(Ok I realized a plot hole in the previous chapter. Ezra knew that Thrain was getting fuel from the Empire but in their previous encounter, Thrain never told the Rebels that the Empire was his supplier. So to fix that problem, I'll just explain that the rebels had their intelligence network keep an eye on Thrain and any information they could get on him and that in the process found out about Thrain's deal. It's a cheap way to fix that but it's better then just leaving it out there unresolved.)
"Will you just let me speak?!" protested Hondo as Chopper continued to threaten to shoot holes in the pirate.
"Look we can't just keep blowing up bombs. The station's already on fire and anymore explosions could start a chain reaction that kills us all. So I told a fib and now the pirates won't be expecting us," explained Hondo.
Chopper demanded to know what his plan was.
"Uhh…I haven't got that far ahead," shrugged Hondo.
Chopper swore and headed towards the exit with Hondo right behind him. The two rushed into a hallway which was now jam packed with of the station personal quickly running to their ships. As if the deadly pirates weren't reason enough to leave, the station was now on fire. Evacuation alarms were blaring as people were pushing and shoving each other to get away. Some were even crazy enough to try and haul cargo through the hallways. Speaking of which, one of those crazies was a familiar red fat alien.
"Azmorigan!" Hondo called out.
"You! Wait up!" shouted Azmorigan, shoving a grav pallet with what generators the man could strap onto it.
"When you said you're not walking out of this with nothing, you really meant it," chuckled Hondo.
"You idiot! One of the bombs you set off blew up my ship!" protested Azmorigan.
"Oh I did? My deepest apologies my friend. However, you're in luck. I just happen to have a ship that can easily accommodate you and your cargo," said Hondo. Truthfully, he intestinally blew up the Jablogian's ship hoping he would be desperate enough to make a deal.
"Fine whatever. Just get me out of here," Azmorigan grunted.
"Of course. I believe splitting the profits for selling those generators should more then cover your traveling expenses," smiled Hondo.
"What?!" screamed Azmorigan.
"Or you can stay here with the pirates," shrugged Hondo.
"You swindling swine," grumbled Azmorigan.
"Wrong. We're both swindling swine as for the moment, we're partners," announced Hondo. He glanced around and noticed Chopper was gone. He probably decided to run off and save Ezra. Hondo didn't like just running off abandoning the boy but if he tried to save him, he'd just end up dead too. Hondo was overall a pragmatist more than anything else.
"Fine you've got a deal now let's go!" snapped Azmorigan.
"Excellent. Right this way partner," Hondo replied. He led the Jablogian to the hangar where his ship was docked. Hondo saw Chopper rolling up the entrance ramp but wasn't too concerned at the moment. He helped Azmorigan shoved the grav pallet onto the cargo lift and rode it up into the cargo bay of the ship.
"Now let's just get to the cockpit and get out of here," said Hondo after stowing the generators.
"The sooner the better," Azmorigan muttered.
They were on the way towards the bridge when they felt the ship shutter slightly. They were taking off.
"Uhh…that's just my droid getting us into the air as soon as possible," Hondo lied. He kept his smile but was starting to get a little nervous. Chopper was clearly up to something that probably involved saving Ezra and his Jedi companion but Chopper wasn't including Hondo in his plan.
They reached the entrance to the cockpit and Hondo hit the button to open the door. To his dismay, nothing happened. The door was locked.
"My droid is also known for his sense of humor," Hondo laughed nervously.
"I don't find any of this sarcastic," grumbled Azmorigan.
Hondo knocked on the door. "Chopper. Open the door. Now please," he called out.
Chopper could be hearing screaming binary back at him from behind the door.
"What? No that is a bad idea. And watch your language," protested Hondo.
Chopper just spouted more curses and taunts in binary.
"What did he say?" demanded Azmorigan.
"We'll be leaving as soon as we pick up two more passengers. Nothing to worry about," smiled Hondo.
"Then why doesn't he open the door and what were you talking about when you said it was a bad idea?" frowned a suspicious Azmorigan.
"Oh that…" Hondo chuckled nervously. "…he was just telling me to buckle up as it's going to be a bumpy ride."
"Why don't I believe you?" hissed Azmorigan.
Second Sister shoved Ezra behind a cargo crate as blaster fire rang out throughout the cargo bay. "Are you insane! They could have killed you!" she shouted.
"Can we talk about this later?" protested Ezra.
Sister glanced around the crate and saw the cyborg crash land on top of several battle droids. He moved incredibly fast, swiping and tearing droid and pirates alike with his metallic claws. In all the chaos, Sister noticed that her lightsaber and Ezra's were lying on the floor next to Thrain's prone body. He did have any burns on him which meant the missile blast probably didn't kill him but at least he was incapacitated.
Sister summoned both weapons and Ezra's com unit to her hands via the Force then ignited her lightsaber. She cut Ezra's restraints and handed him his own lightsaber and com unit.
"We make a run for the door," Sister said.
The two dash out from cover but halted as they saw battle droids and destroyer droids pouring into the room.
"Sithspawn," Sister cursed as she and Ezra quickly rushed back to cover.
Ezra took a few shots from cover at the various battle droids while Sister searched around for a way out of the chaos. Unfortunately, there were only one way out and Sister didn't see any ventilation shafts on ground level they could crawl through to escape. The airlock doors were open with an environmental field keeping the atmosphere from getting sucked into the vacuum of space but that didn't help either. They'd need space suits to get out that way and Sister didn't see any nearby.
By now, Thrain was back on his feet and staggering to cover. Sister cursed herself for not taking a chance to kill him while he was down but the reinforcements were rushing through the front entrance by the time she did and most likely she would have either been forced back or shot.
The cyborg had pulled out it's electro-staff and was using to create a makeshift shield via the spin function of his wrist. With his free hand, he opened fire with a blaster on his forearm. The droids were starting to surround and swarm him but while several shots managed to hit his metallic armor, they barely scratched its surface. Still it was clear he wasn't happy about getting hit which meant his armor must have its limits. He suddenly shot into the air as exhaust thrusters ignited from his back.
"Ezra cover me!" Sister shouted. She quickly rushed towards the exit. Most of the droids were focused on the cyborg but at least a dozen battle droids and three Destroyer droids were guarding the cargo bay doors. Sister activated the spin function on her lightsaber, deflecting every blaster bolt that was fired at them. Ezra knocked out four droids with his stun blaster while Sister flung another three off to the side. The Destroyer droids proved to be immoveable and kept firing their heavy blasters.
"Look out!" Ezra screamed. Sister glanced up and saw the cyborg soaring overhead. A green mist-like energy shot out of a globe on his forearm and ensnared a cargo container currently suspended in the air by a magnetic crane. The cyborg shot the crane, disabling it and used the energy mist to hurl the crate right at Sister. She quickly leaped out of the way at the crate came crashing down on top of the Destroyer Droids, crushing them.
Sister scrambled back to her feet as the cyborg landed nearby and unfolded his electro-staff once again. "I'm done with this game of womp rat and kath-hound," it spoke in a digitized voice.
"What is your problem with us?" snapped Sister, slowly backing away. She glanced back at the pirates who were recovering and preparing themselves for an attack. Thrain could be seen glancing from behind a cargo crate, holding his hand up to signal everyone to hold their fire. Looks like he wanted the former Inquisitor and the mechanical menace to duke it out then take out whoever survived.
"My problem is that you and your friends killed my men back on the Sovereign!" it shouted.
"I've killed a lot of people. Care to be specific?" shrugged Sister. She hoped this mech would keep running his mouth while she tried to figure a way out of this.
"They were Imperial Special Force Unit 23 also known as Darkstar. My unit, my men!" the cyborg hissed.
"Velken," groaned Sister as she realized who her attacker was.
Velken lunged at Sister who managed to roll out of the way. She tried dueling him with a lightsaber last time and almost got killed for it. This time she was going to have to use hit and run tactics. She avoid another swipe and thrusted her lightsaber at Velken's forearm. The blow was deflected away by the armor but left a glowing mark. The cyborg retaliated by opening fire with his forearm blaster. Sister deflected each shot aside so Velken concentrated his magnetic generator to lift up portions of the destroyed battle droids and hurled them as the former Inquisitor.
Sister swept her lightsaber around, slicing through any potential metallic debris coming towards her. Velken used the opportunity to suddenly lunge towards her with his electro-staff spinning wildly and his jet pack ignited. He raced at her like a missile but Sister waited until the last minute before dropping down with her back on the floor. She deflected any incoming electro-staff as Velken passed over her then unleashed a wave of telekinesis. The cyborg was caught completely by surprise and flying uncontrollably through the air. He landed right into a cargo crate with enough force to knock it over onto its side. Velken dropped the floor, dazed from the impact.
Sister got back to her feet as the entrance doors opened, revealing even more battle droids as they marched inside. Thrain wasn't waiting to see who would win the fight. Instead he was simply waiting for his reinforcements to arrive. Now the pirate and his crew were advancing, forcing Ezra to break cover and rejoin Sister. They deflected blaster bolts with their lightsabers but were slowly being corralled into a corner. Figures that a pirate that used to be a Jedi would know how to fight them.
Velken got back to his feet and activated his jetpack, hoping to make a mad dash towards Sister and Ezra when he was stopped in mid-flight as a red energy field enveloped him. Thrain's sweeper droids that imprisoned Sister earlier had approached the cyborg and activated their ray shield generators to hold him in place.
By now there was probably more than a hundred droids and pirates in the room. Probably every single one inside the station was called in here. The droids were on the front line, taking the casualties while the pirates hung back behind cover. They were kept up constant fire from multiple directions, keeping Sister and Ezra pinned down and unable to make a dash towards the exit. Sister had her lightsaber on spin mode, deflecting any many shots as she could but barely keeping up with them. When she realized that Ezra was starting to get overwhelmed, Sister grabbed him with free hand and pulled him behind her.
Then everyone ceased fire but kept their weapons primed and ready to start up again at a moment's notice.
"Well this has been a fun time for everyone," remarked Thrain as he emerged from cover. He approached Velken who was still struggling to break free of his ray shield prison.
"I'll get to you in a minute you General Grievous knockoff," Thrain remarked then turned his attention back to Sister and Ezra.
"I'm done playing. Drop your lightsabers or I'll drop the two of you," Thrain warned. Judging from his tone, He was done with the jokes and the negotiating.
"We can't lead him back to Gorel. He'll kill more than just Kanan and the others but he'll bring the Empire down on all of Phoenix Cell," Ezra whispered. To his credit, the boy didn't show any fear.
Sister knew that's what he would probably say and she had to admit she wasn't too keen on surrendering either. Part of her was urging her to go out in a blaze of glory and the other part was screaming at her to just do whatever it took to get Ezra out of there alive. Sister could hardly believe that she wasn't even considering her own life a priority at this point. There was a time when she wouldn't have given her life let alone risked for anyone but it was now she truly realized that wasn't true anymore. She knew deep down she cared about Ezra but she'd been lying to even herself how important he was. That's why it broke her heart for what she was about to do.
Sister was about to speak when suddenly, she heard Chopper speaking binary from Ezra's com. The droid only said one word: INCOMING.
"What do you think he means by that?" Ezra asked.
He got his answer Hondo's Gozanti-Class Cruiser came roaring through the cargo bay's environmental shield. It didn't slow down as it entered the room but instead bulldozed through everything in its path including Cargo crates, droids, and the unlucky pirate. Thrain leaped out of the way as the cruiser came to a halt, lowering its landing ramp.
"Move!" Sister shouted as she dashed towards the ship with Ezra. The pirates quickly recovered and opened fire as their escaping targets. Sister deflected every shot she could before they reached the loading ramp and ran up it into the ship.
Waiting for them at the top of the ramp was Hondo. "Sorry we took so long," he called out.
Ezra and Sister leaped into the ship's interior then Hondo hit the button to seal the blast door behind them. "Actually Hondo your timing is perfect," chuckled Ezra as he caught his breath.
"Well done my friend. You not only managed to release the crew of this station and secured our escape route in the process but you also managed to rescue the damsel in distress," Hondo congratulated.
Sister's eyes narrowed. "What…did…you…just…CALL ME?!" she screamed.
Thrain was helpless as he watched his prey escape onto the ship and back out of the loading bay into space.
"Jaybo I need you to send every fighter you've got after a…" Thrain said into his com before a blaster bolt shot by his head, interrupting him.
He turned to see the General Grievous, aiming the blaster attachment on his forearm at the pirate. Ezra and Sister's ship hit the two ray shield droids when it came crashing into the bay. Now the cyborg was free and he was obviously not happy. Thrain knew exactly the best course of action to take and quickly ran for his life.
Chopper unlocked the cockpit door, allowing Ezra, Sister, and Hondo to rush inside. Ezra could see through the view screen that the droid was barely able to avoid the bantha rush of other ships that were evacuating the station. They were running from pirates and fire which meant most were simply launching as fast as possible without checking to see if their path was clear. At least two ships collided with one another and dropped out of sight.
"The Scimitar isn't shooting us," Ezra observed as they passed by the massive pirate ship.
"Then they don't know we're onboard. Plot the jump to hyperspace before…" urged Sister.
Suddenly the ship was rocked, nearly knocking everyone off their feet.
"They know now," quipped Hondo.
Ezra read a warning reading on the command console. The Scimitar had opened fire on the Broken Horn and was attempting to lock on with their tractor beam.
"Chop get us of here!" shouted Ezra.
Chopper beeped at them to all shut up before clearing back a pair of ships. The stars in the distance began to shimmer and were replaced by an aquatic blue aura as the ship jumped into hyperspace.
Everyone breathed a huge sigh of relief and relaxed.
"What's going on?!" screamed a voice that caused everyone to jump. Ezra turned to see a furious Azmorigan entering the cockpit.
"Azmorigan? What are you doing here?" demanded Ezra.
"Getting off that death trap. You really think I want to stay on a burning station with psychotic pirates?" protested Azmorigan.
"We've struck an accord my friend," Hondo told Ezra. "We provide him with safe passage off Nixus in exchange for half of his generators."
"What generators?" frowned Sister.
"Power generators," smiled Hondo. "The very same we were going to purchase in the first place."
"I can't believe it," chuckled Ezra. "We're actually going to come out ahead of all of this."
"There's still a few details to sort out but I'm sure there won't be any further complications," Hondo announced.
"Oh no!" snapped Azmorigan. "You are not changing any more of our deal your Weequay swindler!"
"Now that was an incredibly prejudicial statement. The fact that it's true doesn't make it any less offensive," Hondo protested.
"I'll stay here and pilot the ship. Plus I'll make sure they don't kill each other. Why don't you go load up our share of the generators onto the Phantom with Chopper," Sister told Ezra as Azmorigan and Hondo continued arguing.
Sister sat down in the co-pilot's chair and breathed a sigh of relief. Next time she had to choose between this and checking star charts for a habitable planet, she'll happily take boring stellar cartography. She also wanted to say more to Ezra but didn't want either Hondo or Azmorigan out of her sight. She was going to make sure either one of them tries something.
"The Ortolans are always looking for generators. Always looking to settle on arctic planets for some reason. Must have something to do with their snouts," Hondo added yet another potential customer for the generators.
"Fine you can have them join the bidding too," remarked Azmorigan.
The cockpit door opened and Sister glanced over her shoulder to see Ezra stepping inside and he wasn't alone. Vizago was right behind him and he did not looked pleased.
"I believe you two know each other," Ezra said, glaring at Hondo.
"Vizago?" Azmorigan asked, recognizing the Devaronian.
"Azmorigan? What are you doing here?" frowned Vizago.
"Partner why have you released this dangerous criminal?" Hondo said, a little nervously.
Sister got to her feet. "Released? You've been locked up on this ship the whole time?" she asked incredulously.
"It's time to make up for lost time," grumbled Vizago. He suddenly lunged forward and tackled Hondo to the ground. The two exchanged fists before Sister grabbed the Devaronian by the horns and pulled him off.
"That's enough!" shouted Sister, getting in-between the two. "You two can kill each other for all I care once Ezra and I are back on Gorse with our share of the generators."
Vizago smiled as he held up the same controller that Hondo claimed was for the droids. "Here's my counter proposal," he said before touching one of the buttons.
The cockpit opened and the enforcer droids that had been shut down all this time stepped inside. Vizago slipped behind his droids at they drew their weapons and opened fire. Azmorigan screamed and hid in a corner. Ezra and Sister activated their lightsabers and went to work quickly, cutting the droids into pieces. Sister glanced over to Hondo climbing down into a maintenance hatch.
"I will invest your shares wisely!" Hondo called out before sealing the hatch.
"Thanks a lot partner!" snapped Ezra.
Vizago ran through the exit before more of his enforcer droids entered the cockpit. Sister threw the Force to draw them to her and sliced them in half. Sister noticed through the view screen they dropped out of hyperspace.
"Hondo's going for the Phantom," Ezra realized.
Sister took off running with the kid right behind her. They turned a corner to see a furious Vizago and Chopper standing outside the airlock. They must have just missed him. Vizago turned but didn't get a chance to do anything before Sister hurled into a wall telekinetically and held him there.
"Hera's gonna kill us," Ezra sighed.
After Sister threatened to kill the Devaronian if he didn't cooperate, Vizago landed at a spaceport on Gorel to drop off Ezra, Sister, and Chopper. They left him with Azmorigan to argue with each other over how they were going to kill Hondo.
"How are we going to explain this to Hera?" Ezra moaned. He'd been punished before but those were all minor infractions compared to losing the Phantom.
Chopper spoke up in binary
"You know where he's going?" frowned Sister.
They quickly rushed towards the hangar containing the Ghost and could hear a familiar laugher echoing down from the ship's open ramp. Sure enough, Hondo was inside the Ghost talking to Hera, Kanan, Sabine, and Zeb. Maybe Ezra and Sister weren't going to be grounded for life.
"…but they stood tall in front of me and withstood a massive attack," Hondo explained before he noticed the new arrivals.
"My friends! I was talking about you two," he called out cheerfully. "How all of us rescued the generators from the evil Vizago."
"You left us to die back there partner!" snapped Sister.
"You are Jedi. I knew you could handle yourselves," protested Hondo.
"And while we were handling ourselves, you stole the generators and our ship," accused Ezra.
"What an accusation. You wound me," sighed Hondo.
"No but I'm about to," Sister growled.
"Chopper had the phantom on autopilot," Ezra explained.
"That's another version of the story I suppose," quipped Hondo. "I'll tell you what. I will happily offer you my own cut of the generators at a discount price."
"I'll have to discuss it with Commander Sato but I'm sure we can come to an arrangement," Hera spoke.
"Excellent! I love making new friends!" cheered Hondo.
Hera then turned to Ezra and Sister. "Now will the two of you explain what really happened?"
Sister and Ezra exchanged a nervous look.
An hour later, both Ezra and Second Sister were both on the hull of the Ghost scrubbing away the carbon scoring off the entire ship. Considering the circumstances, Ezra considered the punishment to be light. The people of Rin got their energy generators and Hondo got to walk away from all of this with a small profit, albeit with both Vizago and Azmorigan gunning for his head. Still at least they got out of that whole mess alive and managed to finish the mission.
"I'm surprised you're not up in arms over this punishment," Ezra said.
Second Sister scrubbed away on the Ion Thrusters and yet didn't seem angry. "Considering in the last few hours I was chased around a station by pirates, battle droids, an imperial cyborg assassin, and finally was captured and tortured by a psychotic pirate captain, hand scrubbing is a welcome change of pace," she explained.
"At least we know about Velken. I saw Zeb started fixing up his bo-rifle just before I came out here," Ezra stated.
"He knows we'll see him again and we'll need to be ready. I doubt we've seen the last of Thrain either," Sister surmised.
There was something Ezra had been meaning to tell Second Sister ever since their little argument just before they stepped foot on the Broken Horn and now was the best time.
"You ask me earlier why I trying to avoid you in checking out Vizago's distress signal. The truth is that ever since you tortured that imperial officer to get the disarmament code for the bomb Seven Sister strapped around my neck, I was scared of you," Ezra explained.
Second Sister stopped her scrubbing and set her brush down, giving the Padawan her full attention.
"Seeing what you were capable of was pretty frightening but then I found myself in the exact same position. If I hadn't been willing to blow that whole station to get Thrain to let those you and all those people go, I don't want know what might have happened," said Ezra.
"Were you really willing to order Hondo to detonate those explosives even when it was just to save me?" inquired Sister.
"I knew Hondo wasn't going to go through with it especially after Thrain let the rest of the station's crew go but I was sure going to try to bluff him," Ezra answered.
"It was reckless. Thrain could have killed you," sighed Sister.
"Yeah but if I didn't then he would have certainly killed you. It was a simple choice," Ezra replied. It felt good to get that off his chest and he did feel a lot more comfortable around Second Sister now. On her part, she actually seemed touched by his words.
"Speaking of choice kid there's something I have to admit," Sister spoke up.
"What's that?" asked Ezra.
"When he had us cornered in that hangar bay, I was going tell Thrain our com frequency," Sister admitted.
"What?! But if you did that he'd find the Ghost and the rest of Phoenix Squadron," protested Ezra.
"He wouldn't have just attacked Gorel. Thrain wasn't stupid, he would have used the two of us as bait to lure them out which would have given Kanan, Ahsoka, Hera and the others time for a rescue plan," explained Sister.
"But what if he decided he only needed one hostage?" Ezra asked.
"Then it would have been you. He would have considered you the easier of us to handle and kept you alive. Kid I have lived most of my entire life around people who don't care about me. My mother practically sought out the Jedi to get rid of me. My master Pong Krell used me and was going to kill me had it not been for Captain Rex. The Jedi Council I looked up to my whole life up until that point cast me out like damaged goods. The Inquisitors were all just waiting for a chance to stab me in the back so believe when I say I really never met someone who cared about me until I met you," Sister said.
"You were the only reason I'm still alive after I ended up on Lothal. Anyone else would have left me for dead but you risked your neck for me even when you really shouldn't have. When Kanan, Sabine, and Zeb were captured, you had that Force vision that showed I was probably going to die. You had to know that you didn't stand a chance to save the others without me but you still told me the truth. You're my family Ezra and I will never let anything happen to you. No matter how violent or cruel I have to be, I will do anything I have to keep you safe," Sister continued with a slight tear in her eye. She turned away, ashamed from showing such emotion.
Ezra was stunned by the admission. He knew that Sister considered him to be a friend but he didn't think she felt that way about him. He approached Sister and embraced her. She went rigid for a moment as she seemed uncertain what to do then slowly return the embrace.
"You're my family too," Ezra said.
(Ah the feels. I'm going to skip Wings of the Master and Blood Sister as Second Sister wouldn't make much of a difference in those episodes. I was going to do Stealth Strike but quite frankly not much would have changed from that either except for Second Sister joining Kanan and Rex and she would be impersonating Third Sister. But that wasn't enough to warrant dedicating an entire chapter to so I'll just bypass that one as well. I won't be doing Future of the Force next as I wanted to do a chapter that was more dedicated to character development rather than covering an actual episode.)