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Prisoner Snatching
Damian stared at the Mandalorian prison silently, his helmet's cameras zoomed in to give him a good look at it.
"How sure are we that your dad is in there?" Ezra asked Sabine.
"Well, our spies in the capital say he's here, and...they've been right so far," Sabine said, raising her helmet's viewplate.
"Okay," Ezra nodded. "We'll get him out. Don't worry."
Sabine nodded. "Rau, I've got a squad of stormtroopers in front, plus multiple cannons."
"They won't expect a fight," Rau said. "Moving to your right flank."
"Sabine, doesn't it seem suspicious that the Empire moved your father so far from the capital?" Kanan asked.
"My father had many friends," Sabine said. "He's not just important to me. The Empire probably locked him up out here to keep people from attempting to do what we're about to do."
"That may be true," Rau agreed, "but I'd put nothing past these Saxon Clan traitors. We're in position Spectre Five."
"Copy, Rau, over," Sabine said. "Alright Clan Wren. Check your fire for the captive. We're going in the front door. Follow my lead." She looked at Ezra, who was adjusting his bulky jetpack. "What's wrong with you?"
"I wish I had more practice with this jetpack," Ezra said.
"You're a Jedi," Sabine said. "I'm sure you'll pick it up on the fly."
She turned, creeping through the trench away from him and Damian, who grinned as Chopper laughed.
"On the fly," Damian grinned.
"Very funny, you two," Ezra said, rolling his eyes.
Sabine climbed out of the trench, getting the Stormtrooper's attention before extending the Darksaber. Everyone in their stretch of trench climbed out, Damian smirking as he raised his blaster, currently assembled into an entire rifle.
"Sure you want to play target practice rather than using a lightsaber?" Sabine asked.
"I'm sure," Damian said. "No point alerting them to what I am early."
Sabine nodded. "Forward!"
Damian's rifle snapped up and fired, hitting a stormtrooper as everyone charged.
"Too soon!" Sabine said.
"Not quite," Damian grinned, as the Stormtroopers opened fire at the same distance, their shots going wide and hitting nothing. "Now they're wasting ammo."
"Nice," Sabine said.
The heavy cannons began to fire after a moment and everyone scattered. However, after a few seconds, Shaeeah fired her particle cannon, the blast blasting one of the cannons apart, the other active cannon following a moment later.
"Nice shooting!" Rau commended.
"Without those, this'll be easy!" Damian cheered, firing several times, hitting a couple of stormtroopers.
Three stormtroopers closed in on Kanan and Rau, only for Kanan to leap onto one, slashing his jetpack, then leap to the third as the first crashed into the second, both falling out of the sky. He slashed the third's jetpack as well before jumping back to the ground.
"Show off," Rau said.
Damian looked up in time to step out of the way of a blaster bolt firing back and sending his shot through the stormtrooper's head and into another's gut above it. Both crash to the ground and Damian grinned, turning and firing at another group that was bearing down on Ezra and Sabine, dropping two of the four, Ezra and Sabine each shooting one of the other two. Finally, Sabine took off, using her blaster and Darksaber together to drop several stormtroopers as Ezra struggled to get the hang of his own jetpack. He flipped backward onto his shoulders, then shot into the air, flipping and spinning. A pair of stormtroopers began to shoot at him, but he extended his lightsaber and deflected the blaster bolts into the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust before landing behind the two as they fired up where he had been, unable to see anything. Damian fired through one into the other, killing both, and activated his jetpack, flying toward the prison. He flew high, looking through his rifle's scope to see the commander on top of the prison, holding a communicator with a hologram of Tiber Saxon over it. He fired, the bolt blasting the communicator before punching through the commander's head. He dropped back to the ground in time for one of Shaeeah's cannon blasts to blast a stormtrooper ahead of him, passing beside him as it did.
"Easy Shaeeah," Damian said. "Hit me and Ahsoka's going to be furious." He rolled his eyes as Jek fired over his shoulder to hit a stormtrooper, too. "Jek."
"Wouldn't happen if you'd pay attention," Jek said.
Damian sighed, lifting his rifle in his right hand so it was pointed upward and firing upward, hitting a stormtrooper as he was passing overhead. "I am paying attention. So stop shooting at me."
"Fine," Shaeeah sighed.
"Spoilsport," Jek grumbled, the two working together to clear a small group of stormtroopers flying down toward a group of Wren fighters.
Just then, a troop transport shuttle carrying a pair of AT-STs began to descend toward the prison.
"Shaeeah," Sabine said.
Shaeeah took careful aim before firing, the blast hitting the underside of a walker, causing the gas used as ammunition for the walker's cannons to explode, blading the transport's wing off and blasting the other walker wide open as well. The shuttle slammed into the ground and plowed up a trench a hundred feet long before stormtroopers began to scramble out of it, only to die in a hail of blaster fire, any not escaping the shuttle dying as it exploded a few seconds later. A moment later, the remaining heavy cannons, any that could target them but that were inactive before, opened fire again, only for a volley of rockets to blast them, destroying them all in seconds before more Mandalorians landed around them, these in silver and blue armor.
"Clan Kryze," Rau said.
"Looks like you had it handled after all," the leader of the new group said.
"Clan Wren, follow me!" Sabine ordered, running toward the prison, her clan and Rau all following.
Ezra and Kanan headed up to one of the landing pads on the top as Jek and Shaeeah walked over to Damian, along with the leader of Clan Kryze, who pulled off her helmet.
"Bo-Katan," Damian said. "It's nice to see you."
"Damian," Bo-Katan nodded. "How's Ahsoka?"
"She's good," Damian said. "She stayed back to take care of Alina."
Bo-Katan nodded. "I'm glad you're here."
"Happy to help," Damian said.
The four of them flew up to the landing pad with the others as Sabine told Ezra the outpost was empty.
"I'm sorry, Sabine," Ezra said, resting a hand on her shoulder. "We'll find him."
"This was a trap set to lure you in," Bo-Katan said. "Your mother received this intel but she couldn't get word to you. The Empire is jamming all transmissions. She sent me ahead to reinforce you. I understand she's on her way."
"Who are you?" Sabine asked.
Bo-Katan reached up and pulled the helmet off again.
"Kanan and Ezra, this is Lady Bo-Katan of House Kryze," Rau introduced her. "Her sister Satine once ruled Mandalore. Bo-Katan was made regent by the Jedi before the end of the Clone War. She's still seen by many as Mandalore's rightful ruler."
"So what happened?" Ezra asked.
"The same thing that happened everywhere," Damian said. "The Empire."
"After the Empire refused to take over, I refused to obey the Emperor and was betrayed by the Saxon Clan," Bo-Katan said.
Sabine stared at the Darksaber for a long few seconds. "Your commitment to Mandalore is legendary, milady. This belongs to you." She held out the Darksaber.
Bo-Katan looked distinctly uncomfortable. "I had my chance, and I failed. I am not my sister." She turned away, putting her helmet on. "I am not the leader you seek." She turned, walking back toward the door into the outpost.
"See if you can contact my mother," Sabine ordered Rau.
"Right away," Rau nodded.
The others all turned to head inside as well, leaving Sabine alone, only for Damian to catch Ezra by the shoulder, nodding toward Sabine. Ezra nodded and walked back over to her as the others headed inside.
"We'll find him," Ezra said reassuringly.
"You know, long ago, these plains used to be filled with grass," Sabine said. "But I never saw it. This destruction happened long before I was born."
"And it...never grew back?" Ezra asked.
"Never had a chance to," Sabine said. "This is what continuous war has done to my home."
Well, maybe...maybe this is your chance to change things here," Ezra said. "For what it's worth, I think you're an excellent leader."
Sabine smiled, just as Chopper rolled over, getting their attention and pointing up at four Wren Mandalorians flying down toward them.
Damian knelt by the canyon with Ezra, Rau, Sabine, and Bo-Katan. The Empire's plans had changed. Sabine's father was being taken to the capital for a public execution.
"I don't see anything yet," Ezra said.
"Just...give my mom a chance," Sabine said.
"I am," Ezra said. "If she says she can find your father, and if you believe her, then so do I."
Sabine nodded just as something exploded in the distance. "Yup. That's my mom."
"Blowing things up definitely runs in the family," Ezra grinned.
"It's a Wren specialty," Sabine said. She and Ezra stared at each other for a second before Sabine's wrist comm went off.
"Sabine, we've engaged Tiber Saxon and his Imperial dogs!" Ursa reported. "The prisoner convoy has changed course toward the canyon!"
"Then the diversion worked," Bo-Katan said.
"There," Rau said, pointing to the convoy. "I'm scanning a single passenger, no armor, and the center trucks...the one most heavily guarded."
"Pretty standard for a prisoner transport," Damian said.
"If we attack the lead vehicle, my father's transport will fall back," Sabine said. "Then someone could sneak up and sabotage its controls, forcing it to stop."
"By then, the rest of the convoy will be too far ahead to do anything about it," Rau said. "So, who's going in?"
"Yeah, that sounds like a me plan," Ezra grinned.
"You sure?" Sabine asked. "You haven't exactly mastered that jetpack yet."
"Hey, I got it," Ezra smiled confidently.
Chopper disagreed, but the plan was set. As they walked away, Damian heard Kanan telling Chopper to be ready to jam the Imperials' comms.
"Everyone ready?" Damian asked.
"Yeah," Sabine said. "You might end up needing that lightsaber this time, though."
Damian shrugged. "We'll see."
"Go easy on 'em," Ezra said to Sabine as everyone left to get into position.
"No chance," Sabine smirked.
Finally, Sabine took off, flying down and sending a paint bomb onto the viewport of the transport her father was in, forcing it to slow down. Sabine began to fly around to avoid the blaster fire she was suddenly the focus of, and everyone readied themselves.
"Now!" Sabine ordered.
Damian, positioned high above the canyon now, opened fire downward as Rau and Bo-Katan flew out from behind a cliff ahead of the convoy. A pair of Saxon Clan Mandalorians deployed to defend the transport, only for Damian to shoot both of their jetpacks, sending them crashing to the ground. Sabine stole a speeder and began to catch up to the first transport with it, passing stormtroopers on the side of the middle transport. Rau and Bo-Katan were busy with the flying Stormtroopers without beskar armor, so when the stormtroopers began to climb onto the middle transport, Damian dropped altitude until he could shoot safely, and a moment later, a hail of carefully-aimed energy bolts from Damian's blaster slaughtered the stormtroopers.
Ahead of them, Kanan took down the front-most speeder in the convoy, then jumped onto the lead transport, blocking several shots from the remaining airborne stormtroopers before Bo-Katan and Rau shot them, one of them bouncing off the marked transport, which began to fall back exactly as Sabine had predicted. Damian glanced behind the convoy as Ezra began to catch up quickly, doing fairly well with his jetpack currently. Then, Damian flew down and landed on the lead transport just as both of the others' turrets swung around at him. He drew his lightsaber and began to deflect the blasters shots with Kanan.
"We need to disable those guns," Damian said.
"Feel free," Kanan said.
Damian smirked and deflected one of the blasts into the turret, blasting it wide open and disabling it. A moment later, Kanan did the same to the other, after several tries.
"Nicely done," Damian nodded, turning to the hatch in the roof. "Grenade, blaster, or lightsaber?"
"Lightsaber," Kanan said after a moment of deliberation.
Suddenly, the marked transport began to gain rapidly and Damian huffed, bracing before the transport rammed theirs, shoving it aside and beginning to pull away.
"Now, why'd you have to go and do a stupid thing like that?" Damian asked as he watched Ezra salute Sabine from the back of the transport as he passed her.
Damian put his lightsaber away and fired a dozen blasts down into the cockpit, killing the driver and vehicle commander before taking off again, Kanan jumping to Sabine's speeder with her. As he took off into the air again, Ezra finally swung down into the transport with Sabine's father in it and Kanan slipped into the last one. A moment later, both knocked the stormtroopers out of theirs, Ezra's including a Mandalorian. Damian looked ahead of the convoy and saw a cliff rapidly drawing near.
"Ezra, get out of there!" Sabine shouted.
Then, all three transports went over the edge. After a moment, Sabine's father flew up over the edge with Ezra's jetpack just as Sabine shot down over the edge after Ezra. Damian flew forward in time to see Ezra fall off the face of the cliff after having jumped from one transport to the next, only for Sabine to catch him and streak back up into the air, hugging him tightly, Ezra sighing in relief and holding her as well.
"That was too close," Sabine said. "One of these times you're going to give me a heart attack."
"I thought I'd try to show off a little," Ezra grinned behind his mask. "And then I reached a little too far."
"No kidding," Sabine said as she landed lightly on top of the cliff, squeezing Ezra before releasing him and turning to her father.
"Thank you, young Jedi," he said, handing Ezra back the jetpack.
"Father," Sabine said unsurely.
He turned to her and they both stood in silence for a long while. Finally, Sabine took her helmet off and her father opened his mouth before closing it again.
"When I got word that you had returned I...did not...believe it," he admitted.
"And?" Sabine asked after a moment.
Finally, her father walked over to her and pulled her into a hug. "Sabine, you are my daughter." He held Sabine for a few moments, Sabine hugging him back with her free arm, then stepped back. "I was pleased then. Even more now."
"Well, we would never leave you in the hands of the Empire," Sabine said.
"Oh that was fine," he dismissed nonchalantly. "I meant your artwork. You've progressed. Your use of color and line is better."
"Better?" Sabine smirked. "What do you mean better? It's great."
"It...It's getting there," her father offered. "Your design aesthetic is still derivative of the pre-exile masters."
"Tojan was an influence, obviously, but I made it my own," Sabine explained. "I thought you had a sharper eye."
"Now I see where Sabine gets her creative side," Ezra grinned.
"Oh, no, Master Jedi, Sabine's artistry comes from her mother," Sabine's father said. "Ursa knows how to destroy her enemies in so many creative ways."
"And here I thought we were rescuing another warrior," Ezra said.
"My dad fights with his art," Sabine explained.
"Sir, if it helps you track her progress," Damian said, stepping forward. "Sabine also painted my armor and jetpack, as well as forging my lightsaber's hilt."
Her father took the lightsaber, inspecting it, then handed it back and inspected the armor and jetpack, finally nodding. "Masterful. Your best work, I'd say."
"I'm pretty proud of it," Sabine agreed. "He takes amazing care of it, too. I haven't had to redo it once."
"Impressive," Sabine's father nodded.
"Call me crazy, but I figure it's probably better for my paintjob if I avoid getting shot," Damian said.
"We need to move," Bo-Katan said finally. "We're too exposed out here."
The others all nodded and anyone with their helmet off put them back on.
"Countess Wren, we've rescued your husband," Rau reported. "Ulric is free."
"Then we have two victories today," Ursa said. "Saxon's forces are in full retreat."
Damian frowned. "Something doesn't feel right."
"Hang on," Tristan said. "Looks like they're not all retreating. We've got an incoming Imperial Transport."
"Reinforcements to cover a retreat?" Sabine asked.
"Order a retreat," Damian said. "Now!"
"They've deployed a single scout walker, no other reinforcements," Tristan said.
"Laughable," Ursa said.
"It's a trick!" Damian said. "Pull back, now!"
Suddenly, there was a warbling, whining sound from Ursa and Tristan's end.
"That sound," Sabine said. "It can't be. Tristan, get out of there! Now!"
Suddenly, the whining gave way to a cracking, static sound, then silence as the communicator went dead.
"What just happened?" Rau asked.
"The Empire has a new weapon," Damian said, pointing at a light in the direction of Ursa's battle. "We need to go look for survivors."
"Survivors?" Bo-Katan asked. "You think it killed them all?"
"We need to go now!" Sabine said, panicked.
She took off instantly and Damian followed just behind her, the others chasing them.
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