening in on Imperial chatter." Sabine said, getting both Ezra and Hera's attention. "Wait. What's up on Lothal?" the young Jedi asked. "The Empire's fleet left Lothal's orbit this morning." the Mandalorian replied.
"Left Lothal? Where to?" the Twi'lek asked. "Doesn't matter, okay? This is a sign. I'm supposed to go. Where's my stupid helmet?" the younger teen said, frustration in his tone before kicking the locker he was just searching.
"I know you have to go, but that doesn't mean you have to go alone." Kanan said after entering the hallway with Ezra's cadet helmet in his hands. "We support you. We're family." Hera said with a smile after the older Jedi handed the helmet to his apprentice.
"Speaking of family. Where are the delinquents?" Anakin's girlfriend wondered.
The group made their way to the cockpit before Hera contacted Zeb on his comm and briefed him and Chopper. "Back to Lothal? Well, that sounds like a terrible idea. Besides, we haven't finished getting our supplies." the Lasat said.
"You can finish later." she replied before Ezra walked up beside her. "Just get back here now." he snapped impatiently before Hera gestured for him to step back. "Not too fast, Zeb. We don't want to alert any Imperial patrols." she said to Zeb.
"Don't worry. Not a bucket head in sight. In fact, we haven't seen one all morning. Kind of strange, actually." he replied. "It's not strange. It's strategy." the ex-merc's girlfriend said before standing. "What are you talking about?" the younger Jedi asked impatiently.
"The Empire always pulls back patrols before a major strike." she informed them before the console started beeping. "Oh, no." the Twi'lek muttered worriedly as she and the others looked outside to see three Star Destroyers above them.
"Well, Ezra, if you want to go back to Lothal, now would be the time." Hera said before they all ran outside to get a better look.
"Zeb, get back to the ship. I'll contact Commander Sato. Hurry." she ordered urgently over her comm before it crackled then died out.
"Sabine, Anakin, see if you can splice their jamming signal. We'll need our comm." she ordered the couple. "On it." Sabine replied before she and her boyfriend ran back up the ship's ramp.
"Guys, where's my comm?" Hera asked the couple after running into the cockpit while the two teens kept trying to splice into the Imperial's jamming system. "Almost got it." Sabine replied. Anakin pressed a few more buttons before they heard a voice over the comm.
"Hangar 16 has fallen. Phoenix Squadron, report!" Sato ordered. "Ghost to Liberator. Give me some good news." the Twi'lek replied. "We read you, Hera. If the fleet's gonna launch, it's gotta be now." Rex informed her as Anakin let out a sigh of relief at knowing his godfather was safe.
"We are employing escape plan delta, Captain Syndulla. Are you ready?" Sato asked her. Roughly ten seconds passed before the three saw their friends enter the hanger with a group of stormtroopers on them.
"They're back." Sabine said as she sat in the co-pilot chair. "Let's go." Hera said as she started up the ship. "We're all in." Kanan informed them over the ship's comm before the Twi'lek piloted the ship out of the hanger.
"This is Phoenix Leader. All ships, angle deflector shield and follow my lead." she ordered after taking off towards the atmosphere. "Copy that, Captain Syndulla." a rebel replied before they started to pass underneath one of the destroyers.
"Zeb, get on the guns." Hera ordered. "On my way." he replied while climbing up the ladder that led to the roof gun.
Only a few seconds after he manned the turret they noticed squadron of TIE fighters heading straight towards them. "Zeb, we got incoming." Anakin warned. "I see them!" he replied before opening fire on the Imperials.
Roughly a minute or two passed before Anakin sensed the deaths of a group of rebels. A few more seconds passed by before they heard Rex's voice over the comm. "They've slinged us in a tractor beam." he warned. "Kanan, I'm going back for Sato and Rex. You've got your opening. Take it." Hera told him over the ship's comm.
"We're not leaving until the fleet is safe." Ezra protested. "I appreciate the sentiment, but I gave you an order. Now get moving. And, Ezra, I hope you find what you're looking for." she replied before disconnecting and turning around.
"This is not escaping. This is attacking." Zeb realized as they neared the Destroyer. "I'm open to suggestions." the Twi'lek replied. "I've got an idea. But it means getting close to that Star Destroyer. We can use the torpedoes to take out the tractor beam." the ex-merc's girlfriend suggested.
"Wait, can we do that?" Zeb asked, sounding skeptical. "We're gonna find out." Hera replied. "Oh, boy." the Lasat said sounding worried as they neared the back of the Destroyer.
"Commander Sato, we're going to break you free from the tractor beam." she informed him and his crew. "Phoenix Leader, I gave you a direct order to retreat." he replied. "Just be ready to hit your thrusters." she said as they flew underneath the Destroyer and towards the tractor beam dish while a squad of TIEs chased them.
"Almost got it. Almost got." the Mandalorian said quietly as she locked on torpedos. A few seconds passed before the ship was rocked by laser fire and warning sound was heard. "Don't got it! Don't got it!" she warned as a few sparks shot out of the upper part of the console behind her.
"I'll get it." the Twi'lek said as Anakin worked on fixing the console. "What are you doing? What are you doing?" Zeb asked in surprise as Hera piloted the ship towards the dish before abruptly making a hard right and hitting it with the side of the ship.
"Did we get it?" she asked the Lasat before hearing him sigh in relief. "We got it." he replied, his voice sounding somewhat shaky. "So, are we rendezvousing with the fleet or heading to Lothal?" Anakin's girlfriend asked Hera.
"We stay with the fleet." she replied before leaving the atmosphere and jumping to hyperspace.
Hmm. Was hoping to end it on a more positive note but oh well, this should be at least satisfactory I hope.