Chapter Seventy Seven.
Ana paced up and down the room, agitated, at the lack of progress.
"Gregor, Wolffe? We have to do something. We can't just leave him—wherever he is. Why hasn't Jaing got back to us yet."
"It takes time…." Gregor tried to placate her but it wasn't working; she was panicking. She had checked on the Imperial labour camps and prisons; they were assuming that was where he had been sent but there were hundreds and you didn't escape or just walk away from them. No one here had ever heard of that happening. People had also just disappeared.
What if he wasn't in one of those— what if…
"Rex may not have time."
There was a long silence before Gregor spoke again.
"Jaing's one of the best. Clan Skirata have many other contacts they can call on. A'den's out scouting and looking for leads on the ground."
"What about Jesse? Anybody heard from him?"
"He was in Wild Space last time we heard; chasing down another lead."
"For Rex or Kix?"
"Kix."
Sighing, she should have known better than to ask; she went to check on Kallie who was playing in her activity nest. Ana dropped to the floor, crossing her legs to sit next to her, feeling she was neglecting her daughter, although she had not been apart from her for more than 15 minutes since they came back; even sleeping in the same bed. Ana pushed the errant lock of hair from her daughter's face. She had her Father's hair and eyebrows.
The murmured conversation, she overheard, confirmed that the others were still discussing options but being with her daughter gave her some form of respite from the anxiety and she needed that. She was exhausted. Pulling Kallie into her arms she settled back; the child seemed to know her Mother needed some comfort and readily supplied it. Her little arms struggling to meet around her neck. They settled down on the cushions; Ana closed her eyes, just for a minute.
.
In Kyrimorut, Jaing pulled himself away from the screen; "Gregor's not going to like this." He had found The Captain and had it confirmed by A'den, who had wanted to get him out immediately. Ordo had been against it, saying more planning was needed, more people on the ground. He dialled up the com; they had updated their encryption. The Imperials were smarter than they looked. Well some of them were.
He waited patiently for them to pick up. Finally Gregor's face rose from the com.
"Su cuy'gar! Ner Vod!"
"Su cuy'gar!" Gregor always reverted to Mandoa; he had taken to it, as well as any of the Commando's, even though he had problems with his memory. Jaing could see numerous people in the background, including, through a doorway, Ana with…..a child. It had been a year almost, since they had the Cure.
"Te Ad'ika, tion'ad…?"
"Rex."
"Ah," It was even more imperative that they find him, now that Jaing had seen the child; she looked just like her cousins. "Let me have a closer look."
Gregor gestured to Ana, and she brought Kallie over; the cheerful child waved at the face that looked just like her father and uncles but younger. Ana pulled her closer.
"We've found him. I've sent Gregor the coordinates."
He could see the tears welling in her eyes, as she nodded.
Jaing nodded back towards her and Gregor took the com back, walking to the other side of the room, he spoke into it, in hushed tones. Ana hugged Kallie close to her again.
.
They sat in the back room and the Caf flowed freely; Jaing had supplied the information they needed. Rex was in Wobani Labour Camp and Wolffe, Gregor and Jom had come up with a plan to break him out. They were just waiting for Zeb and Kallus now. The door chime rang and Tula rushed to answer; Ana recognised the voice of Kallus before Tula let him through.
"What happened?" Gregor was the first to ask, as they all saw his strapped up arm and battered face. "Where's Zeb?"
"We were ambushed. Zeb's in a tank for the next 72 hours.
"Zeb? What exactly happened?"
"They knew we were coming. There's a leak somewhere."
"It's not Rex." Ana was on the defensive.
"We know. The mission wasn't planned until after he left."
"So there's still a mole?"
"Definitely. Thrawn was always ahead of the game in this sector."
"So we're two down now?"
"Can we still do it, the four of us?"
The four men looked at each other.
"We really needed Zeb but A'den's on the ground."
"Can't use my arm but I can still pilot and be in charge of coms."
The realisation hit her; it would be delayed but they couldn't delay any longer. It had been months and who knows what the Empire had done to him. He may even be dead. She pushed that thought out of her head immediately, not even contemplating it.
"I'm coming with you."
"No!"Gregor was the first to answer, vehemently.
"Why not? I can shoot. I've listened to your plan. I know it inside out."
"She can shoot, take Gregor's place and well — Rex told me, and we may need a medic." Jom was backing her.
Ana hadn't wanted to think about that but Rex may well need her expertise and she could stock up Joopa Base before they left. Without their consensus, she got on the com to Jay, for supplies, listing the items she may need. Finally Wolffe came up to her.
"It's a go. You're with us."
Ana sighed with relief.
At last.
.
Ana hugged her daughter one last time, smoothed her hair and kissed her head. Kallie squirmed at the fussing, as Ana handed Essie the letter.
"What's this?"
"In case we don't come back."
Essie pushed it back into her hand but Tula reached over, closing her hand around Ana's, as she took it. She had been very quiet over the last few days; Ana knew she had been helping Essie through this. Essie may look like a hard woman but she was as soft as a marshmallow inside and since Ana told her the plan, it was killing her.
"I want her to know we both loved…love her very much."
Ana had never seen Essie break until now and she couldn't cope with that, anything but that, she had to pull away. Her father's Verpine rifle and ammunition were slung in the bag over her shoulder. Wiping the tears from her face, she was determined not to cry again, she needed to focus and headed out to the loaded speeder; the others had left earlier on another equally loaded up speeder. They were taking off from Joopa Base.
The journey to Joopa Base started out quiet enough, the speeder bouncing over the sand dunes; Kallus interrupted that, "Call me Alex, if it makes you feel better."
"It doesn't." But he was Zeb's friend and she hadn't asked about him, "How is Zeb…..really?"
"Not good. He was still in Bacta when I left, but we'd both promised to help."
"I'm sorry. I'm sure he will be okay."
This Rebellion was taking its toll.
Part of her wished she could be there for Zeb; some treated him as a joke. He was purple with big lime green eyes and people still made judgements on how you looked but she had only ever found him polite and helpful, and he had looked after her when she was in Bacta. Rex had told her, so she owed him. Rex and the clones had a lot of respect for his expertise and knowledge, which counted a lot with Ana. He had been the captain of the Lasat Royal Guard, so he must have been good.
"You okay with the plan?" Kallus checked again.
"Yes. I just need him out of there."
Kallus nodded not wanting to say that they were possibly too late; three months was a long time in a labour camp.
They reached Joopa Base and brought the supplies aboard; the ship was already fuelled and ready for take off from the platform. It would take at least a day to get there, with the number of jumps they were making together with the fake transponder codes supplied by the Skirata Clan; the Labour camp shouldn't know who they were.
"I'll take first watch," Wolffe announced, "and the rest of you should get some rest and rations, if you can." He looked at Ana as he said this. An hour later the ship was loaded and they took off.
Space flights were always boring, Ana realised, as she set about cleaning the Verpine; it didn't need cleaning but it did give her something to do. Jom sat opposite sorting and cleaning his kit. Ana watched, thinking it looked clean enough but he was unpacking, checking and repacking. He did it three times before he appeared satisfied.
"Jom…..why are you here?"
He looked at her incredulous, his impressive moustache twitched slightly.
"He's my Captain."
If he had been a clone, she would not have questioned it but Jom saw her look and continued.
"He's saved my life more times than I can remember and….he made me the soldier that I am."
Ana nodded, she loved hearing how Rex had affected peoples lives; she knew better than most, she would not be here now if it wasn't for him.
"We'll get him, don't worry. Get some sleep."
Ana nodded, giving her Verpine a final wipe before putting it away. She drained her water, chewed the last of the protein bar her aunts had made for them before crossing her arms to get comfortable enough to sleep, although she thought there was no way she would.
Jom put the finishing touches to his pack and walked to the cockpit. "She's asleep."
"Good." Grumbled Wolffe.
"Will she be okay?"
"You pushed for her come, saying she could shoot."
"Rex was adamant she can."
"She'll be alright. Kal would say she's Mandokarla." Gregor joined the conversation. "He liked her."
"She's likeable." Wolffe retorted.
"And you'd know."
"Is there something I should know?" Jom could the awkwardness.
"No!" Both clones answered. He had obviously hit a nerve. "She'll be fine."
"Okay. I'm getting some shuteye." He left them muttering to each other.
.
Ana felt a hand shaking her shoulder, realising she had actually slept. Gregor pushed a Caf in her hand.
"We're nearly there, get that down your throat."
She sipped, it was scalding hot; putting it to one side, she went to the fresher, washed with icy cold water to get the sleep out of her eyes. The others were ready, she could hear them talking, going over the plans getting last minute intel from A'den who was here, in this ship. She drained the Caf.
"Ready?" Asked Gregor, the rest nodded and they jumped out of the ship, turning into the dangerous commandos they had all trained to be. She watched as they merged into the landscape; she knew they were heading towards the bleak impersonal industrial buildings that she could see on the horizon but could no longer see exactly where they were.
"All we can do is wait now until they give us the message."
.
The door of the cell creaked open, Rex lay on his back, eyes seemingly closed; they were early today.
"Clone— up!"
The stun baton jabbed him but it was half hearted, "Commander wants to see you."
Now what—interrogation?
Rex mentally prepared himself; he'd been left alone for a few days, something else had been happening to put them all on edge. He slowly pulled himself away from his bunk, and was grabbed by the Guard.
"Faster, old man. You have someone to meet."
"Who?"
"Wouldn't you like to know."
"Go on tell him. Let him stew on it."
The other guards helmet dipped and he let out a low chuckle. "For some unknown kriffing reason, Lord Vader himself is coming to interrogate you," he received another jab from the stun gun, "personally. The Emperor's right hand man, here. That should be interesting." Rex was jabbed in the back to get him moving quicker.
"I'm going to see if I can get to observe. They say, he can kill you just by looking at you or waving his hand."
Rex saw movement on the top of the gantry then all hell broke loose. He was pushed to the side as the guards started firing; rolling he regained his balance and backed into the cover of the wall. He could see there weren't many but they were well trained and then he saw a familiar set of armour.
Gregor!
Rex took his chance, although he was cuffed and had no blaster, that had never stopped him before and he slipped away, heading for the gantry. Then a hand yanked him back. He saw the other prisoners pouring out of their cells, using any weapons they could find, adding to the confusion, then his helmet was pushed into his hand. He pulled it on awkwardly.
"Here Vod," his cuffs sprang off, "use this," a blaster appeared. "now follow me." Even through the bucket, he recognised a clones voice. "Boil, sir. Friends have come for you. Answers later. There's a VIP coming. Need to get going before he arrives."
Rex kept close to the trooper, crouching, as they wended their way through the buildings to a door. Whoever was with Gregor, they were making inroads into the guards, who weren't the brightest or quickest. Rex thought they were here because they had probably failed at something or simply got too old.
"Boil how?"
"Posted here, same time as you."
"Co…."
"Questions later Rex." Boil interrupted. "We need to get to the bikes." He blasted two stormtroopers who were putting up a fight against Gregor. Gregors helmet dipped when they went down.
"How?"
"Someone called A'den made contact. Verified Wolffe. Now they're here."
Rex fired at a stormtrooper aiming at Wolffe, hitting him square in the back.
"Nice shot. No more questions," growled Boil.
They were now standing back to back as they picked off stormtroopers to their left and right, helped by the other prisoners emerging and slowly making their way to the Bike Bay.
"We need to get out quick before they launch the Ties and reinforcements. Don't think they've had a breakout like this before."
"They've never faced Clones, Mandalorians and Rebels together before."
Rex heard a snigger from Boil, as he picked off another guard, then they sprinted for the Bike Bay doors. A few seconds later they were in and the two guards there didn't stand a chance; Boil unlocked two bikes, priming them.
"Two seaters." He explained, as they crouched watching the entrance. The doors blew and the body of a stormtrooper flew in, followed by a mismatched squad.
A Mandalorian, two Clones and a Rebel.
.
Kallus boosted Ana up onto the roof, "Just take out the ones we tell you to." He released her foot. "Can you manage that?"
He was still unsure who or what she would be able to hit at this distance even with a slug thrower.
"I am not a Stormtrooper." Kallus heard indignation in her voice but missed the gesture; most Stormtroopers were excellent shots, most of the time. He wasn't sure where those rumours had started, probably Bridger. Satisfied she was safe, he set up the coms.
"You set up?"
"The name's Ana, and yes,—Alex."
Alex smiled.
"Okay, let's go."
.
Rex would have felt better operating the bike but Boil gave him no choice; he had so many questions for him, and the others. He tucked his head in as Boil enjoyed himself evading his previous comrades.
He blinked, thankful his HUD still worked in parts; he knew Jom, Wolffe and Gregor, and he thought the Mandalorian was A'den.
He couldn't think of a better team. So who was at the ship.
.
Ana watched, as part of the complex went up in flames, smoke spiralling up in other areas and Kallus started up the engines. Now, she could hear speeder bikes screaming, as they headed towards them. She hit the troopers on foot, and on the gantry.
Then she heard another noise.
"Incoming!"
"What?"
"Imperial Lambda class shuttle, heading towards the camp." Alex started the engines, "Used by high ranking Imperials."
"Shit, are they clear yet?"
"Yeah. On the first two bikes. Do not take them out."
Using the scope, she could see exactly who was on the bikes, Rex and a 'Trooper', Gregor and Wolffe; she moved her sight to the others pouring out behind, more and more bikes. A'den was up in the air, using his jet pack, flying backwards, firing at the bikes. They were both taking them out one by one. Then as the Lambda came into land, four Ties came zooming out of the complex.
"Ana! Down!"
She took one more down and slid off the roof of the ship, landing heavily but she didn't care, the bikes were a few seconds away. Before she knew it, she was on the ramp waiting, as the bikes engines screeched to a standstill.
Rex was first off and up the ramp pulling her with him; the engines were started and screaming nearly at full power as Gregor, Wolffe and A'den ran up. Before the ramp was even up, Alex pulled off the planet, Ties screaming after them.
"Boys."
"On it Rex."
Gregor and Wolffe manned the guns, taking out two Ties before they entered hyperspace.
Ana held onto Rex, as Boil helped him onto the med bed.
.
Vader walked down the ramp of his shuttle to face yet another example of Imperial incompetence.
He was not happy and everyone knew it.
"Where is the Commander?"
He had felt that presence, a familiar one, one he had thought was gone; one that should have been with him through all this. His right hand clenched into a fist, as his ever present anger rose.
A/N.
I am never really happy with fight scenes, so i hope this reads okay.
Sued
