It took some time to explain everything to Hera and the others but Jason and his team were able to tell everything from detail to detail. The rebels couldn't believe that the people who rescued Ahsoka and stood in front of them were from another galaxy. They never even considered that there would be life in other galaxies or that traveling between them was even possible.
But it was also a kind of opportunity for the rebels. If Daedalus had as powerful weapons and shields as Jason and his team said, it would be a key in turning the war in the rebellion's favor.
"Look, I know we just met but can we ask something?" Hera asked.
"What is it?" Sheppard asked.
"If your ship's weapons and shields are as powerful as you say they are. Maybe you could help us," Hera suggested.
The team looked at each other for a moment before answering.
"I'm afraid it's not really our call. We'll have to ask Colonel Caldwell about it," Sheppard said.
"We understand," Kanan said.
They suddenly received a signal from the holo table.
"That's our signal. I'm sorry but I must go," Hera said.
"Go, we'll wait here," Sato said.
Hera nodded and ran to the Ghost and took off. After Hera left, the team turned to Kanan and Sato who were still standing behind the holo table.
"If it's okay, we'd like to go back to our ship to talk with Caldwell," Sheppard said.
"Of course," Sato said.
"I'd like to go with them," Ahsoka said making Kanan and Sato's eyes widen.
"Why?" Kanan asked.
"I'd still like to get to known to them. And their ship kinda interests me," Ahsoka said coming up with an excuse.
Kanan could sense that Ahsoka had another reason to go with Jason and others but he was sure that she had a good reason.
"Alright," Kanan said.
Ahsoka nodded and walked to Jason and his team. When they were ready, they were beamed back to Daedalus.
"It's gonna take a while to get used to that," Kanan said still feeling weird about the whole beaming people thing.
"Indeed," Sato agreed.
Later
After a long discussion with Caldwell, the team left the briefing room in their separate ways. While Ahsoka was walking with Jason in the hallway, she felt a little sad that Caldwell refused to help the rebellion but she understood his reasons. She knew that they couldn't ask the people they just met to help them in their war against the Empire, it just wasn't right.
Jason and his people also had their own problems back in the Pegasus and Milky Way galaxies which stretched their resources thin. Right now they just couldn't help the rebellion, even if they wanted to.
Jason saw Ahsoka's sad look and asked if she was alright.
"Are you okay?" Jason asked.
"Yes, I just hoped that the rebellion would receive help from your people," Ahsoka said.
"I know but I'm afraid Caldwell has a point. We came here to explore, not to fight your war for you," Jason said feeling sympathy for Ahsoka and her friends.
"It's alright, I understand your reasons for refusing to help us," Ahsoka said sadly.
It pained Jason to see Ahsoka like this but there was simply nothing he and his team could do to help the rebellion. They couldn't get involved in the war that posed no threat to Atlantis or Earth. But he thought that there might be something he and his friends could do.
They were suddenly interrupted when the Ghost came out of hyperspace along with the rest of the crew.
"The Ghost. That must mean Hera retrieved Ezra and the others," Ahsoka said.
"Who?" Jason asked.
"The rest of that ship's crew. They're my friends too," Ahsoka explained.
"Oh," Jason said.
After he requested Marks to beam them on the planet, Jason and Ahsoka were sent to the Chopper base where Hera had already landed her ship. After Hera and the rest of her crew were in the briefing room, Ezra and the others were a little confused why Hera wanted them in the briefing room if she didn't have any new mission for them.
"Uh, Hera. Why are we in the briefing room if you don't have a new mission for us?" Ezra asked.
"Let's just say there's someone who wants to see you," Hera said with a smile.
This confused Ezra and the others more until two people walked into the room. When Ezra and his friends looked at the newcomers, they froze in shock. The human in black military uniform was someone they didn't know but his female togruta companion was someone they knew very well.
"Ahsoka?!" Ezra said not believing his eyes.
"It's me, Ezra," Ahsoka confirmed with a smile.
Ezra couldn't take it anymore and ran to her and hugged her. The others couldn't help but smile at the scene because Ahsoka was like a mother figure to Ezra.
"You're... you're alive," Ezra sobbed.
"Of course I am," Ahsoka said kindly after she broke the hug.
"But why you didn't come back? Why you didn't try to tell us that you were alive?" Ezra asked.
"I was stranded on Malachor for these two years. I tried to contact you but I didn't have the equipment to do that. Besides, I think I was stranded on Malachor purposely so Jason and his people could come to rescue me," Ahsoka explained.
Everyone looked at Jason who smiled and waved at the Ghost crew.
"You saved Ahsoka?" Sabine asked.
"Well, she kinda jumped on me first and we stunned her but yes. We did rescue her," Jason said while rubbing the back of his head.
Everyone looked at each other for a moment until Hera spoke.
"Again, I thank you and your crew for saving Ahsoka," Hera said.
"It was nothing really," Jason said.
"By the way, who are you?" Ezra asked.
Later
After Jason called his team and Caldwell to the rebel base, they the rest of Ahsoka's friends about who they were and where they came from. As Hera and Kanan before them, the rest of the Ghost crew couldn't believe that the people who saved Ahsoka were from another galaxy.
They also could tell that the ship they came with was very advanced and had powerful weapons. Some people like Ezra already had the idea of asking Cladwell and his crew to be their allies so they could help them in their fight against the Empire.
"I know we just met but can I ask something?" Ezra asked.
"What is it, kid?" Jason asked.
"We noticed how powerful your ship is. Maybe you could help us to fight the Empire," Ezra suggested while his hopes were getting up.
"Absolutely not," Caldwell said a little rudely.
The rebels were taken by surprise by Caldwell's answer. Not only that he refused to help the rebels, but also because of how quickly he made that decision.
"Why not?" Ezra asked not understanding why.
"We came to explore this galaxy. Not to fight your war for you," Caldwell protested.
"But there's so much you could do to help people," Ezra protested.
"Those people are not our concern. They're not even our people," Caldwell said.
"I'm afraid he has a point. We're not currently at war with the Empire, they don't even know about our existence," Jason said sadly.
"Besides, we already have our own problems back in the Pegasus and Milky Way," Jake added.
"But you can't just turn your backs on us!" Ezra said feeling his anger growing.
"I'm sorry Ezra, but they're right. You can't ask people you just met to fight your battles for you," Ahsoka said.
"But-"
"No Buts! We won't help you and that's it," Caldwell said before walking away from the meeting.
Ezra felt so angry right now that he was about to use the force on Caldwell but Kanan stopped him by putting his hand over his shoulder and shake his head. Luckily Ezra calmed down and walked away. The Ghost crew understood Jason's people's reasons not to help them but they still hoped that they would help.
Jason and his friends saw the sad looks on the rebels' faces and couldn't help but feel sympathy. Some of them wanted to help rebels but they just couldn't get involved in the war that didn't pose any threat to Atlantis or Earth.
While Jason and Jake were chatting, they noticed angry Ezra walking into the Ghost.
"It's just a feeling but I think that kid is gonna be a problem," Jake said.
"Yeah, we better keep an eye on him," Jason agreed.
Later
After Jason and the others discussed their options in Daedalus, they decided to get known to the rebels since they were gonna be on Atollon for a while. While Jason was talking with Ahsoka, Jake walked around the base's landing platform where the Phoenix squadron kept their fighters. He kept looking at the fighters until he saw Sabine fixing one of them.
She tried to connect a power cable to the engine but had a little trouble doing it because there were too many cables.
"Trouble?" Jake asked.
"I can't connect this power cable because there's too many of them," Sabine said.
"You mind I try?" Jake asked.
"You're mechanic?" Sabine asked as she looked at Jake.
"Kind of," Jake said.
Sabine couldn't help but blush at Jake's looks. Even though he was a little older than her, she still could feel her heart start beating faster and her face getting hot. After she nodded and stepped aside, Jake grabbed the cable and took a look at the engine.
While he was working, Sabine couldn't help but stare at Jake. Not only because of how good he was with engines, but also because she could see his hard muscles (normal muscles) through his tank top.
After Jake got the cable into the ship's engine, he turned back to Sabine.
"There, I think it's ok now," Jake said taking Sabine out of her dream world.
"Oh, right. thanks," Sabine said.
Jake simply smiled and left because he still had some work to do. Sabine still couldn't help but look at Jake leaving because somehow even though she just met him, he still left some sort of impression on her.
While Jake and Sabine were doing their things, Jason was in F-302 checking the systems. Everything looked normal but he did double checks just in case. He was about to check the navigation system until someone's shadow covered the controls. Jason looked up and saw Hera who seemed to be very interested in F-302 he was checking.
"Nice ship," Hera said.
"Thanks, this is F-302 fighter-interceptor," Jason said.
"Interesting, does it have a hyperdrive?" Hera asked.
"No, fighter-interceptors don't have hyperdrive but we do have a few X-302s that are equipped with hyperdrive onboard Daedalus," Jason explained. "Want to take a back seat?"
"Sure," Hera said with a smile as she got to the seat behind Jason.
She was so fascinated by the technology Jason's people used in their ships and fighters, it was unlike anything she has ever seen before. But that wasn't the only thing she was curious about, she also wanted to see how good pilot Jason was.
"How well do you fly?" Hera asked making Jason smirk.
"Wanna find out?" Jason asked.
"Of course," Hera said.
After she and Jason put on their safety belts, Jason closed the cockpit top and turned on the engines. Luckily it didn't take much to get the ship on the air and they were soon flying above the Chopper base. Hera was amazed by well Jason flew the ship, it was almost as good as hers.
They enjoyed a good flight until they were interrupted when they received a radio call.
"Uh, Jason. Are you there?" Jake asked.
"I'm here, Jake. What's up?" Jason asked.
"Sorry to interrupt you but we've got a problem," Jake said.
"What kind of problem?" Jason asked.
"It's that Bridger kid. Somehow he got access to our data files and tried to steal a Puddle Jumper," Jake said.
The news took both Jason and Hera completely by surprise, they didn't expect that Ezra would try to steal information or a ship from their new possible ally.
"What is Ezra thinking?! Why would he do something like that?" Hera asked feeling both angry and disappointed at Ezra.
"This is just a theory but I think it has something to do with Caldwell's decision not to help you," Jason said.
"But it still doesn't give him a right to steal from you and use it for his own purposes," Hera said.
But before they could continue their conversation, they saw the Phantom rise from the base and heading to space.
"What the?! I didn't give anyone permission to take the Phantom," Hera said.
They were about to contact the base until Kanan called them.
"Hera, are you there?" Kanan asked.
"I'm here, Kanan. What's going on?" Hera asked.
"It's Ezra. He stole the Phantom and took Sabine, Zeb, Rex, and Chopper with him," Kanan said.
"What?! What the hell he thinks he's doing?" Jason asked.
"He checked the file we received from Hondo, they're planning to steal some old Y-wing bombers from the Imperial starfighter reclamation plant, Kanan told them.
After Kanan told them what Ezra was planning, Jason turned the ship around and went after Ezra.
"Jason, what are you doing?" Hera asked.
"I'm going after that kid," Jason said.
"But how are you going to stop him from leaving?" Jake asked.
"He's ship is in the weapons range. I can take out their engines," Jason said shocking everyone.
"What?! But your weapons could destroy the Phantom," Hera protested.
"Don't worry. I'll only disable his engines, nothing more," Jason said.
Hera still didn't think it was a good idea to try to stop Ezra with force but she knew she couldn't stop Jason from trying so she let him do what he thought was best.
While Sabine was flying Ezra and the others into space, she was about to ask Chopper to put the coordinates until the warning system started beeping.
"What is that?" Zeb asked.
"Someone just locked their weapons on us," Sabine said.
"The Empire?" Rex asked.
"No," Sabine said.
"It can't be the rebels, right?" Hondo asked.
"No, it's one of the Daedauls' fighters," Sabine said.
This took everyone in the phantom by surprise, they didn't expect that their new 'friends' would try to stop them.
"They're contacting us," Sabine said.
"Open the channel," Ezra said.
After Sabine turned on the radio, they heard Jason's voice coming through it.
"This is Major Connor, do you read?" Jason asked.
"We read you loud and clear," Sabine said.
"Is Bridger there with you?" Jason asked.
"I'm here," Ezra said.
"You've got a lot of explaining to do kid," Jason said making everyone except Ezra's eyes widen.
"What are you talking about?" Sabine asked.
"That brat took a look in our data files and tried to steal a Puddle Jumper," Jason said.
Everyone in the Phantom looked at Ezra with suspicious looks.
"And that's not all. He stole the Phantom and obviously tricked you into this," Hera told them.
Now everyone on the ship got from suspicious to angry.
"You lied to us, Ezra!" Sabine accused.
"You told us that Hera gave us the permission to go!" Zeb said angrily.
"And you disobeyed orders!" Rex added.
Ezra knew that he was screwed so he decided to use the last trick he learned from Sith Holocron in case something went wrong. He slowly put his right hand in the air and his friends started to feel dizzy.
"Ezra...what are you doing?" Sabine asked as she and others started to lose consciousness.
"I'm doing what I have to," Ezra said coldly.
It only took a few seconds until his comrades were knocked out. Ezra knew it was too late to take his comrades back to base and go to the mission on his own so he took the ship's controls and jumped to hyperspace.
"Dammit!" Jason cursed.
Later
After Ezra got away, Jason's team and all leaders of the Phoenix squadron gathered in the briefing room to talk about their options. Even though Ezra went to steal some fighters for their fleet, he still disobeyed orders, lied, and tried to steal information and technology from their new potential ally.
"So, what should we do?" Jake asked.
"It's clear that we need to stop Ezra," Hera said.
"Yes, but we could still benefit from this if Commander Bridger succeeds to steal those bombers," Sato said.
"He can't complete this mission on his own. Even with his new skills," Ahsoka said.
"Not to mention that he's completely insane," Jason said.
"I wouldn't exactly say insane. More like uh... nuts," Rodney said trying to come up with a fitting word.
The team and crew didn't say anything at Rodney's comment but they knew that Ezra was not thinking straight. Ever since he came back from Malachor, he wasn't himself again. Especially when he thought that Ahsoka was dead and Kanan lost his sight because Ezra trusted Maul.
"What options do we have?" Sheppard asked.
"We can deploy a few ships and a squadron of fighters and send them to rescue Ezra and the others," Hera said.
"What if he doesn't want to come?" Jason asked.
The crew looked at each other for a moment. It was clear to Jason and his friends that Hera and the others haven't thought about how to get Ezra to come back or to apprehend him. Somehow, it was obvious that the rebels didn't think that there was a chance that one of them might go rogue or that the rebels might eventually end up fighting against each other over political ideologies or who's right and who's wrong.
Jason and his team thought about what they should do for a minute until they had a possible solution.
"Maybe we can do it," Jason said.
"Do what, Jason?" Ahsoka asked.
"We could take Daedalus to the reclamation plant and 'rescue' Ezra," Jason suggested.
The rebels looked at each other for a second and then turned back to Jason and his team.
"But won't the Empire find out about your existence if you go?" Hera asked while being worried.
"It's gonna happen eventually. We might as well see what we can do against them," Sheppard said.
"Our ships are also more advanced than yours. We have a lot better chances to get the kid," Rodney said.
"But you don't know how the Empire fights," Kanan said.
"That's why we're gonna ask you to tell us everything you can about the Empire so we know who we're dealing with," Sheppard said.
The leaders of the Phoenix squadron thought about what Sheppard and his friends suggested. They knew that the crew of Daedalus didn't come all the way from their galaxy to help the rebellion but they did have a common goal now. Hera and the soon nodded in agreement and began telling everything they knew about the Empire.
Later
It took a little while but Ahsoka and the rebels managed to tell Jason and his team everything they needed to know about the Empire and began their preparations for the mission. The Daedalus waited in the planet's orbit for the Ghost while preparing F-302s for space combat.
Jason and Jake were in their F-302s while Sheppard and the others were in the Puddle Jumper getting ready for action. Jason and Jake's job along with the F-302 squadron was to help Hera and a few rebel pilots deal with the TIE fighters and Star Destroyers while Sheppard and his team along with Ahsoka go to the reclamation plant to retrieve Ezra and the others, and to get the Y-wings if possible.
After Hera and the small squadron of A-wings were ready and caught up with Daedalus, they jumped to hyperspace. While they were heading towards their destination, the team went through the plan one more time.
"All right, the plan is simple. We go in and grab the rebel team while Connor and O'Neill and rebel forces keep the Empire busy," Sheppard said.
"But how do we do it?" Ronon asked.
"I must agree with Ronon, John. It doesn't appear that Ezra wants to come with us willingly," Teyla said.
"And from what Kanan told me, the Sith Holocron has been corrupting and influencing Ezra ever since he and Kanan returned from Malachor. He might be more powerful than me if he uses the Dark Side," Ahsoka said while being worried.
The team was told about the Force and the Dark Side and what they can do but they did have a little trick in their sleeve in case Ezra doesn't come willingly, assuming that their trick will work.
"That's why we brought this," Rodney said as he took a device out of the backpack.
"What is that?" Ahsoka asked.
"This is an Anti-Prior device. It releases ultrasonic frequencies that should in theory neutralize the Jedi's ability to use the Force," Rodney explained.
"But those were designed to work on the Ori Priors," Sheppard said.
"Yes, but with the modifications I made, they should work on the Force wielders," Rodney said.
"I thought the Force is different from the powers the Priors used," Teyla said.
"It is but the Force wielders still have to focus to use their abilities. Which this device is designed to disturb," Rodney explained.
"But has it been tested?" Ahsoka asked.
Rodney didn't say anything for a second until he spoke.
"Uh, no," Rodney finally said.
"You've got to be kidding me," Sheppard said.
"Cut me some slack. I didn't actually have an opportunity to,"
"Try it on me," Ahsoka said.
"What?!" Everyone yelled.
"We don't have much time until we come out of hyperspace. You can test it on me while we still have time," Ahsoka said.
The team looked at each other for a minute until they nodded. Rodney turned on the device and set it in the right frequency. Ahsoka closed her eyes and extended her hand towards the small can Sheppard put next to him. It would have risen instantly but Ahsoka was having difficulties doing it because something was disturbing her focus.
She tried hard to raise the can but nothing happened. After a mÃnute of trying, she let out sight and gave up.
"Okay, try now again," Rodney said as he turned off the device.
Ahsoka nodded and did it again but this time she was able to raise the can in the air. They couldn't believe that the device really worked.
"It works," Rodney said with excitement.
Before Rodney could continue his little 'celebration' of being right again, Jason contacted the team through the radio.
"We'll come out of hyperspace in a minute," Jason said.
"Understood," Sheppard said signaled the others to get ready.
The team nodded and went to their seats and prepared for coming out of hyperspace. After a minute, Daedalus along with the Ghost and a squadron of A-wings came out of the hyperspace. The planet where the reclamation plant was located was in front of them but unfortunately, there was a single Star Destroyer and a lot of TIE fighters near the planet.
"Alright, let's do this," Hera said.
"Agreed. Marks, launch the fighters," Caldwell ordered.
"Yes, sir," Marks said.
He opened the 302 bay and the F-302s along with Sheppard's Puddle Jumper flew out of the ship. As soon as they were out, Sheppard cloaked the Jumper and flew towards the planet while Jason and the others flew towards the imperial ships.
"Alright, get ready. I just hope the weapons on your ships are effective," Hera said.
"Don't worry, ma'am. The railguns can handle the TIEs and the missiles can damage the Star Destroyer," Jake said.
"Alright boys and girls, let's give them hell," Jason said.
"Oorah!" The F-302 pilots yelled.
Meanwhile in the Star Destroyer
The crew on the bridge detected the rebel ships but they also detected the unknown ships along with the rebel ships coming in their way.
"Governor, we are detecting multiple rebel ships," the technician said.
"Prepare to launch the fighters," Pryce said.
"Ma'am, there's something else," the technician said.
"What is it?" Pryce asked.
"The scan also detected several unknown fighter crafts and what looks like a battleship," the technician said.
"What?! Show me!" Pryce ordered.
The technician showed her the image of the unknown ships. They were nothing they have seen before and the technology was also different. Pryce knew that this was something they should report immediately so she told her men to activate the holo communicator.
"Get me Thrawn and Khan," Pryce ordered.
Meanwhile with Jason and others
After Jason and the squadrons were in range, they opened fire at the attacking TIE fighters who responded by opening fire as well. Luckily the railguns in F-302s were effective enough to destroy TIE fighters, the missiles also worked but the pilots saved them for the Star Destroyer.
While the battle was going on in space, Sheppard flew the Puddle Jumper towards the reclamation plant where the Phantom was parked. Sheppard activated the HUD to see if anyone was in the Phantom and he only saw three life signs in it.
"Looks like the kid left them in the ship," Sheppard said.
"We can pick them up before we go after Ezra," Ahsoka suggested.
Everyone nodded and Sheppard landed the Jumper on the same platform where the Phantom was. After they landed and grabbed their gear, the team exited the ship and ran to the Phantom.
After they opened the door, everyone checked inside the ship and saw unconscious Sabine, Zeb, and Rex while Chopper was turned off.
"Okay, that kid definitely nuts," Rodney said.
"The Sith Holocron is corrupting him," Ahsoka said.
"Doesn't matter. If he doesn't come willingly, we'll have to stun him," Ronon said.
Ahsoka didn't like it that she had to take down one of her friends but she knew that there was no other choice because the Sith Holocron has influenced Ezra too much. After they carried Sabine and the others to the Puddle Jumper, the team went towards the plant to recover Ezra.
While the team was doing their job on the planet, Jason along with his friends were dealing with the imperial forces in space. Destroying the TIE fighters was simply easy but the Star Destroyer was a different story. The missiles did some damage but the ship was still flying.
Jason and Jake were flying with Hera until a few TIE fighters came behind them and started shooting.
"A few TIEs right behind us," Jake said.
"We can't shake them," Hera said.
They kept evading the blaster fire until Jason got an idea.
"Hey, Jake. Wanna hit the breaks?" Jason asked.
Hera didn't know what Jason meant but Jake had a good idea what Jason was suggesting.
"I see why not, bro," Jake said with excitement.
"What are you two talking about?" Hera asked.
"Observe," Jason said.
He and Jake turned off their engines making the imperial fighters fly right in front of them and when they did, Jason and Jake turned on their engines and went after the TIEs. When they had a lock on their targets, Jason and Jake fired their missiles that destroyed the TIE fighters.
Hera couldn't help but admit that it was an impressive move.
"Nice move, boys," Hera said.
"We learned from the best," Jake said.
"But we developed a few tricks of our own too," Jason added.
While the space battle was going on, Sheppard and the others managed to infiltrate the plant but they didn't encounter much resistance because Ezra had dealt with most of the plant's security. Luckily P90s and Ronon's energy magnum were effective against stormtroopers' armor, it also saved Ahsoka from using her lightsabers against the troopers because she didn't want to bring any cruelty to them, even though they were enemies.
Sheppard and the others eventually reached the command center where Ezra had knocked out the officers and killed the stormtroopers. Sheppard and his team immediately aimed their weapons at Ezra and gave him a warning.
"Put your hands up where I can see them," Sheppard said.
Ezra slowly turned to Sheppard and the others.
"I'm not the enemy here. I'm only doing what needs to be done," Ezra argued.
"You have massacred hundreds of people. You're a murderer," Teyla accused.
"You killed troops on your way here," Ezra said.
"They didn't leave us much of the choice. But the way you're doing it is wrong," Sheppard said.
"You refused to help us so I took manners into my own hands!" Ezra yelled.
"Ezra, please. This isn't you. Please, stop this madness," Ahsoka begged.
"You side with them?!" Ezra asked.
"They're my friends and I won't stand by while you commit atrocities," Ahsoka said.
Ezra had enough and got angry.
"You traitor!" Ezra yelled and extended his hand.
He tried to force choke Ahsoka but nothing happened. Ezra didn't understand why nothing happened or why his Force powers didn't work. But before he could react, Ronon stunned him. It pained Ahsoka to see how far her friend had fallen but the best thing they could do was to take Ezra back to base for questioning and in the worst case, for trial.
Ahsoka carefully checked Ezra's pocket and found the Sith Holocron that they found on Malachor. After she made sure it wasn't any danger to them, Sheppard told Ronon to grab Ezra.
"Grab him. We're leaving," Sheppard said.
Jason and the fighters were still holding their ground but their intel said that more imperial forces were coming which meant that they couldn't stay for long. They fought until they received a radio call from Sheppard.
"This is Sheppard. Do you read?" Sheppard asked.
"We read you loud and clear," Jason said.
"We have the kid and all of the team in the Jumper. We're heading to Daedalus," Sheppard said.
"Where's the Phantom?" Hera asked as she noticed that her other ship wasn't with them.
"I'm sorry but it blew up when the landing platform was hit," Sheppard told Hera.
She didn't take kindly the news but she acknowledged. One thing was certain though, she and Ezra were gonna have a lot to talk about. While they were flying, several TIE fighters came after them.
"You've got to be kidding me!" Jason said.
"We can't shake them. We'll have to lure them away from Daedalus," Hera said.
"You can go cover the ship while Jake and I deal with the TIEs," Jason said.
"Are you sure?" Hera asked.
"Don't worry. We'll be fine," Jason said.
Hera nodded and flew towards Daedalus while Jason and Jake broke off from formation making the TIE fighters chase them. Jason and Jake flew around for a minute until they turned around and flew towards each other at high speed.
"Ready for our coolest move?" Jake asked.
"You know that I'm always ready, bro," Jason said.
They flew for a second until they turned their fighters so that they flew past each other while the TIE fighters crashed into each other. Hera couldn't help but be amazed at Jason and Jake's pilot skills while Kanan smirked.
"Looks like you have now some competition, Hera," Kanan joked.
"Shut up," Hera said.
After they were far enough from imperial forces, they jumped into hyperspace.
Later back in the Chopper base
After both Atlanteans and rebels managed to catch Ezra and bring him back along with the three Y-wings they were able to salvage, they brought him and the fighters to the base. When Ezra walked out of the Puddle Jumper, he didn't receive any happy looks from his comrades. He could tell that they were very angry at him right now.
"Guys, I-"
Ezra couldn't finish when Jason punched him on the left cheek and hard. So hard that blood came out of his mouth and he spits a tooth out of his mouth. Everyone except Jason's team was shocked at Jason's sudden act but his team understood that their teammate was so pissed off now.
Ezra tried to get up but he couldn't when Jason kicked him on his stomach.
"That was for trying to hurt Ahsoka, you bastard!" Jason said angrily.
"Jason, please. I know you're angry but I think that's enough," Ahsoka said as she put her hand on Jason's shoulder.
Somehow Ahsoka's voice and reasoning calmed him down and he stepped away from Ezra who got up despite being beaten a second ago. Luckily now that the Sith Holocron wasn't corrupting him anymore, Ezra didn't strike back or try to use his Force abilities.
The Ghost crew still thought that Jason didn't need to beat Ezra up but they knew that Ezra needed some punishment because he went too far by knocking them out, acting on his own, and almost getting them killed.
After Ezra got up, he spoke to Hera who also was angry at him.
"Look, I'm sorry. I know I messed up," Ezra said.
"You tried to steal a ship and information perhaps from our most valuable ally. You lied to us, stole the Phantom, and almost got your team and yourself killed," Hera said listing the crimes Ezra committed.
"I know. Look, the Phantom was destroyed but we're back in one piece we got three new, or old bombers," Ezra said trying to come up with an excuse to get out of the situation but it was no use.
"You disobeyed orders and went rogue! I don't care if the Sith Holocron was corrupting you. I have no choice but to suspend your command and put you under arrest," Hera said shocking everyone.
They knew that Hera would suspend Ezra's command and take away his rank but arresting him for more punishment was something they didn't expect.
"You arrest him, you should arrest all of us. We went along with him," Zeb said defending Ezra.
"Ezra lied to you and tricked you into this, Zeb. And as soon as you found that out, he knocked you out and left you. If Sheppard and his team wouldn't have saved you, you would all be dead now," Hera said.
"Besides, if you don't punish Ezra, others might follow his example. We can't afford to have the rebels fight against each other and you all know that" Jason said.
Zeb and the rest of the crew knew that Hera and Jason were right. The fight against the Empire was hard and the war between rebel cells would only make things worse and weaken their chances to defeat the Empire.
After their discussion, Hera told the guards to put Ezra in handcuffs and take him to the holding cell. It pained the crew to see Ezra being taken away for punishment but they knew it had to be done for their safety and to prevent other rebels from doing what Ezra did.
Later
After their reporting, Jason walked outside the base and watched the stars. They weren't of course like the ones he saw in the Pegasus or Milky Way but they were still beautiful. But not as beautiful as a certain female Jedi he saved from Malachor.
"Why can't I just tell her how I feel about her?" Jason asked himself.
"Tell what?"
Jason let out an 'eek' and turned around to see Ahsoka standing behind him giggling a little at Jason's reaction.
"Ahsoka, it's not very nice to sneak up behind people and scare them," Jason said.
"I'm sorry but I couldn't help it," Ahsoka said with a smile.
Jason couldn't help but smile back because somehow seeing Ahsoka smile made his heart pump like crazy. Ahsoka could sense Jason's sudden fast heartbeat and put her hand on his shoulder to calm him down.
"Are you alright?" Ahsoka asked.
"Yeah, just a little tired from the battle," Jason said.
Ahsoka knew that he was lying but not for a bad reason, somehow she could sense that his sudden pressure had something to do with her. It was just a guess but she thought that Jason has feelings for her.
"Could it be? Does he have feelings for me?" Ahsoka thought as her heart started pumping fast too.
Somehow, ever since she met Jason on Malachor, it was love at first sight, like it was their destiny. When Ahsoka realized what she was thinking, she quickly put those thoughts aside and felt silly.
"You okay?" Jason asked.
"Of course, I just feel a little hot," Ahsoka said trying to hide her blush.
Jason wasn't sure what it was about but before he could ask more questions, they were interrupted when a rebel trooper walked to them.
"Excuse me but Commander Sato wants to see you," the trooper said.
"For what reason?" Jason asked.
"He didn't say but it's important," the trooper said.
Jason and Ahsoka nodded and immediately headed to the briefing room where Sato along with other leaders of the Pheonix squadron, Ghost crew, and Jason's team waited. But what caught Jason and Ahsoka's attention was that Ezra was also there in handcuffs and two rebel troopers with their hands on their blasters.
"You wanted to see us," Ahsoka said.
"Yes, Bridger has some information you should hear," Sato said.
Everyone turned to Ezra who felt a little awkward now.
"If you really have something to tell us, Ezra. I suggest you start talking before we throw you back to your cell," Hera said.
Ezra knew that his crew was still angry at him but he needed to tell them what he heard during his rogue mission on the plant.
"While I was trying to steal the Y-wings, I heard an officer talking to someone in the command center," Ezra said.
"Who it was?" Hera asked.
"Some guy called, Khan" Ezra answered.
As soon as Ezra said Khan's name, everyone except Atlanteans and some of Ghost's crew froze like statues. Those who haven't heard about Khan wondered why his name terrified Hera and the others so much.
"It can't be," Kanan said.
"It's not possible," Hera said.
"It can't be him," Ahsoka said.
"He's dead," Rex said.
Everyone was surprised by their reactions and started asking questions.
"What are you talking about? Who's Khan?" Ezra asked.
Ahsoka and the others looked at each other for a moment until they answered.
"Khan was a separatist agent and weapons designer during the clone wars," Ahsoka said.
"He designed many weapons for the separatists during the war. Including the commando droids and Malevolence," Rex told them.
"What else did you find?" Kanan asked Ezra.
"Not much. Something that he has rejoined the Empire," Ezra said.
"But why now?" Where has Khan been all these years?" Hera asked.
"I hate to interrupt but can you give us more details," Zeb said.
"Yeah, we're a little in the dark here," Sabine added.
"You don't understand how dangerous Khan is. He was banished by the Emperor because the crimes he committed during the clone wars were unthinkable. Even to the Empire or the separatists," Rex explained.
Everyone was surprised and a little horrified by how Rex and the others told them about Khan. But Jason and his team wanted to know what crimes Khan committed.
"What crimes did Khan commit exactly?" Jason asked.
"He committed two genocides, blew up a sun causing a supernova that destroyed a star system, and conducted horrible experiments," Hera explained.
The team and the crew couldn't believe what they were hearing. From what Hera and the others just told them about Khan and what he did, he seemed to be a lot worse than the Empire.
"What should we do?" Kanan asked.
"Khan didn't wait this long only to rejoin the Empire. There must be more going on," Rex said.
"Which brings us to the question what should we do?" Rodney asked.
"The best we can do right now is to wait and see what Khan is planning," Ahsoka said.
Meanwhile in Khan's ship
After the rebels' and Atlanteans' escape, Khan went back to his mothership (Anubis' mothership from Stargate SG-1 series). When he walked into his quarters and closed the door behind him, Khan opened the holographic computer that contained the blueprints about the weapons he was working on.
While Khan was looking at his creations, he smirked.
"Those fools in the rebellion think they can defy me and the Emperor thinks he can keep me under his control or get rid of me so easily," Khan thought.
He turned to another page that showed the weapons he invented for the separatists during the clone wars. Weapons such as commando droids and Malevolence that he personally designed and showed to Count Dooku. Khan was proud of those achievements but there was more.
He turned to another page but this time it showed weapons Anubis used in the Milky Way. But there were a few new weapons Khan invented by combining both his and Anubis' technologies. So-called super weapons and weapons of mass destruction Khan was planning to use to destroy both the rebellion and the Empire.
"I will do as Anubis has taught me. Take all the power and destroy everyone who gets in my way," Khan thought.
The rebels and Atlanteans had no idea that they were facing their darkest moments in their near future.