"So, what do we have?" Sabine asked as they all stood around the holotable in the center of what was considered to be the 'command center' of the small outpost. It was little more than a table in the center of a room with a holoprojector in the center of the table. Compared to the base on Attolon they had just burned out of, it could be considered scrappy or inadequate. However, when she and the rest of the Ghost crew had started, they usually either had Chopper or the Dejarik board project schematics for Imperial facilities they were about to raid. Everyone had to start somewhere.
"Thanks to the recon run Dhara made last night, we now have specifics on the outpost," Zare explained, and a large hologram of the location appeared over the table. He turned to his sister. "Dhara, lay it on us."
"The outpost has fortified walls on all sides in a hexagonal formation. There are two main entrances, here and here," The girl explained, pointing to two locations on the projection. "They run patrols around the outside of the base every hour, and there are two guards posted at each entrance. The fuel we're looking for, I'd wager, is here, under this awning at the edge of the landing field." Dhara pointed out a shed-like structure on the far side of the outpost, embedded in the side of the small compound inside the wall.
Another teen, who she recognized after a moment as an older Merei Spanjaf, spoke up from the corner of the room. "So, we've got our target and our statistics. What's our plan?"
"That's why we're here, Merei. I was thinking our friends here from Phoenix Squadron could impart some of their experience on this one," Zare said, nodding towards Ezra and Sabine.
"Hmm. We'd have to set the Gauntlet down somewhere nearby if we were to load it all onto the ship. Unless we can phase through walls, we'd have to set down in the complex, and I can't say that would go quietly," Sabine thought aloud. She stared down the projection, thinking that perhaps a weakness would reveal itself if she could intimidate it.
"What if... What if we did phase through the wall?" The young Jedi put in. All the eyes in the room turned to him.
"Ezra, I don't think even a Jedi could phase through a wall," Sabine replied, completely confused by his comment.
"Hear me out. We can't phase through, but we can cut through. Sabine and I both have lightsabers. If we cause a diversion on the opposite side, really rile up the Empire, then all of their attention will be on the people over there. Sabine, myself, and Zare will circle around on bikes while the firefight is going on, cut through the wall, latch together the fuel tanks, and make a break for the Gauntlet before they even know what happened," He explained. Sabine studied his face closely, her head tilted slightly to the right. He looked very decisive and calculating, not unlike Thrawn the few times she had seen him. It was a look that really worked for him.
"Wait, you both have lightsabers? Are you both Jedi?" Merei's mother asked, her arms crossed.
"Only Grand Admiral Bridger here. I just know how to swing one," She replied, pulling out the simplistic hilt.
"Must've been quite the find. Those things are worth a pretty penny, or so I've heard," Dhara spoke, eyeing the emitter.
"Yeah, this one would be worth a lot more than your average one," She said, igniting it for a moment. A stunned silence fell over them all as they looked at the strange black blade. She waved it around slowly before shutting it off and clipping it to her belt again.
"Okay… noted," Zare commented, looking away from her and back at the map. "So, a diversion? Anyone got any ideas?"
"I have a few," Spanjaf said as she walked back into the room with a rocket launcher over one shoulder.
"Wait, Merei, when did you leave?" Dhara asked, confused by her reappearance without anyone seeing her leave.
"As soon as Ezra said 'diversion'," She responded. "Dhara, you're with me. Everyone else follows us. But first, we're gonna need a mode of transportation. And some outfits."
"Zare? Any thoughts?" The young Jedi inquired. Again, Sabine found herself doing a double-take at the look on his face. This time though, the Jedi caught this and looked back at her from the side. She quickly switched her view back to the image, feeling a small fire in her cheeks. Oh, for damn's sake! What's wrong with you? You weren't doing this before! Her brain shouted at her.
She saw Zare's eyes dart between them for a second before he replied to Ezra's question, though no one else seemed to notice this, Ezra included. "There's an armored transport and a squadron of troopers that leaves town at sunset. We could hijack it and use it to get in unnoticed."
"That's fine and great, but what about you, Ezra and Sabine? You need your own ride," Merei asked, looking to Sabine this time.
Sabine, grateful for the excuse to think about something else, replied after a moment of thought. "Imperial protocol dictates that there's usually an escort of at least one trooper on a bike. We could take that too and give it to Zare."
"But you guys won't have anything to ride. That'll be a problem," The former cadet stated. This time, Ezra and Sabine exchanged a knowing glance before she replied.
"Zare, if you thought Hera sent the two of us on a mission with nothing but our gear and equipment, you don't know Hera. She'd rather exceed the ship's gross weight in favor of us having everything we need at our disposal."
Zare's eyes narrowed for a second before he realized she was saying that they had everything they needed abord the Gauntlet. "So, we go get your bikes now, and then we wait for the convoy at sunset, hijack the convoy, get disguises, drive right up on their doorstep, and have some people wreak havoc while we make off with the fuel?" He laughed once. "You guys should stop by more often. I like this plan."
"Glad to hear it," Ezra said, shutting off the hologram. Zare turned to everyone who hadn't been actively planning, which ironically included his and Merei's parents and about ten other fighters who had joined their cause.
"Alright, people, you heard the plan!" He announced in a loud voice. Though he wasn't the oldest, he was clearly the leader of the rebel cell. "We have until sundown to get things ready! Let's move!"
The small crowd broke into motion, and different voices echoed through the house as the troops as well as Ezra, Sabine, Merei, Dhara, and Zare began gathering equipment and various gear.
"I'll need at least two hand grenades..."
"I got you covered, Beowulf."
"Where'd someone put the heavy repeaters?"
"Don't worry, I've got them right here."
"Thanks, Jax."
"Does someone know where the smoke grenades are?"
"Where's my sniper rifle, Ollet?"
"Over here, Jessa!"
"I'll probably need only the rifle and pistol configurations…"
"Hey, Zare! This voltage booster and cooling cell should put some extra kick in there!"
"Fantastic. Lemme see 'em."
"Ezra! You got a sec?"
"Sure, Dhara. What's up?"
"I'd like some quick combat tips with the Force."
"Of course. Here, try this…"
"Sabine! Thanks for the explosives. Any chance you could rig them into rockets?"
"You want me to make already explosive rockets more explosive? Alright."
And so it went for the next few hours as the sun passed by outside. The small band of rebels geared up with extra magazine charges, grenades, first aid kits, and a few of them even had jump packs on. As she walked through the crowd, preparing one thing after another, flashes of light and sound filled the room as the rebels tested their weapons on low power. She and Ezra took a quick recession to retrieve their gear from the ship, taking two backpacks loaded down with a set of scout trooper armor for each of them as well as a few weapons of Sabine's own design. Chopper remained behind on the ship, standing by for when he got their signal later to fly over and pick up the supplies. They parked their bikes in a small niche next to the door into the house/base, before proceeding back inside to finish prepping. Both of them equipped a full scout loadout, complete with Imperial issue blasters and items. This time, they stepped into separate rooms to change, first to avoid what happened last time, and second because there were around 15 other rebels in the area who she had no sense of how decent they were. She figured Zare and his inner circle were alright, but had no readings on the others. Also, common sense.
After they were looking the part, they both continued to make their way around the base, assisting any others who needed a hand until the sun approached the horizon. At the dimming of the light, Zare announced it was time to move out and they exited in pairs of two towards the east edge of town, taking separate routes to get there. Using their preemptive disguises to their advantage, Ezra and Sabine just circled the town to the east gate, where they parked their bikes just out of sight and rounded the corner on foot.
Several stormtroopers were loading a few crates into the hold of transport, with a few others around keeping watch. Sabine looked up at the rooftops to see Zare's rebel squad prone and waiting for them to make the first move. She nodded to them, stepping around the corner with her helmet down. Ezra followed, and they both walked calmly up to the troopers guarding the transport.
Their reaction was predictable as ever, as one of them stepped forward and held up his hand. "Halt! You're not supposed to be here! Everyone in the convoy is accounted for."
"You're right, I'm not." She said, punching the trooper hard in the head. He went out cold, and the other troopers reacted by trying to open fire. This effort was in vain as laser fire rained down from the rooftops, razing all the Imperials but leaving the extra bike untouched. The laser fire calmed down, and they walked up to the side of the transport. The rest of the rebels jumped down and secured the area, while Zare and Merei came up to them.
"Did we get them all?" Zare asked in a serious tone, surveying the area.
Sabine heard a safety click in the doorframe of the tank. Without even looking, she pulled one of her borrowed scout blasters from its side holster and fired behind her. A moment later, she heard a thud, signifying that the trooper had gone down. She clicked her own safety back on, spun the blaster in her hand, and put it back in its sheath. "Now we did," She replied cooly.
"Show-off," Ezra muttered. The rest of the rebels loaded into the tank while Zare took a quick dip behind a corner to change into his new scout trooper disguise. After he had his new digs on, he passed his other articles to Spanjaf inside the transport. Sabine and Ezra ran back to their bikes, saddling them as the transport drove off. They pulled up behind it and leveled their speed, coming side by side with Zare. They raced across the landscape due northeast, not even slowing for a moment. The three of them split up around the tank, Ezra in front, herself on the right, and Zare on the left. A small trail of snow tailed them, though it never caught up with them, instead falling back to the ground and taking form once more like a white blanket on the terrain.
When the Imperial camp came into view, It didn't seem like they were alerted of the hijacking. Ezra looked over his shoulder at Sabine, holding up two fingers to point. He made a motion towards the left side of the complex, and Sabine nodded in acknowledgment. He repeated this movement to Zare and got a similar response. The three of them pulled back from the transport, and the three of them took a triangular formation as they prepared to pull out from behind and race around the back. Ezra held his hand up flat, well aware that Merei and the rest of the rebels in the side capsules were watching his every move. They all gripped their heavy weapons, and Spanjaf pulled out the rocket launcher she had found earlier. The distance ran by under them, shrinking the distance from 500 meters. 400. 300. 250. 200.
At 150, Ezra closed his fist, and he, Zare, and Sabine pulled way back from the transport. It slowed until the rebels could jump out of the capsules, led by a bright rocket streaking towards the wall. It blew away the light security door, and bright red laser fire exploded between the small band of rebels and the Imperials. He, Zare, and Sabine peeled off and flanked the scene to the direction Ezra had indicated. So long as Merei, Dhara, and the rest of the rebels kept up the charade up front, the mission looked like it was going exactly as they had intended. Which didn't happen very often.
Circling the perimeter was easy enough. As they flanked around, Ezra gave a hand signal to park the bikes by the side of the wall. Both Sabine and Zare complied, leaving their bikes alongside the perimeter. While the sounds of blasts and battle continued from the other side, Ezra raised his visor and studied the wall.
"Well, we're here. How do you know where to cut?" Zare asked gesturing to the featureless barrier in front of them. Ezra held out his fist and closed his eyes, quickly tapping the wall with his knuckles as he walked along it towards the entrance. He listened closely to the sound each one made, trying to discern the outcropping they were looking for. Each time he tapped it, he heard a small ping. Each one signified the absence of something on the other side. Nevertheless, he continued, walking another 20 feet before the noise changed. Rather than innocent little pings, he heard a telling thunk. He went 20 feet further and heard a second one. He opened his eyes and walked about halfway in between the two spots.
"Sabine?" He asked, looking away from the wall and at one of the false scout troopers behind him. The shorter, more curved one walked up next to him. Together, they ignited the contrasting blades and plunged them into the wall just above Ezra. He dragged his saber around in an oval-like shape, stopping after he met Sabine's hand at the bottom. The two of them stood back for Ezra to pull out the cut section and rest it to the side, revealing nine fuel canisters resting innocently under an eve. Just like the intel had suggested.
"You guys have done this before, haven't you?" Zare commented, crossing his arms. Ezra stowed his lightsaber, watching the battle ensue across the small outpost.
He turned back to Zare for a moment, touching the button to lower his visor. "Don't act so impressed," He returned. "Now, come on. We have some fuel canisters here that are begging to be stolen."
Sabine briefly paused outside the unauthorized doorway, sending the pickup signal to Chopper. Ezra heard her comm go off as Chopper pinged back, affirming that he was en route. He had to admit, for all of the faults that their rust bucket of an astromech had, he was irreplaceable. Of course, he would never admit it to the droid. If he did that, the little mech would become so much more of a pain. Once again, helpful, put an absolute pain.
The magnetic locks grabbed hold of the first canister to his bike. Two more to go. But as he made his way back for a second barrel, Ezra found himself thinking about last night's conversation with Zare. A few years ago, he would've absolutely believed him and gone for it. Well, that was the first thing he did when he met Sabine. Guess what? He got a no. Not directly at least. More like he had stopped trying, and rather chosen to be her friend instead. It certainly wasn't what would've made him happiest, but it was for the best. And he had kept it as such, until about a week ago when Kanan contacted him.
After that, it had been an internal battle between what he knew was the case and what a tiny voice was hoping for. And now Zare was in on the prodding too. Those two combined forces were going to win over his better judgment if he didn't reign it in. The difference there was simple. Reign it in, stop thinking about it, he had a clear head. Clear thoughts. Clear decision-making ability and, most of all, the lack of a very likely emotional letdown. Then there was the other side of the argument. If he chose to try it out, there were insurmountable chances that he would be unfocused, clouded, and a 100% guarantee of disappointment was ever-present. It didn't take a hyperspace scientist to do the math. Though he was still tempted…
He shook off the thought as he grabbed the third and final fuel canister, activating the repulsor. But as he was wheeling it away, a blaster bolt whizzed by his head and right over one of the bikes. He let go of the canister and spun to face the direction, hoping that it was just a misfire from the battle up front. Not that he was expecting a different result, but instead he saw a group of three troopers facing him. All of them had the safety off and their fingers on the trigger. Though, for better or worse, they hadn't seen Zare or Sabine yet. So they didn't know they were outnumbered. However, this meant Ezra had three sights directly on him, not exactly an ideal scenario.
"It's always something…" Ezra said to himself as he put his arm up. He spoke louder so that the troopers could hear him. "Hey, fellas. Is there a problem here?"
"Why is there a breach in the wall? And why are you taking the fuel canisters through it?" The one in the lead returned, not lowering his gaze for a moment.
"I suppose you have a point. Alright, now what?" He continued, walking towards them slowly. Though he was currently in a bit of a situation, he thought as hard as he could toward Zare and Sabine. You two had better get that last fuel pod hitched up!
"Stop right there! Turn around, hands where we can see 'em!" The lead trooper demanded. Ezra kept his hands up but continued moving forward. All three troopers aimed for his heart, unwavering. The first one issued a response again. "Stop, or we will open fire! This is your only warning!"
This time Ezra stopped. He couldn't draw his lightsaber quick enough to block incoming blasts from all three of them. He could try and use the Force to disarm them and go hand to hand, but he liked his chances with that about as much as he'd like to go head to head with a Rancor. Which is to say no, he very much disliked those odds. His only other option was to play along until someone figured out how to get him out of this situation.
The troopers approached slowly, and one of them pulled out a set of binders. Ezra sighed in frustration. What is it with these little ops and getting caught in the middle of them? We did just fine on Corellia. That thought led to another. Well, actually, they probably wanted us to find those coordinates. I don't think they were expecting us to take literally everything though. He heard the binders click open, and he could feel the energy coursing through the beam making the hair on his arms stand on end.
Just as the trooper was about to close the locks on the binders, a single grenade flew over his head and landed in the center of himself and the four troopers. They all stared at it for a second before Ezra's reflexes kicked in. He crouched low and spun, taking the legs out from under the trooper with the binders. He quickly held the trooper in front of him as the detonator went off, blasting him and the troopers backward. Unfortunately for the bucket-heads, they had no shielding from the blast, and all three took a cloud of shrapnel to the chest and abdomen. He didn't exactly come out unscathed either, but he only got scorched armor and hairline cuts on his arms. But he did have a full-weight scout trooper land on top of him when he hit the ground, cracking a few ribs.
Groaning, he pushed the body off of him, struggling to breathe as his chest flared in pain. He opened the helmet visor, breathing hard as his ears slowly stopped ringing. Soon enough, two more troopers were over him. But, instead of gunning him down, one of them knelt and raised her visor, revealing Sabine's face with an unusual level of concern. Ezra looked her dead in the eye. "Next time, just shoot them."
"Your head was in the way," She replied, a relieved smile crossing her face.
"Don't get caught, and she wouldn't have nearly blown you up," Zare input, bending down to help him up. "Can you stand?"
"I think so," Ezra responded, trying to get a sense of the severity of his injuries. Nothing felt immediately painful, so he assumed he could walk. Though he didn't ask, Sabine ducked under his left arm to help him along. He raised his eyebrow and looked at her, and she just rolled her eyes and smiled. "This is new. Where was this attitude before?"
"Don't push it, Padawan," She retorted, wagging her finger. This time Ezra smiled, and for a moment it seemed like everything around them was gone. Of course, the moment was ruined.
A blaster bolt flew in between the two of them and Zare, who quickly returned fire. "I hate to interrupt, but they are not holding us in the highest regards at the moment!" He shouted as more troopers turned in their direction.
"Can't everything ever be easy?" Ezra asked the Mando helping him along.
"Oh, come on. If it were easy, it wouldn't be any fun," Sabine said, letting go of Ezra once he was next to his bike. She looked at him with a warm smile, no doubt trying to reconstitute the moment that had taken place only a moment ago.
Both of their attention was drawn away by the sound of AT-STs powering up and turning towards them. Zare dashed through the hole in the wall, with explosions trailing close behind him. "What the hell are you two doing?! Go, go go!" He yelled at them. Sabin cast one more glance at Ezra before she jumped on her own bike. Much to their disappointment, the bikes could only hit about a third their top speed with the extra drag.
"Where is that trash can?! He was supposed to be here!" Sabine yelled from behind Ezra. Considering the current situation, he took back what he had thought earlier. Chopper was a procrastinating, chronically late, beeping circuit misfire. Every last time, and without fail, he pushed it to the absolute last second.
A massive explosion echoed behind them. Ezra spun to see one of the walkers going up in smoke as the stolen transport circled around the outside of the outpost. "That'd be Merei!" Zare said over the hum of the bikes. Indeed, Ezra did see a rather pissed-off looking figure crouching on the top of the transport, a rocket launcher over one shoulder. Unfortunately, there were two walkers, and one of them was in a similar mood. The second AT-ST reared back and shot a volley of seeking rockets at the small group of speeder bikes. Which so happened to be them. Goodie.
The rockets sped towards them at speeds they couldn't hope to outdrive. They arced down through the yellow-purple air, giving off a high pitched whistling. Ezra took another glance at the swarm, and yelled, "Sabine! Jump!" Right before two of them struck home. She leaped and fired her jetpack as the fuel canisters and bike blew up behind her. She quickly bolted through the air at much greater speeds, blasting two more of the rockets that hungrily homed in on the other two fuel tanks. One of them slipped through her guard, circling behind her and preparing to explode into her shoulder. But a second before it made impact, it blew, Sending Sabine spinning several feet away before she regained control. A spread of lasers from behind took out the rest, and the Gauntlet swooped triumphantly through the smoke.
"You just had to cut it that close!" Ezra shouted into his comm as the ship flew low over the ground, lowering the ramp. Sabine flew up behind him and landed on the bike, grabbing on to him to stay balanced. At the same time, the Rebel's transport pulled up parallel to Zare. Ezra shouted over to him. "Get on board! We can fly you back to the city!"
But Zare shook his head. "We already have everything we need! Besides, they'll be looking for us back there now!"
Ezra understood. This is where they parted. For how long, he had no idea. But this wasn't the last they'd be seeing of each other. That, he knew was true. "Until we meet again, then!" He said to his comrade in arms, and he gave a salute.
"Until we meet again!" Zare replied, returning the salute. With that, Zare's team of Rebels peeled off and headed west, towards the sunset.
The Gauntlet slowed enough for them to drive aboard, and the sound of the wind rushing by quieted as the cargo hatch shut. Sabine hopped off the back of the bike and plugged in one of the fuel tanks, draining its contents and shouting up to the bridge, "Chopper, get us out of here!". Gravity swayed as the droid pulled up and brought them into orbit. Ezra slowly pulled himself on the bike and sat, leaning against its frame. A few moments later, the familiar sound of hyperspace rang through the ship, signifying departure. Ezra pulled off his helmet and took a deep, painful breath. And another. After a few of them, he spoke.
"Some quick heist."
Sabine chuckled a little. "I recall you being the one who said it'd be quick."
"I know. I'm never going to say that again."
Zare stepped out from under the tarp of the camp. Though it wasn't much yet, they had established a small, and relatively concealed hideout in the mountains. More rebels joined their cause by the day. Weapons weren't a problem, and they had just taken care of the fuel problem. As he felt the wind of another snowstorm begin to kick up, Merei came up next to him, watching the stars as they slowly morphed into snowflakes.
"You really care about your friend," She said, looking over at him. In her slightly lighter practical attire, she had a pretty badass look going. It worked for her.
Zare smiled, following her gaze up to the clouds. "Ezra's a good guy, and I owed him one anyway."
"Does this count as paying off that IOU?" She asked, looking at his eyes. Zare looked down at her.
"No. What he did for me was beyond any favor I can repay simply. I'd help him out any day," Zare replied, gesturing for them to take a walk in the snow. Merei obliged, and they walked around to the front of the mountain they were hiding behind. Once they had a clearer view of the sky, Spanjaf asked one more question, one that Zare could only hope his answer was correct about.
"Will they be alright?"
Zare pondered it for a second and then responded, "They have each other. They'll be alright.".
Spanjaf looked down and nodded, then put her arm around Zare and leaned against his shoulder. Zare returned the gesture, looking back up towards where the stars would be in the sky. "I know they will."
Ahhh! I'm so sorry it took me this long to get out! I've been super busy as of late and had next to no time to work on the Hunt! Anywho, here it is, Chapter 11. I hope you enjoyed it, and if you would be so inclined to do so, leave a review and feel free to favorite and follow the story! It's really helpful to get feedback and to know that people like my work. Also, a small side note: the irregularity in posting timing may itself become more of a regularity as the year continues. I will add that I might release more content than usual when the Mando S2 is airing(only 17 days from now!), simply because everyone's gonna be in more of a star wars-y mood. Thanks, and I'll see you in the next one!