Space, Ghost:
"So, do we finally get to find out what this mission is about?" Ezra asked before Sabine smacked the back of his head and earned a chuckle from Anakin. "Hera already told you. It's secret." she reminded as the teen rubbed his head.
"Isn't that everything we do?" he asked. "Some things more than others." Hera replied before addressing Chopper. "Okay, Chop, put Command through." he ordered before he projected a hologram of both Sato and Senator Organa.
"Senator Organa?" she asked in surprise. "I wanted to explain the mission personally, Captain Syndulla. There is much at stake." Organa explained. "How can we help?" Kanan asked him.
"Rebel Command received your report on the apparent disappearance of the Geonosian people. After some debate, we decided to take a risk and investigate." the Senator went on.
"So we're looking for Geonosians?" the ex-merc inquired while folding his arms. "No. You are looking for the team we already sent. We lost contact with them two cycles ago." he told them.
"Do you think it was the Empire?" the older Jedi asked him. "Unknown. Contact was lost after the team reported an energy source on the planet's surface." Sato answered.
"Energy source? When we went to Geonosis, there was nothing. No signs of life or power." the Twi'lek commented. "Your primary mission is to recover our people and any intel they gathered." Organa told them.
"Who is it we're looking for?" the older woman asked. "Saw Gerrera." Rex chimed in from the back of the cockpit before everyone looked at him in surprise. "Rex, you about this?" the Knight asked.
"Yeah, I did." he confirmed. "I've known Saw a long time, and I've learned when he's concerned about something, it's usually worth taking a closer look." the clone added.
"So, Saw is worried about what we found?" the Padawan asked. "He's worried about what we didn't find." Anakin's godfather corrected.
Ghost, near Geonosis:
"The construction modules and debris we saw last time, it's all gone." Hera observed as the ship exited hyperspace near Geonosis.
"Well, I'm picking up a power source on the surface right where Command said it would be, but I can't raise Saw on any channel. There's only static." Sabine announced as she turned from the console to look at the others.
"Geonosians live underground. It's possible Saw and his people can't hear our transmission." Kanan surmised. "Let's get down there and find out." the Twi'lek suggested before piloting the ship towards the planet.
"Hang on. This storm is wreaking havoc on my scopes." she warned after the ship entered a sandstorm. "Chopper, stabilizers!" she ordered before the droid plugged into the droid port.
"How's it feel to be back, Rex?" Zeb asked him before getting a scoff in return. "Honestly? I was hoping I'd never have to come back to this dust ball." he replied bitterly before Hera landed the ship.
Ghost, Geonosis:
"I had to set her down, but we're in the neighborhood." Hera stated as Rex looked at the monitors on the console. "According to Command, Gerrera's recon team entered a structure two klicks north of our current position."
"Maybe they took shelter there." Anakin suggested. "It's possible." Kanan mused before addressing the younger man's girlfriend. "Sabine, what about the power source you detected?" he asked.
"Different location, and close. But thanks to the storm, I can't get a precise reading about where or what it is." she replied while checking the power source on the console.
"Keep working on it." the Twi'lek told her as she stood. "Until we know more about that power source, we'll split up into two groups. Rex, Kanan, Ezra and Chopper, go check out the coordinates of Saw's last transmission." she ordered.
"What about me?" Zeb asked while pointing to himself. "You're staying here with us, in case the Empire comes along." she replied. "So I can bust some buckets." he chuckled, punching a fist into his other palm as she nodded and smiled.
"Guys. May the Force be with you." the ex-merc told the other group before they left.
'Thank the Force I remembered to grab my helmet before heading outside.' Anakin thought as he, Sabine and Zeb walked through the sandstorm in search of the power source.
"How's it going out there?" Hera asked over their comms. "This storm is gonna seriously damage my paint job." the Mandalorian groaned in annoyance. "Don't you change your paint every season though?" her boyfriend asked.
"Every what?" she asked in confusion. "Nothing!" he replied quickly. Before she could question him further, the Twi'lek's voice was heard over their comms again
"I meant with the mission." she told the younger woman. "We're closing in on the power source. It's just up ahead." the ex-merc reported. "Whatever it is, it's big." the Lasat added, his voice filtered by the breathing mask he wore.
"How do you know that?" the younger man asked. "Look." his friend replied as they approached a structure just ahead. "Oh, I don't believe it." the Mandalorian remarked in awe.
"Spectre-5, what do you see?" the older woman asked her. "It's a shield generator." Anakin answered. "I didn't copy, Spectre-7. Did you say 'shield generator'?" she asked in disbelief.
"Oh, yeah. Military grade. Looks like it's fully operational. This is what's responsible for those power readings." the ex-merc's girlfriend replied as Zeb checked the generator.
"Can you extract the deflector core?" Hera asked. "It won't be easy in this storm, but I think we can do it." the younger man answered. "Luck's on our side for a change. Chopper Base could really use a shield. Get to work. I'll contact Kanan." she replied before cutting off.
"So this shield, what do you think it was protecting?" Zeb asked, pointing the flashlight as Sabine worked on removing the core. "That's actually a really good question." Anakin commented.
"What do you mean?" she asked while pressing buttons on the core. "You don't just find a fully operational shield generator on a deserted planet for no reason." the Lasat pointed out as she stepped away from the generator.
"Good point. You know what that means?" she asked as he and Anakin walked up to the core. "Um, no. What does that mean?" Zeb asked, sounding confused. "I believe she means work fast." her boyfriend answered.
"Look's like the storm's letting up." Anakin observed as he and the other two continued extracting the core. "Spectre-4, Spectre-5, Spectre-7. Get back to the Ghost immediately." Hera ordered.
"Affirmative, Spectre-2. We've got the deflector core, and we're-" Sabine started to reply before the Twi'lek cut her off. "Leave it if you have to. There are battle droids in the area. I don't know how many." she warned them as the storm finally settled.
"Finally!" Anakin said in relief as he removed his helmet. "Can't see a thing in this helmet." he griped. "Battle droids?" Zeb asked in disbelief as he and the other two turned around to see sand covered rocks.
"I don't see any battle droids. I just see a bunch of rocks." he added after removing his mask. "I'm not sure those are rocks." the Mandalorian said as she approached one and wiped some sand off it.
"Destroyers." she announced. "Oh, shit..." her boyfriend trailed off grimly.
"We'll make short work of these tin cans." Zeb said as he unholstered his rifle and took aim at the one Sabine had checked out. Anakin placed his helmet on the core before putting his hand on the rifle and pushing it down.
"Are you insane? You shoot even one of them, and they'll all wake up." he warned. "He's right, Zeb." Hera spoke in agreement. "Okay, what about the Ghost cannons?" the Mandalorian suggested.
"No good. The sandstorm's clogged up the barrels." the Twi'lek answered. "They're spread out enough. We should be able to get past without any trouble." the ex-merc stated as his friend holstered his rifle.
"No. We can't just leave the deflector core." the younger man's girlfriend argued. "Are you crazy? Like Anakin said, if we bump into one of those things, they'll all wake up." he argued back while her boyfriend gestured their friend as if to say 'exactly'.
"Okay, okay. So we'll take our time and we'll go carefully." she suggested. "Are you sure it's not too big to make it through?" he asked as they walked to the back of the core.
"Hey, you made it through." she reminded as they grabbed the back edges of the core. "Good point." he replied as they started to push the core. Anakin threw his hands up in exasperation as he followed them.
"Unbelievable! I feel like I'm a background character half the time!" he muttered in disbelief under his breath.
"Hera, the droids are waking up!" Sabine warned as the droidekas suddenly started to activate and shake off the sand. Anakin activated his lightsaber and moved over to his girlfriend and friend as they readied their blasters.
"You thinking what I'm thinking?" he asked her. "For once, yes." she answered. "What about the deflector core?" Zeb asked them. "Leave it." the ex-merc replied before Hera contacted them.
"Zeb, Anakin, Sabine, wait. Don't leave it. Use it!" she told them. "How, exactly? It's disconnected from the array." the Lasat reminded. "Shit! She's right." Anakin agreed before addressing his girlfriend.
"Sabine, can you tie it to the core's power supply and minimize the field?" he asked before she holstered her blasters an kneeled in front of the control panel. "On it." she replied before pressing buttons.
"Minimize any faster?" Zeb asked as the droids activated their shields and opened fire. Luckily it was at that moment the Mandalorian managed to get a shield up.
"Not bad, babe." Anakin complimented, deactivating his saber before wrapping an arm around her waist, pulling her close and pressing a kiss to her visor. The ex-merc suddenly started to sputter in disgust as he was reminded by the awful taste in his mouth that they had just been in sandstorm.
"I hate sand." he complained while wiping his mouth. Sabine giggled as wiped his mouth one more time. "Thanks. But it won't hold forever." she warned as the droids kept shooting.
"Not good, not good!" Zeb exclaimed as the shield started to falter a bit. A few minutes passed before it got worse. "The shield's failing!" Sabine cried as the shield's core started to falter and and holes appeared in the shield.
Anakin reactivated his blade and deflected a shot that got in before shield finally fell. Luckily at that same moment the droids suddenly started shutting down before he sheathed his blade again.
"Ah." the Lasat sighed in relief. "Mind if we don't do that again?" he asked with a relieved grin. "I 100 percent agree." the ex-merc agreed with a relieved smile.
"Zeb, Anakin, Sabine, I need you up here!" Hera ordered over the ship's comm after they pushed the shield core into the cargo bay. "What now?" Zeb sighed in slight annoyance before he and the other two headed for the cockpit.
"Imperial light cruiser. They haven't detected us yet. We need to get the others back here now, but I can't raise their comlinks. They must have gone back into the tunnels for some reason." the Twi'lek informed them after they entered the cockpit.
"If I take a transmitter into the cave, think I can contact them from there?" the Lasat suggested. "Try it, but don't stray too far." she told him before turning to the couple as he left.
"You two finish locking down the deflector core." she ordered. "On it." Anakin replied before he and his girlfriend exited the cockpit.
"We're in trouble!" Hera warned before the couple were forced to grip the core as the ship suddenly shook. "Shields just took a major hit." she informed them before starting the ship.
"Sabine, I need you in the nose gun! Anakin, take the turret!" she ordered before the two quickly made their way to the two guns. Once he was in, the ex-merc saw two TIE bombers before smirking as he watched one get destroyed by his girlfriend.
As the Twi'lek piloted the ship into the air and after the remaining TIE, Anakin took aim before pulling the trigger and seeing that only one barrel was working. "I only got one barrel!" he told her.
"Thank to that storm, you're gonna have to make do!" she retorted while continuing to pursue the bomber. "Stupid sand, gets everywhere." Sabine muttered before her boyfriend smiled.
'I have no idea why, but for some reason, that was hottest thing she's ever said.' he thought before focusing back on the TIE. "I have you now..." he muttered before firing off a shot that destroyed one of it's wings.
"Strap yourselves in!" the older woman warned before Anakin saw a hole in the ground roughly the same size as the ship. "This doesn't look good." he muttered in worry and while watching the hole start surrounding them.
A few minutes later Anakin felt the ship stop moving and sensed that the others were back on board along with two more he didn't recognize before exiting the turret and making his way to the common room.
"Saw Gerrera, this is Hera, Sabine, Anakin and Zeb." Kanan introduced them after he and the others entered the room. "Phoenix Leader, I'm honored to meet you. Your actions have not gone unnoticed among the ranks of other rebels." he greeted Hera who folded her arms before replying.
"Neither have yours." she replied with a frown before Gerrera turned his attention to Anakin. "I'm not entirely surprised Revan had a kid, he never did seem like the other Jedi I met. Well except for maybe Tano." he said.
"Well my parents never were much for following the rules." he replied with a smile as Saw chuckled. "I had a feeling their was something between those two. Hard to not notice the jealousy in his tone when stepped up to Bonteri." he commented before looking around.
"I'm a bit surprised they're not here." he said before noticing the pained expression on the younger man's face. "They uh... They were killed about 2 years ago now." he replied while feeling his chest tighten.
Saw stepped up to him before placing a hand on his shoulder. "You have my sympathies, kid. I know what it's like to lose family in a war." he admitted, squeezing the ex-merc's shoulder before letting go.
"Thanks, Saw. I appreciate it." he replied with a small smile. Gerrera returned it before turning his attention to Ezra and a Geonosian carrying something. "You found a local?" Zeb asked in disbelief.
"It's okay. That's Klik-Klak." Ezra introduced before Anakin snorted in amusement. "'Klik-Klak'? That's really the best you could come up with?" he asked dryly. The Padawan shot him a glare and opened his mouth to retort before the Twi'lek cut him off.
"Is he the only one?" she asked. "We think so." he replied after dropping his glare at the ex-merc and looking at her. "Well, that complicates things." the older woman sighed.
"He's our only clue to what the Imperials did here. I wanna take him with us." Saw added. "Okay, what does Klik-Klak want to do?" Hera asked while looking at him and the younger Jedi.
"He wants to stay here. I think he wants us to take him deeper into the planet." the teen answered after his new friend said something. "That's too bad, because we already have an agreement." Gerrera reminded him before addressing the older Jedi.
"Don't we, Jedi?" he asked. "We agreed that we would take Klik-Klak back to our base for questioning." the other man told her. "Kanan, can I have a word with you?" she requested before they left the room.
"Leave him alone!" Ezra yelled as Saw tortured the Geonosian with an electro-shock transmitter before shoving the teen away when he attempted to stop him. "Hey, you can't take him!" he snapped after the door opened and Hera caught him.
"I said go!" Gerrera ordered as Zeb growled and attempted to charge him before being stopped by Rex, who placed a hand on his chest. "You're hurting him!" the Padawan yelled at the older man.
"Gerrera, what are you doing?" the Twi'lek demanded with a glare before the other man turned to face them. "I'm taking your shuttle and the bug." he answered her.
"You're not taking the Phantom anywhere." Sabine said, glaring and putting her hands on her hips. "Saw, we had a deal. We'll question Klik-Klak at Chopper Base." the Knight reminded him as he stepped forward.
"Your methods are soft, Jedi. We lost the last war because of you. I won't lose this one." he told them before electrocuting Klik-Klak again. "Stop!" the teen ordered, grabbing the older man by the waist before being tossed away.
"Easy, soldier. You're not in command here." the clone told him, grabbing him from behind before Saw grabbed his shoulders and threw him on the ground. "Rex!" Anakin cried in concern before moving over to his godfather's side.
"Now move it, bug!" Gerrera ordered the Geonosian again before the latter dropped the object he was carrying. "The egg!" Ezra cried out as the two women went to grab it before Saw got it and pointed his blaster at it.
"I don't want to do this, but you leave me no choice." he told them with a frown.
"Let us pass, or I destroy the egg." Saw warned before Klik-Klak spoke again. "Saw, you don't want to do this." Kanan tried to reason as Anakin helped Rex up.
"I know you believe you're doing the right thing, but-" Hera started before Gerrera cut her off. "Our enemy shows no mercy. Neither can we." he told them. "If you harm that egg, you're helping the Empire wipe out the last of his kind." Ezra reminded as the Geonosian spoke again.
"Yes, you do. I know you care, because you know what it's like to lose family." the clone told him.
"Yeah, I know what it's like. I lost my sister to the Separatists and my planet to the Empire. I'm fighting for you and everyone else not to lose what they've got. And I won't apologize for how I do it." Saw replied.
"Then you're no better than the Empire." the Padawan told him before Chopper entered the room warbling. "They found us!" Sabine stated. "We have to leave. Now." Gerrera ordered.
"We can't take him with us. Klik-Klak belongs here." the teen told him. "Hey, if we all get captured, that'll end this debate real quick. Let's go!" Hera ordered urgently as the droid warbled.
"They're cutting us off!" Anakin warned.
"We've got rocket troopers incoming!" Hera warned after looking outside the cockpit's viewport. "Ezra, I need you guys up top now." she ordered, looking at him before turning her attention to Saw as the Padawan left.
"Saw, can I count on you?" she asked. "In a fight against the Empire?" he chuckled. "Any time." he continued with a grin before handing the egg back to Klik-Klak. "Good. Get up there with the others and buy me some time." she replied before he left the cockpit too.
"What's your plan?" Sabine asked. "Well, we can't go up, so we gotta go down." she answered before looking at the Geonosian. "Looks like you get your way, Klik-Klak." she told him before he happily muttered his name in Geonosian.
"Try to keep up, babe." Sabine teased her boyfriend after opening the cargo bay door. Anakin scoffed before grinning at her. "Pretty sure I'll be the one saying that in a few seconds." he replied before they both jumped out of the ship.
While the Mandalorian used her jetpack to ascend, the ex-merc instead ran up the side of the wall. As they neared the first set, the young man backflipped off the wall and landed in front of one jumptrooper before igniting his blade and slashing him across the chest while his girlfriend shot the other.
"You were say-" she started before noticing he was gone. The woman then looked up to see him having killed another trooper and was now using their jetpack.
"Gotta keep up!" he teased. "Hey, no fair!" she objected before following him and tossing a thermal detonator at another trooper. Just as he neared another set of troopers, the ex-merc quickly ditched the jetpack before falling and landing on one knee in the middle of them.
"Surrender, rebel!" one ordered before he re-activated his saber and took them all down within seconds. Once that was taken care of he jumped off and landed on the Ghost at the same time Sabine did.
The eponym of the Hero With No Fear gave her a wink before Rex addressed him. "What you just did reminded me of the Battle of Teth. I think both your parents and namesake would be impressed and proud by what you just did." he said with a smile.
"Thanks... Captain." he replied, mirroring the smile and giving his godfather a salute. The clone returned it before they all headed back inside.
"We can't stay down here forever." Saw said after climbing down the ladder to the common room. "I wonder how deep this goes." Anakin chimed in after Klik-Klak spoke.
"According to Chopper, not much further down." Sabine answered after the droid warbled. "And he's picking up something on his scanner." she added while looking at her wrist computer.
"I say we check it out." Ezra said after his new friend spoke again. "Every second we spend down here seals our fate." Gerrera disagreed before Hera entered the room and the ex-merc's girlfriend folded her arms.
"We've come this far. If Klik-Klak thinks this is the way to go, I want to see why." she said while putting a hand on his back.
Every one but Hera and Chopper exited the ship before Saw got their attention. "Over here." he said while shining his light on some canisters with Empire's symbol. "Those canisters. Imperial weapons division." Sabine stated after they all walked up to the canisters.
"They're for poison gas." Gerrera added. "There." Rex said while pointing at the symbol. "Just like his drawing, the circle in the circle. Now we know what happened to his people." he added before Klik-Klak spoke sadly.
Ezra placed a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder before Saw turned to face the Geonosian. "Ezra's right. The Geonosian belongs here." he said before approaching Klik-Klak and removing the stun cuffs.
"Those canisters are all we need to prove that the Empire wiped out its people. Everyone loses family in war, even the enemy. The Geonosians deserve the same chance to rebuild that we do." he explained before the Geonosian turned to the Padawan and spoke again.
"Go on, Klik-Klak. You're free." the teen told his friend with a smile before Klik-Klak walked over to some rocks and started moving them after putting the egg down.
"I don't think this is the bottom." the clone stated. "Maybe there are other survivors." the younger Jedi suggested before his friend finished and turned back around.
"Huh. They sure are a resourceful species." Anakin's godfather added as Klik-Klak spoke again before grabbing the egg and entering the tunnel. Once he was in, the Geonosian spoke again before sealing the tunnel behind him.
"I hope he finds a safe place to hatch the egg." Ezra said as Kanan and Hera walked over to them. "He's kept it safe this long. They'll be okay." the Knight reassured him.
"Okay, let's load some of these canisters as proof for the Senate." the Twi'lek told them before Anakin, Rex, Ezra and Saw walked over to one and started slowly pushing it towards the ship.
"They're trying to seal us in!" Kanan warned as he and Saw entered the cockpit. "We're not getting buried down here." Hera stated before turning the ship and flying towards the entrance while Zeb and Ezra blasted any rocks that came near the ship.
"The cruiser is directly over our exit. It's blocking our escape!" Sabine warned as they saw it just above the tunnel's entrance. "Their captain is showing their inexperience." the Twi'lek muttered.
"All hands, fire forward batteries! Sabine, fire proton torpedoes." she ordered before the Lasat and Padawan opened fire on the cruiser. Once they were closer to the entrance, the Mandalorian fired the torpedos before watching as they hit the bottom of the port side.
"We've lost the canisters!" Anakin exclaimed, watching the monitor showing the magnetic lock's status as Hera piloted the ship towards the atmosphere.
Chapter 35 done.