Chapter 7: Shieldbreaker

Alisa flipped open the lid of one of the many crates that Matthias had shipped to Krownest. Inside, she found dozens of old Clone Wars-era DC-15 blaster rifles in their carbine configuration. She had volunteered to inventory the equipment alongside Tristan, and was thoroughly impressed by the smuggler's work. How he had managed to move so much ordnance past the Imperial patrols in the area was a mystery.

"Heard about what you and Sabine did over Atollon." Tristan began, grunting as he hefted a crate off of the cart and cracked it open. "You a pilot?"

"I am." Alisa nodded, slotting several of the carbines into their new racks in the armory. "Haven't got the chance to fly quite as much as I'd like, though. And the damn Empire destroyed my old fighter."

"Well, you know your way around a Fang Fighter." Tristan smirked. "What'd you fly before?"

"A fighter native to my people, originally." Alisa explained. "After that, an ARC-170."

"I was never really any good at flying myself… Do your Jedi things help with it?"

"I think so..." Alisa nodded. "It was like everything just… faded away. The only thing left was the targeting reticle and muscle memory. It's hard to explain."

The small talk continued for a few minutes as they continued inventorying the new weapons, Sabine eventually stepping into the armory alongside Ezra and Kallest. "Getting along?" Sabine asked, grinning.

"Swapping trade secrets." Tristan smirked back. "Any word from the spies?"

"Dad was moved to an outpost deep in the wastes." Sabine nodded. "We're moving every warrior we have for this."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Alisa nodded, grabbing her carbine from the wall.

XXXXX

Alisa cut her jetpack above the landing pad, boots meeting the durasteel plates as she sent a blaster bolt back towards a stormtrooper with her lightsaber. As the trooper clattered to the flood, she stepped towards the door to the outpost proper with Sabine and another Wren warrior just behind her. After slicing through the locking mechanism, she wrenched the door open and stepped inside. "Keep me posted, Alisa." Sabine nodded to her friend, darting down another hallway. Alisa took the other hallway, motioning for the other Mandalorian to follow Sabine.

As she moved through the outpost, it was surprisingly quiet. Even with the battle still raging outside, there was a surprising lack of resistance. As she rounded the corner into a mess hall for the garrison, she reflexively brought the lightsaber up to deflect an incoming blaster bolt, sending it sailing into the ceiling. She saw a Stormtrooper sergeant with his weapon raised, who quickly tossed his weapon down and threw his hands out. "Shit, shit… we're good!" He held his hands out. Alisa couldn't quite place it, but his voice sounded familiar.

"You surrender?" Alisa asked, holding her defensive stance.

"Absolutely!" The sergeant nodded, undoing the clasp on his belt and letting the spare power packs and blaster pistol fall to the floor as well. "I'll take being a rebel prisoner over this shit any day! I should count myself lucky you're here."

"Do I know you?" Alisa asked, relaxing a bit now that the trooper was unarmed completely.

"Probably don't remember me, but I served under Thrawn's command." The sergeant explained, reaching up to remove his helmet. "I was the squad leader on Zygerria, yelled at the cats? Name's Ralen Jax."

"And you didn't go with Thrawn?" Alisa asked,

"Never got the chance, got transferred to Admiral Konstantine a week before he vanished, orders from on high." Jax answered, reaching up to remove his helmet. He was in his late twenties if Alisa had to guess. Short black hair, clean shaven, green eyes, and a few scars from battles fought. "I was proud of the work we did under Thrawn; clearing out pirates, stopping slavers, keeping the peace on outer rim worlds. Turns out Thrawn was the exception... "

"All well and good, but we have intelligence that says Alrich Wren is here." Alisa nodded. "Where is he?"

"You got played by Saxon." Jax explained. "Leaked the information to draw you here. He's got reinforcements inbound from his Star Destroyer, two AT-STs and a platoon of troopers."

"You know how to operate the cannons on the outpost?" Alisa asked, earning a nod from Jax. "Alright, show me you're not an Imperial then." She gestured towards the hallway with her lightsaber.

Outside, Ezra ducked into cover behind one of the support struts for the outpost. A quartet of blasts from an incoming Gozanti transport kicked up dust and turned the sand to glass right where he had been a moment prior. "Sabine, Alisa! We've got reinforcements incoming!" Ezra heard the heavy whirring of the cannon above his head turning. It wheeled around to face the pair of AT-ST walkers, loosing a barrage of fire towards the vehicles. A series of heavy detonations racked the superstructure of the Gozanti, sending it crashing down to the earth below, crushing a walker as it fell.

Ezra watched as Alisa ran onto the landing pad with her carbine, firing down at the stormtroopers that were still reeling from the crash of their transport. The Mandalorians had little issue picking off the last walker as it stumbled out of the dust cloud. The attackers all let out a cheer as the walker fell, with a few of the Mandalorians moving to collect the fallen weapons and ammunition.

Ezra watched as Alisa helped someone climb out of the turret, half-expecting it to be Sabine. Color him surprised as she helped a helmetless stormtrooper out of the turret, patting him on the pauldron. "Who's that?!" Ezra asked, drawing more attention to the strange situation.

"A defector!" Alisa shouted back, handing the stormtrooper a blaster rifle. "Put your damn guns down! He's the one who blasted the transport!"

"I vouch for him!" Sabine declared, walking onto the pad behind Alisa. "Seize any equipment you can and get ready to leave! We're regrouping with my mother!" As the Mandalorians down below returned to their business, Sabine gave Alisa a solemn nod. "We checked everywhere… nothing."

"Yeah, this was a trap." Jax nodded. "Alrich Wren was transferred to another facility, just not this one."

"Where?" Sabine asked, turning to glare at the former stormtrooper.

"About halfway to Clan Vizsla territory from here." He gestured to the northeast. "If we move quickly enough, we might be able to catch them off-guard."

"Good enough for me." Sabine nodded. "Alisa, I want you to take a team to scout this place, keep me posted."

Alisa smirked, seeing Sabine really come into her own here. "Yes, ma'am." She nodded.

XXXXX

"That's the place." Jax nodded, gesturing to the similar prefab structure that had been built into a cliff wall. Alisa scanned the exterior with her binoculars, not seeing any turrets, but there was at least a company-strength unit of Stormtroopers alongside a garrison of grey-clad Imperial Army.

"That's a hell of a hard target." Alisa sighed, keying the comms in her helmet. "I think I see a convoy getting ready to move. Six speeder bikes, four armored transports."

"Can you get a tracker on the convoy?" Sabine asked. "We just got some intel saying my father's being moved back to the capital from that complex."

Alisa thought long and hard about just how she'd go about attaching a tracking beacon to the convoy without arousing suspicion. When she saw the suit of stormtrooper armor slide back down into the trench beside her, an idea hit her. "Affirmative, you'll have your beacon." Alisa nodded. "Jax, I need you to get a tracker on that convoy."

"Are you fuckin' crazy?!" Jax began. "There's one of me, and at least a hundred of them. How the hell am I gonna fight through that?"

"That's the thing, you won't be fighting." Alisa explained, handing him his helmet back. "I want you two to chase him across the field, break off the moment return fire hits."

"Got it." The two Mandalorians nodded. "Ready when you are, imp."

Jax could hear the smirk beneath the Mandalorian's helmet. With a heavy sigh, he took the offered helmet from Alisa. "This is a horrible damn idea, but whatever." He grabbed one of the tracking beacons as Alisa handed it over and began to prepare himself mentally.

Alisa watched her newest companion sprint across the nearly two-kilometer distance to the prison complex, a pair of Wren Mandalorians tailing him with their jetpacks and firing shots that were likely far closer than he was comfortable with. It didn't take long for the base's garrison to notice and begin moving to scare the supposed attackers away.

As Jax reached the kilometer mark, he saw a series of red blaster bolts scream over his head, heading towards the Mandalorians 'chasing' him. He waved his hands out at the Imperial garrison. "Hey! Friendly!" He shouted, hearing the jetpacks grow fainter and fainter as they headed off towards the nearby mountains.

"Damn, trooper, you alright?" A stormtrooper lieutenant asked, coming to a stop a few feet away. "Where the hell'd you come from?"

"Outpost 12." Jax sighed, hands on his knees as he doubled over to catch his breath. "S-199354, Theta Company under Admiral Konstantine." Jax began, giving the identification number of his sister platoon's sergeant. "We tried to evac when they overran the outpost, but got shot down; out that way." He gestured to the East. "I think I'm the only one who made it."

"Get inside and get some water, you look like you're about to pass out right here." The Lieutenant nodded, patting him on the shoulder.

"Appreciate it, LT." Jax nodded, slowly standing upright again and walking towards the complex with the rest of the leg infantry. As he entered the base, he noticed that there was a surprising lack of any external defenses. There were only a few E-WEBs lining potential approach angles from the outer perimeter. "Hey, trooper!" Jax looked up to see one of the gunners calling down to him. "Comms busted or something?"

"Yeah, got slagged in the crash!" Jax called back, tapping the side of his helmet to accent his point.

"If you head inside, we might have some spare helmets we can get you!" The gunner returned. "No luck on transport for you, so you're stuck with us for now!"

"Copy!" Jax nodded, silently thanking whatever higher power might be as his path towards the entrance took him right past the preparing convoy. He had the beacon in the palm of his hand, and placed it in a nook in the rear vehicle's rear armor, making like he was simply patting the side of the machine like one would a beast of burden. Thankfully, it didn't draw any attention.

"Beacon active." Jax spoke into his comms with Alisa and Sabine. "Now about getting me the hell out of here..."

"My mother's diverting some of her forces to help assault that complex." Sabine explained. "Alisa, they're yours."

"Understood. Jax, hold tight and get any intel you can. Try to confirm that Alrich's going to be on that convoy."

"Got it." Jax affirmed. "Just try not to shoot me when you get here, yeah?"

XXXXX

"Get that cannon down!" Alisa shouted, ducking into another trench closer to the complex's perimeter as an E-WEB swept a field of fire over her head. She was finally allowed to approach the perimeter as a jetpack-fired rocket slammed into the watchtower that the E-WEB was mounted to, allowing her to ignite her lightsaber and send a bolt careening back into a visibly panicking stormtrooper.

With a quick flick of her wrist, she sent a loose fuel canister flying into a collection of crates the defenders were using for cover, the unstable fuel going up in a fireball and engulfing the stormtroopers. The remaining stormtroopers in the complex's courtyard were quickly mopped up by the dozen Mandalorians, and they were left with clearing the complex proper.

Right as Alisa approached the main door to the inside of the complex, a chill ran the length of her spine as she felt a presence, not unlike Kanan or Ezra's, but… different. Colder. "Proceed with caution… we might have an Inquisitor on our hands. Two of you, stuck with me. We're hunting him."

Alisa cut through the locking mechanism of the main blast door, allowing the Mandalorians to take the lead as they split into two teams to begin carving a bloody path towards the main holding area and the barracks. Alisa and her pair of Mandalorians made their way towards the command center.

"Jax, your position?" Alisa asked, yanking the blaster pistol from an Imperial Army Lieutenant's hand with the Force and throwing him back into a wall. The impact knocked him out cold, and allowed Alisa to continue down the corridor with her two comrades.

"Level two security hub." Jax began. "You've got four entrenched army troops down the hallway to your left." As Jax filtered more and more intelligence their way through the security system, Alisa and her team managed to clear the path before them even faster than anticipated.

As they finally approached the hall leading to the command center, Jax's camera coverage evidently had a blind spot as Alisa's heightened senses and intuition told her to duck. A red lightsaber cleaved a molten slit into the durasteel wall beside her as an Inquisitor rounded the corner, a wicked smile on his face. "Finally, a Jedi..." He spat, lunging forward with his lightsaber.

Alisa caught his blade with her own, hoping her training with Kanan would be enough to see her through this. Her comrades weren't willing to chance a blaster shot into a pair of duelling force users, so they settled on keeping a set distance and waiting for an opening. The Inquisitor's attacks were brutal and quick, but reckless and wide. The few times they found and opening, he snapped the blade to the incoming bolt with speed that only a force-sensitive was capable of, blocking it.

Alisa shouted in pain as the Inquisitor landed a shallow but painful hit on her thigh. She stumbled back, only barely bringing up the lightsaber in time to intercept a swipe that would've decapitated her. As she fought through the pain, a dull anger quickly boiled over as she lashed out with her lightsaber, putting momentum back on her side. As she slowly pushed the Inquisitor back towards the fork in the corridor, she managed to force him into the fork, then sidestepped to the right corridor. "Now!" She shouted. At almost the moment the word left her lips, two gouts of flame engulfed the Inquisitor, setting his robes alight and earning screams of pain and terror as he writhed on the durasteel floor. In her anger, Alisa simply drew her blaster pistol from her hip and slotted a bolt through the Inquisitor's helmet, ending the screams and writhing. She yanked the Inquisitor's lightsaber into her hand, not wanting to touch the napalm-coated body, and attached it to her belt as she nodded for the Mandalorians to follow her.

As she approached the door to the command center, the adrenaline finally wore off and a jolt of searing pain ran up her leg. She nearly collapsed, but managed to regain her footing as one of her Mandalorian comrades caught her. "You alright?"

"I'll be fine." Alisa gritted out. "Level two clear."

"Level one barracks clear."

"Level one prison blocks clear." The final team reported in, signaling that the complex had finally been cleared in earnest, save for the command center.

With a groan, Alisa stood back up and keyed the controls to the command center's door, finding a trembling Imperial officer leveling a shaky blaster pistol at her. "Stay back!" He shouted. Alisa reached out and yanked the pistol from his grasp, leaving him disarmed as she leveled her own pistol at him. "I-I surrender!" He threw his hands up, stepping away from the desk as Alisa gestured towards the wall with the barrel of her weapon.

"Why was an Inquisitor here?" Alisa asked, nodding to the Mandalorians as they moved to begin sifting through the commander center's terminals.

"He was here to pick up a prisoner! That's all I know, they never tell us anything!" The officer pleaded, still trembling at the sight of two angry red eyes glaring into him.

"Where is this prisoner?" Alisa asked.

"C-Cell A-193." The officer managed.

Alisa quickly forwarded that information to the team that had cleared the cell blocks, and returned to her questioning. "Your code cylinder." Alisa gestured to the officer, who shakily tossed it to her. "Jax, get up here and detain this officer." She spoke into her comms. "Bring some medical supplies if possible."

"Copy." Jax affirmed.

After Jax arrived and handed a small bacta tank over to Alisa, she set about applying it to the wound in her leg. It would still need time to heal fully, but she would at least be able to walk on it without wanting to collapse. Sabine's voice came over Alisa's comms as she stood back up. "Alisa, we got him! We got my father!"

"That's good to hear..." Alisa nodded. "We've secured the prison complex and captured an Imperial officer, requesting immediate transport out of here for us and the prisoners."

"How many are there?" Sabine asked.

"About a hundred and twenty." Alisa answered, looking over the readout on the officer's terminal. "Mostly political dissidents and some warriors from rebel clans."

"Got it, we've got some shuttles on the way." Sabine affirmed, something evidently catching her attention. "Hold up, something's happening with my mother's detachment. I'll keep you posted."

As Sabine cut the communications, Alisa was greeted by one of the Mandalorians clearing the cell block. "Jedi, we've got that cell you asked us to check. It's a young girl, says she's from Clan Awaud."

Now that was strange. All of Clan Wren's intelligence suggested that they'd been wiped out to a man during a battle in the southern badlands. "I'll be there in a moment." Alisa affirmed, making her way down. As she arrived, she found the cell in question now open, with a Wren member kneeling down in front of the young Mandalorian girl, offering her a small nutrient bar that she gingerly accepted. The moment Alisa stepped into the entrance to the cell, her suspicions were confirmed as she felt a faint, yet noticeable presence in the Force.

The girl looked no older than ten, with dark brown eyes and black hair that was sticking out in all directions. She was still wearing her nightwear, suggesting that she had been taken in the dead of night by the Imperials as they burned Clan Awaud's homes to the ground. She could feel the fear and apprehension on the girl as she met Alisa's eyes, only to look back down at her hands a moment later. "Ma'am?" The Wren asked, shaking Alisa from her thoughts.

She gestured for him to follow her into the corridor, and began speaking in a hushed tone. "How common were Mandalorian Jedi before the Empire?"

"Pretty rare, but not unheard of." The man shrugged. "Why do you-... wait… Is she?"

"She is..." Alisa nodded. "That's why the Inquisitor was here."

"Blasted filth." The Mandalorian practically spat. "Burn the homes and take the children. Damn them all."

Alisa nodded. "Get the others ready… I'm going to have a word with the young one." She stepped into the cell again, dropping to one knee. The girl met her eyes again, keeping contact for a bit longer. "Are you alright?" Alisa asked in Basic, earning a nod. "What's your name?"

"Ryona." The girl responded, not taking her eyes off the floor.

"Ryona… that's a-" Much to Alisa's surprise, the girl cut her off.

"You don't need to do that… I already know." She sighed.

"Know what?" Alisa asked.

"That my family's gone..." She deadpanned.

Alisa couldn't help but give a solemn nod. "You're right… I shouldn't patronize you." That earned a look of surprise from Ryona. "You still need to leave this place, right?" That earned another nod. "Well, you're in luck. We're going to be leaving soon, and you're welcome to come with us."

"O-okay... " Ryona nodded. "Who are you?"

"I'm Alisa." Alisa offered her best attempt at a comforting smile. "I'm with Clan Wren and the Rebel Alliance."

"Wait..." Ryona began, looking down at Alisa's belt, spotting two cylindrical tubes. "Are you a Jedi?"

"I am." Alisa nodded, deciding to just accept the label from the Mandalorians at this point.

Alisa was happy to see a smile on the girl's face. "So you are here to help."

XXXXX

Alisa sighed, leaning against the metal table in the main hall of the Clan Wren stronghold on Krownest. Their missions had been successful, but nearly two-dozen Mandalorians had been turned to ash by a weapon that Sabine had helped build. Tristan and Ursa had both been injured by it, but were otherwise alright, and Clan Kryze had officially joined the Mandalorian uprising. Even with the most influential clan joining them, today still felt like a loss. The greatest strength of Mandalore had been turned against its people.

"Look, the best way to deal with this is going to be destroying that weapon and all data relating to it." Tristan offered, still cradling his bandaged arm.

"Yeah, but the damn thing's on Saxon's Star Destroyer that's docked in Sundari." Jax joined in. "Even if it's in the hangar like I think it is, boarding it quietly is going to be hard. You don't just sneak onto a capital ship. Its combat air patrol is going to be flying constantly now that they've shown their hand."

"What about the shipping traffic around Sundari's dome?" Kallest added. "We could get a small team with jetpacks to get into the hanger. If their air patrol is out, they're going to have the hangar doors open. TIEs burn fuel quick in-atmosphere, and it'd be easier to just keep the damn thing open."

"Leave it to the smuggler to get past the defenses." Ursa smirked. "But still, if they activate the weapon while the team's on board, they've got no chance of escape."

"A Jedi should be able to get to the weapon quick and disable it." Tristan added, looking to Alisa.

"Think you're good to fight, with that wound and all?" Kallest asked, concern on his face.

"As long as we don't go tonight, I should be fine." Alisa nodded.

"Alright… give me time to get some men prepared and briefed." Bo-Katan nodded to Ursa. Alisa had no idea how, but the two evidently knew each other quite well. They were almost like sisters with how they bickered back and forth in good nature.

As the meeting was called for the night, Alisa stood up, slowly making her way towards Ursa. "Countess, if I might ask a favor?"

"Of course, Alisa." Ursa nodded, her voice softening considerably as she nodded for Alisa to follow her down the hallway. "You've been a great ally to me, my daughter, and my people."

"I'm honored you think so." Alisa nodded. "It's… about Ryona. Sabine tells me your clans adopt outsiders into them on occasion, a bit like my people do. Would you be willing to do that for her?"

"I know she's a clanless at the moment, but having time to properly raise her might be… difficult with the war on." Ursa explained. "Why are you so concerned with the girl?"

Alisa's voice lowered considerably. "She's like me… she's force-sensitive." Alisa explained, earning a look of surprise from Ursa.

"You're sure?"

"I'm certain." Alisa nodded, tapping the Inquisitor's lightsaber at her hip. "Not only could I sense it, but why else would an Inquisitor be so interested in a child?"

Ursa thought long and hard as she walked, eventually nodding. "Alright… you can consider her a foundling of Clan Wren… under one condition."

"Being?" Alisa asked, being led into the armory by Ursa. She watched the matriarch of the Wren family retrieve a metallic breastplate from a shelf, the insignia of the clan etched into the left-most plate, just above the heart.

"You accept this, and work to earn the rest of your armor like everyone else in this Clan." Ursa offered, holding out the beskar breastplate.

Alisa was stunned by the offer. "You… you want me to join Clan Wren?"

"As a foundling, but yes… and it was Sabine's idea." Ursa smiled. "I've learned to trust her intuition."

Alisa stared at the unpainted breastplate in bewilderment for a moment, eventually taking it in her hands. "I'd be honored, Countess."

"Then I welcome you to Clan Wren, Khalia'lis'arah." Ursa offered a smile again. "I don't expect you to stay in the stronghold, or even in Mandalorian space… I know you still have your rebellion to fight. As long as the Rebel Alliance is an ally to the people of Mandalore, I'll consider you and Sabine Clan Wren's emissaries and advisors to the rebellion. Just a formality, so you can actually come and go from Krownest as you please. Just know that you will always have a place here, so long as you walk an honorable path."

"Thank you, Countess." Alisa nodded her head in respect as Ursa headed for the door.

"And it should go without saying, but don't wear that on the star destroyer." Ursa chuckled.

"Understood, ma'am." Alisa nodded, returning the smile.

"And if you wouldn't mind going to see Sabine?" Ursa asked. "Consider it a favor?"

"Not a problem." Alisa nodded.

XXXXX

Alisa tapped her knuckles on the doorframe, seeing Sabine sitting on the edge of her bed with her head in her hands. "I don't need another talk, Tristan..."

"So close." Alisa offered an attempt at a joke, earning a look of surprise from Sabine.

"Oh, Alisa… come on in." Her expression brightened just a bit. "And… shut the door?"

Alisa keyed the door control, letting it hiss shut behind her as she walked over to sit down beside Sabine. "Are you alright?"

"Not really..." Sabine shook her head, giving Alisa a good look at her red, puffy eyes. "I almost got my own mother and brother killed."

"I'll try not to feed you the same lines everyone else has." Alisa offered, giving Sabine's shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Even if you've already heard everything, and just need someone to be here, I'll do that. You did the same for me, after all."

"It's just… how do you do it?" Sabine asked, earning a cocked brow from Alisa. "How do you stay so calm?"

"I don't." Alisa chuckled. "You should've seen me when I was on Zygerria and saw Iaanha in the cell. 'Calm' isn't the word I'd use."

"It's not that… It's more like… how do you keep going?" Sabine asked again, trying to make it make sense.

Alisa had to think about her answer for a moment. "Well… there's a few reasons. I remember something that we were told in flight school after a botched training simulation got our whole wing downed. 'An error only becomes a mistake when you refuse to correct it' is what my instructor told us that day." She gave Sabine's shoulder another gentle squeeze. "You've made an error, yes… but you still have a chance to correct it."

"And the other reasons?" Sabine asked.

"I keep going for the people I care about." Alisa answered, meeting Sabine's eyes. "You, Iaanha, Kallest… hell, even Chopper."

Despite herself, Sabine managed a laugh. "Thanks, Alisa..."

"Not a problem." She smiled. She watched as Sabine's eyes drifted down to the beskar breastplate she was still carrying in her arm.

"Wait… is that…?" Sabine began, eyes widening.

"I'm told I have you to thank for this?" She patted the breastplate, earning a nod and a proud smile from Sabine. "I still need to get it properly fitted, but it still needs to be painted… and I can't think of anyone better to help with that."

"Too easy." Sabine smiled. Somehow, she had gone from the edge to happy within the span of a few minutes. She wasn't sure if it was Alisa's connection to the Force, but she couldn't help but feel at ease. "Let me go get my stuff."