Isle of Berk; Ahch-To
Jarik POV...
Zenna croons at me from her position on the floor, and I reach over to give her neck a small scratch, smiling. She rumbles in satisfaction and then closes her eyes again, and I return to eating my food. At the same table were the rest of the teens, who were mostly busy messing with each other. By mostly I mean Snotlout and the twins, and Fishlegs was trying to remain silent next to them.
"I feel like there's some people that you can never really understand," I remark.
"Guess not," Hiccup replies dryly, glancing at them.
"I doubt they even understand themselves," Astrid adds with a roll of her eyes.
"Snotlout at least does," I correct.
"What're we talking about here?" said Viking suddenly interjects, shoving Tuffnut's face away.
"Oh nothing," I say calmly.
"Well if there's anything that you want to know about me, I'd be happy to tell," he replies, giving a suggestive wink to Astrid, to which she rolls her eyes in disgust.
"So, any luck with your... meditation, stuff?" Hiccup asks me.
"No, not yet," I tell him.
"Sure seems to take a while," he remarks.
"Well, while we can manipulate the Force, it still gets final say on what it decides to show us so, nothing I can really do about that, except keep at it," I shrug helplessly. "Speaking of which, how is Calder?"
"Calder?" Astrid asks with a raised eyebrow. "Fine, I suppose. He's been reading the book you gave him."
"A very interesting book I might add!" Fishlegs pipes up, a gleam in his eyes.
"Uggh," the Twins both groan at the mention of reading, and Snotlout makes a face.
"Well, that's good," I reply, ignoring them. "Hopefully he's getting a better understanding of how to use the Force properly."
"It's still a little weird being considered allies with them," Astrid admits.
"Well, it's a lot better than walking on stepping stones with 'Dagur the Deranged,'" Hiccup reasons.
"Good point," she says in agreement.
"That kid is one of the craziest guys I've ever heard of, and that's saying something," I comment.
"That's pretty tame compared to what Mara once said about him," Hiccup remarks.
Tuffnut's eyes light up. "Oh yeah! She once called him a piece of bantha dung that's full of mynock muffins!"
"Haha! I don't know what that is but it sounds horrible! I love it!" Tuffnut cackles.
I make a face, grimacing at hearing that.
"Oh I'm well aware of her... choice words for him. As for where she learned them..." I trail off, furrowing my brow before grumbling irritably. "I need to have a talk with Boil."
"She really didn't take kindly to him attempting to court her," Astrid adds with a snicker.
"Yeah, neither would I," I say with a sigh.
"Speaking of which, where is she right now?" Hiccup asks.
"She's taking part in a supply run to help another group of rebels," I explain.
Ryloth; Gaulus Sector
Numa POV...
Me and Cham are in a tense situation, trying to escape the Imperial forces that are chasing us down. We're riding blurrgs that are running at full speed, while the Imperial's have speeded bikes and troop transports. I duck away from a shot and fire back at them, looking at Cham.
"How did they find us?" I ask loudly.
"The Empire is getting better at anticipating our moves," he replies grimly.
"This will slow them down," I reply, pulling out a grenade. I toss it behind me, grinning when it detonated to destroy to of the speeder bikes.
"Gobi, where are you? We need a pickup now!" Cham says into his com, but receives no reply.
"We are not far from the Tulara Ravine. We can lose them in the maze," I suggest.
"No good," he replies in disagreement. "Gobi said they mined the pass."
I frown upon hearing that, and flinch away from another laser blast that comes far to close. I try to fire back with my blaster pistol, but another shot from the troop transports hits the side of my blurrg, causing him to growl in pain. He stumbles for a moment but continues to run.
I glare at the scout trooper as he charges forwards in between me and Cham on his speeder bike, aiming his blaster at me. Before he could fire, Cham rams his blurrg into him with a yell, causing him to wobble. Angered at being hurt, my blurrg then clamps his jaws onto the speeder bikes and tosses him away, and I allow a smile to come onto my face.
"Good boy," I say, patting his head.
Looking forwards, I notice with dread that we're approaching a large cliff. Cham's comlink then comes to life to allow Hera's voice to come through, much to my relief.
"Father, don't worry. We're closing in on your position," she says.
"Hera, is that you? Good timing," Cham replies happily. "We are running out of room!"
"We're coming in from the north," she says.
"There's no time for you to land," Cham argues.
"We're not landing. Head south," she says.
"Hera, there is no time," he disagrees.
"Just turn around! We'll take care of the Empire. We've sent some help on the ground," Hera tells us, ending the transmission.
"Is she serious?" I ask incredulously.
"My daughter is always serious," he states.
"Ha!" I scoff in amusement. "Runs in the family."
Looking up, we can see Hera's ship the Ghost fling down towards us, and I smile at the sight. Then I spot something else nearby, which gets my attention. From the tall rock formations to our right comes some sort of vehicle with wheels instead of the usual features, racing toward us at high speeds.
"What is that?" I ask, pointing out the vehicle to Cham.
"Must be the ground help Hera mentioned," Cham remarks.
The wheeled vehicle gets closer to us and then brings up a pair of guns on its hood, shooting at the Imperials. Blue laser blasts shoot out from the guns and slam into one of the transports, causing it to shake violently before crashing to the ground with a small explosion.
"Well, I'll take it!" I state in approval.
Reaching the cliff ledge, we slid to a stop and quickly turn around, running along the side and towards the rest of the flatter and open landscape. The Ghost swings around to begin following us, and the vehicle races beside us. I glance at it for a moment curiously, raising an eyebrow at the color scheme before shrugging, looking back at the Imperial's a speeder bike and another transport are still following after us, shooting red laser bolts.
I fire my blaster back at the scout trooper, but he avoids my shots by swerving away, much to my frustration. The vehicle then swerved around skillfully, driving backwards much to our surprise, and fires more blue laser blasts. The speeder bike avoids them again, but the troop transport is hit, and crashes against the ground. Afterwards the vehicle swivels around again to face forwards, and the Ghost begins approaching closer.
"Hera, how did you plan on getting us onboard?" Cham asks.
"I'm lowering the front ramp. Just jump on," she replies.
"With the blurrgs? And the vehicle your crew brought?" he asks incredulously.
"Yep. Blurrgs are welcome too!" she replies.
Cham and I share a look with each other, and I shrug in response. Seeing the Ghost lowering behind us and opening its ramp, the driver of the vehicle directs themself over towards the ramp and swiftly backs into it and entering the cargo hold. Seeing that, me and Cham then follow afterwards, slowing our blurrgs down before getting onto the ramp, which they do with a quick jump.
Riding our blurrgs inside the cargo hold, we move them towards the back beside the pinkish vehicle, and we both dismount them. Spotting Boil, I head over to him with a smile, giving him a quick hug.
"Good to see you nerra," I tell him.
"You as well," he replies.
Before the Ghost could close its ramp however, the remaining scout trooper backs his speeder bike into the cargo hold, jumping off of it and whipping out a blaster pistol.
"Ha!" he exclaims triumphantly.
In response, Zeb, Cham, Boil and I, all raise our blasters back at him with amused grins on our faces. He falters slightly, realizing a major problem he caused.
"You didn't think that through, did you?" Zeb asks in amusement.
"Uh..." the trooper says, lowering his blaster upon realizing how much he screwed up.
"In his defense, that was a pretty epic move he pulled. Never seen a stormtrooper do that before," Boil comments, lowering his blaster and crossing his arms.
"I'll say," I reply in agreement.
"Hey, kid, you got this outfit?" Zeb asks Ezra, who is standing above us.
"Nope," he replies, smiling.
Zeb walks towards the trooper, placing his rifle on his back with a smile, while the trooper takes a cautious step back.
"The kid wants your helmet. Sorry," he says.
Raising a fist, Zeb slams it into the scout troopers head to knock him unconscious, and he fumbles to the ground with a groan. I giggle at the sight before facing the others.
"Thanks for the rescue," I say gratefully. "I'm curious about this new vehicle you guys have. Who was piloting it?"
Boil, Zeb and Ezra all share nervous glances, and I frown in confusion at their responses. It is just a simple answer right?
"Why are you looking at each other like that?" Cham questions, equally confused.
"It's just that the answer to your question is a little complicated, and surprising to answer," Boil admits with a sheepish smile.
Cham and I share a weird look with each other, and I offer him a helpless shrug. A door on the side of the vehicle then opens, and a young girl then steps out, probably around 15 years of age. She closes the door and looks up with a smile, waving a hand.
"Hello," she greets us.
"Numa, Cham, this is Jarik's adopted daughter Mara. She's a Jedi as well," Boil introduces.
"It's nice to meet you Mara," I reply with a respectful nod.
"That was some very skilled piloting out there Mara," Cham comments. "You have our thanks for offering assistance."
"Thanks but, I technically can't take credit for that... I wasn't actually driving," Mara replies with a sheepish smile.
He frowns in confusion. "Then... Who was?"
All of them share another sheepish look with each other, and Mara rubs the back of her neck, whistling an innocent tune. I turn towards Boil with a dull look.
"You guys are killing me with this suspense Boil," I deadpan.
Unknown Location; Space
3rd person POV...
~We need to cover more ground. I want you to travel to the area that the organics call, the 'Gaulus' Sector,~ Onslaught orders.
~Very well Onslaught,~ Blast Off replies, nodding in confirmation.
~And if you do come across Elita One, notify us immediately, and then engage,~ he adds,
The Ghost; Ryloth
Mara POV...
Up in the main common room, the rest of us were gathered together to discuss our next move. Hera and Cham both give each other a quick hug, smiles on their faces. Rex was joined up with us too, having wanted to get a little bit more involved with the action like Boil.
"You arrived just in time. Thank you for making this supply run," Cham says.
"It wasn't easy getting past that Imperial blockade," Hera replies.
"Then I wish I had better news. The Imperials now occupy the entire Tann province," he reports grimly.
Hera lets out an alarmed gasp, while Numa and Gobi both glance down grimly. I glance between them all with a look of concern, sharing it with Boil, who is standing next to Numa. Confused, Ezra leans over towards Kanan.
"What's the Tann province?" he asks.
"It's where Hera grew up," Kanan answers.
"What happened, Father?" Hera asks.
"I underestimated the commander, Captain Slavin," Cham tells us. "His previous attacks were clumsy, but this one was swift, precise, unlike him."
Hearing Cham's description of their commander, I narrow my eyes suspiciously a take a step forward. Dad did a little bit of research on the Imperial occupation on Ryloth after the theft of the Imperial carrier last year, and determined they didn't need assistance. He felt that the captain wasn't a match for Cham in terms of strategy and determination to succeed, and was rather arrogant.
"You said the commander's attacks were swift and precise?" I ask slowly for confirmation.
"Yes. It's as if he knows how to predict or moves," Cham states with a nod. "Slavin is usually arrogant, and clumsy with his tactics."
Upon hearing this, I slowly widen my eyes in concern and glance down, getting an idea of who the commander actually is. Some of the others take notice of my suspicion.
"Do you know something about the commander?" Kanan asks.
"I don't think Slavin is the one orchestrating the Empire's attacks," I tell them. "Someone else is in charge."
"Who? I don't have knowledge of another commander," Cham says with a frown.
"I have a feeling it's Thrawn," I reveal worriedly.
"Who's Thrawn?" Ezra asks.
"He's the Grand Admiral of the Imperial Navy," I explain. "And he is definitely well deserving of that title."
"I'm not sure many officers in the Empire really deserve their rank. They're a bunch of snobs," Sabine comments.
"Sabine's right. Whoever he is, we can handle him if necessary," Ezra says confidently.
"No, actually you can't," I retort, shaking my head. "Trust me on this when I say that you do not want to gain the interest of Thrawn. He figured out my Dad's undercover identity within a minute."
"Wait, are you serious?" Boil asks in surprise.
"I'm not even joking," I state firmly.
"Isn't Jarik supposed to be an expert when it comes to things like a false identity?" Sabine questions.
"He is. That should be proof enough that Thrawn doesn't mess around," I say.
"If that's true, then we have a big problem on our hands," Rex comments in concern.
"Regardless of who is in command, they've made our home their headquarters. I'm afraid I couldn't save anything when I escaped," Cham says sadly, sitting down. Hera crouches down in front of him, brow creased in worry.
"Not even the Kalikori?" Hera asks sadly.
"What's a Kalikori?" Ezra asks.
"A totem passed down the line of a Twi'lek family. It honors all who have come before," Numa says.
"Each parent adds to the artwork to include themselves in the legacy," Gobi explains.
"Hmm. Family history as living art," Sabine remarks.
"Living art?" I ask, concerned. "Something like that is exactly the kind of thing Thrawn is interested in."
"I don't see why he would. Nobody outside of Ryloth understands the meaning behind it," Gobi states.
"Trust me, he really would," I insist firmly.
"Hera would have inherited our family's Kalikori," Cham says sadly.
"And I still will," Hera states, getting our attention. "That heirloom was important to my mother. And I'm not ready to give it up yet!"
"Gobi, Numa and I are coming with you," Cham states.
"We'll help too," Sabine adds.
"This wasn't meant to be a personal mission. I can't let you take this risk with me," Hera says softly.
"You'd do it for us," Kanan replies.
"Because we owe you," Zeb adds, and Chopper voices his agreement.
"Come, Daughter. I'll brief you on Captain Slavin's defenses," Cham says, moving over to Hera.
"I'm not so sure about this mission guys," I finally say, showing my concern.
"What do you mean?" Boil asks.
"If I am right, and Thrawn is in command, then it's very likely he's expecting you to come for the kalikori," I tell them.
"Mara, I know you mean well, but there isn't much to be worried for. Whoever it is can't expect us to come for something that I'm their eyes is worthless," Hera states.
"I'd bet my life Thrawn knows exactly what a kalikori is. I'm even willing to say he knows who owns it," I insist firmly. "Art is everything to him."
"Why would an Imperial Admiral ever be interested with art?" Sabine asks doubtfully.
"To know his enemies," I state, taking a deep breath. "You want to know how he figured out my Dad's identity? He was carrying my mother's Sokka beads—which was her Padawan braid—at the time. The significance of those beads isn't really know outside of the Jedi Order, but Thrawn knew exactly what they were, and who they belonged too."
"So you're saying Thrawn somehow recognized Ahsoka's padawan braid as belonging to her?" Rex asks.
"Yeah. There were a couple more variables added, but that was a big reason of how he knew who Dad was," I tell them, giving them all a serious look. "So please trust me when I'm saying that Thrawn will know who you are if you attempt to take the kalikori."
The assembled group all share looks with each other, and while Boil and Rex were concerned, the others were still a bit doubtful on the possibility of that. I cross my arms in displeasure, realizing they were still going for it.
"I hear you Mara, but this is something I have to do, even if it's as dangerous as you say," Hera says.
I let out a reluctant sigh at her response. "Alright. I don't like it, but I'll help you."
"Thank you," she replies gratefully.
With the plan set up, we were all grouped together in the middle of a large canyon under Cham's direction. Elita was camped out further into the canyon, ready and waiting for it we needed heavy backup support. As planned, an Imperial patrol is moving in our direction, consisting of a troop transport, scout walker, and a few stormtroopers.
For the ambush and distraction, we were split up into three different groups. Kanan, Zeb and Rex were on the ground behind a large pillar, while Cham and Gobi were across the canyon from them, along with a pack of blurrgs. As for Boil, Sabine, Numa and I, we were hiding on a ledge higher above the site, looking down. Cham then raises his fist for a signal, and Numa responds with a quick flashing light of hers.
"Well, this is where the fun begins," I remark.
"Is Elita in position?" Boil asks me.
A quick glance at my comlink as a quick flash comes through gives me an answer, and I give Boil a confirming nod.
"I still find it difficult to believe that the pink vehicle can transform into a large droid," Numa remarks.
"Actually she's not a droid, she's just as alive as us," I correct her.
"If you say so," she replies.
Moments later, the attack begins as Cham and Gobi charge out from their cover and begin firing their blasters. Several stormtroopers are hit before they patrol begins to retaliate, firing their red lasers a turret blasts back at them. Once they're close enough, Sabine presses a detonator that sets off several grenades planted along the canyon. Kanan's group makes their move after that, charging out from cover and engaging the troopers while heading over towards the blurrgs.
"Let's move," Boil says.
While he, Numa and Sabine all begin skidding down the side of the steep slope to join up with the others, I activate my purple lightsaber and make my own way down, jumping to the bottom gracefully. Once there, I begin deflecting blaster bolts as we all rush over to the blurrgs, hopping on quickly. I get on with Rex while Numa and Boil get on another. Kanan went with Sabine, and Zeb went rode a blurrg by himself. We all rush further into the canyon, drawing the Imperials away so that Hera and Ezra can head towards the Tann Province.
"Well, we certainly got their attention," Kanan remarks.
"Oh, you don't say," I reply, deflecting a blaster bolts away from me and Rex while he steers the blurrg.
Tann Province; Ryloth
3rd person POV...
Exiting the office, with the kalikori in hand,, Hera and Ezra both glance around before dashing forwards to hide behind the wall separators. As they move forwards silently towards the front door, it suddenly opens, causing them to halt in their tracks. They keep themselves hidden behind the separators and watch as Captain Slavin, a stormtrooper, and Grand Admiral Thrawn himself walk into the room.
"Stand guard. No one in or out," Slavin orders the trooper, before turning to Thrawn. "Well, I have increased security per your orders, Grand Admiral, but I don't understand why. The rebel activity is far from here."
While Slavin was talking to Thrawn, Hera and Ezra used the momentary distraction to move back where they came, seeing as their exit was blocked. They quickly move into the lift door, and Hera closes it. The action gains Thrawn's attention, as he calmly looks over at the closed door.
"It's closer than you think, Captain," he replies softly.
*:*:*
Inside the lift, Hera was looking at the kalikori fondly, brushing it off while Ezra thought about the Imperial officer they saw.
"Who was that blue guy?" he asks.
"I don't know," Hera admits.
"You think it might've been Thrawn? The guy Mara warned us about?" he theorizes.
"Maybe, but we don't need to worry about that. We aren't gonna be going near him," she replies reassuringly.
"Well, how are we gonna get out of here?" Ezra asks.
"There's a secret exit on the lower level," she explains.
"Do you think they know about it?" he asks.
"I doubt it. There was never any reason to come down here, except to sneak a meiloorun from time to time," she remarks.
Once the elevator reaches the proper floor, the two sneak out and begin quietly moving through the hallways. Hera leads the way towards the secret exit, and opens the door. Upon doing so however, she gasps in alarm as they spot the room to be completely filled with Imperial personnel, and quickly duck behind the wall to avoid being seen.
"I've never seen so many gutkurrs down here before," Hera says uneasily.
"I don't think they're down here for meilooruns," Ezra adds.
Within his thoughts, Ezra was beginning to worry about what Mara told them. From the way things seemed to be going, the Empire knew about a lot more than they previously thought, not to mention that blue Imperial seemed to be the one in charge, as Slavin was reporting to him. Most likely that was Thrawn, based on the Admiral's uniform.
He was also beginning to fear that Mara may be right in how dangerous this guy was.
Mara POV...
For the last few minutes things have been relatively quiet, the Empire seemingly having lost us in this maze. However I could still sense them nearby, making me worry, unlike the others.
"Did we lose 'em? I think we finally lost 'em," Zeb remarks happily.
"Nobody knows this land as well as we do," Cham says.
I'm still frowning however, and my concerns are proven right as the patrol swiftly rounds the corner behind us, and opens fire. I duck away from a laser blast and pull out my lightsaber, deflecting the next few shots.
"Nobody except Thrawn, that's for sure!" I exclaim.
"We gotta keep moving!" Rex states.
We begin sprinting down the canyon on our blurrgs in an attempt to outrun the patrol, as they shoot relentlessly after us. A cannon blast from the scout walker's turret then slams into Kanan and Sabine's blurrg, killing it and sending them tumbling to the ground with pained cries. We look back in alarm, noticing the Imperials quickly advancing on them. Our situation then becomes worse as another Imperial walker stomps around the corner in front of us, cutting off our escape and leaving us trapped. We skid to a stop with surprised cries, looking between each side worriedly.
"This isn't good!" Boil yells.
"How did they outflank us?!" Numa asks in surprise.
Movement from a large object behind the walker that cut us off suddenly gets my attention, and upon sensing a familiar presence approaching I allow myself a relieved grin. I watch as Elita then appears behind the scout walker, and delivers a devastating kick against the walker's side that sends it hurtling into the cliffside, smashing into bits.
"Woah!" Cham exclaims in bewilderment, Numa and Gobi sharing in the surprise.
"Need backup?" Elita asks us with a smile.
"Wouldn't hurt to have it," Boil replies.
At the sight of Elita, the Imperials quickly focused fire on her, prompting her to duck and raise an arm to shield herself. Luckily the shots don't seem to do much damage, and she morphs her arm into a blaster, aiming in their direction. Charging her blaster up, she then fires a blue energon bolt that flies hurtling into the cliffside above the Imperials, sending a cascade of large boulders tumbling down to block their path, killing a few stormtroopers in the process.
"Really cool, but that won't hold them off for long," Sabine remarks.
"Hopefully long enough," Rex replies.
"Cham, any word from Hera?" Kanan asks.
"No. Something must have gone wrong," he replies.
I widen my eyes in alarm, already realizing what that meant. "I knew this was a bad idea!"
"We've got to help her," Sabine states.
"We will. Come on!" Kanan says.
The two of them mount Zeb and Cham's blurrgs, and we begin our run back down the canyon. Behind us, the temporary blockage explodes as the Imperial's blast their way through. Apparently they must've called for backup, because this time they had two extra scout walkers with them, also firing... wait a minute. Those scout walkers have anti-tank missile attachments on their sides! As if they were prepared for Elita!
Of course Thrawn would suspect her being involved with us, he's seen the footage.
"Oh that is not good," I say worriedly.
"I take it those would hurt?" Elita asks, backing up as we rush past her.
"A lot!" I shout out to her.
Elita provides cover fire for us, shooting a few energon bolts at the Imperial walkers. Once they begin to retaliate, shooting off a missile, she ducks away from it and then turns around, swiftly transforming into her vehicle mode and racing after us.
3rd person POV...
With Chopper distracting the two stormtrooper guards, Hera makes her move towards the door before Ezra, eyeing them warily. When she turns around however, she's struck with surprise as she comes face to face with Thrawn, who stares down at her with narrowed eyes. She quickly falls into her act as a helpless servant, looking down submissively. Slavin stands behind Thrawn, glaring down at her in contempt.
"Out of the way servant!" he snaps. The two stormtroopers turn around at the commotion, and Ezra quickly backs behind the separators.
"You are not permitted on these floors. I have told you people, restrict your movements to the kitchen," Slavin continues, staring at Hera in disgust.
"Yes, sir. Sorry, sir," she quickly apologizes, speaking in a native accent.
Hera begins to shuffle away, clutching the kalikori to her chest, something Thrawn notices.
"Just a moment," he says, and she pauses nervously. "Guards, bring her here."
Taking notice, Ezra flips down his mask and walks out towards Hera. He gestures to the other two stormtroopers to let him handle it, and then gives Hera a small shove, directing her towards Thrawn, who holds out a hand.
"May I see that?" he asks, referring to the kalikori. Hera hands it to him with some reluctance, and he eyes it thoughtfully. "I'm a visitor to your world. It occurs to me it might be beneficial to hear what you have to say about our Imperial occupation."
"I don't think I could be of any help to you," Hera offers.
"Oh, I disagree," he replies, glancing at Slavin. "Bring her to your office for questioning."
*:*:*
Ezra shoves Hera down into the chair and then moves to stand at attention behind her. Thrawn and Captain Slavin both enter the room, a look of disgust on the latter's face.
"Please! I am a poor refugee!" Hera pleads in a twi'lek accent.
"Captain, do you recognize this?" Thrawn asks Slavin, handing him the kalikori.
Slavin looks at the kalikori with recognition, and glares at Hera. "Yes, it, it was here, in my office!"
"I thought I could sell it for food. My family is starving," Hera offers as an excuse.
"No excuse!" he snaps angrily. "You shall make a valuable example to others of your kind who think to steal from the Empire!"
While Slavin talks condescendingly, Hera flinches at the raised tone of voice with a nervous expression to play her part, while Ezra remains silent and still. Thrawn observes Hera with a thoughtful expression, and then gestures to Slavin for the kalikori, Slavin returns it to him, and he slowly walks around Hera to gaze at a mural.
"She's far more valuable than you realize," he says calmly.
"Uh... How do you mean?" Slavin asks in confusion.
"To defeat an enemy, you must know them. Not simply their battle tactics, but their history, philosophy, art," Thrawn states, gazing at the mural of Cham Syndulla's family.
More specifically, his vision is focused on the young twi'lek girl in the mural, coming to the conclusion of who he has in his midst. Ezra glances at Thrawn momentarily as he talks, feeling uneasy.
"You see, the application of such knowledge is what makes Jarik Shan such a formidable opponent," he continues, getting Hera and Ezra's instant attention. "He is familiar with Imperial protocol, is an extraordinary slicer, and he knows who he faces in battle. Shan makes sure to understand who he faces, not just statistically, but in their mindset as well. He knows his enemies."
Hera glances down thoughtfully upon hearing this, feeling a sense of interest and concern. This Admiral seems to know a lot about Jarik... which makes her wonder about the possible encounters they might have had with each other. Ezra is contemplating along the line of thought Thrawn was saying, as it applies very well to Jarik's knowledge of the dark side. If they have questions about it, he's usually the one they turn to.
"So I will ask you again, Captain, do you know what this is?" Thrawn questions, turning around.
"Some primitive native trinket," Slavin says dismissively.
Thrawn frowns at him, displeased by the obnoxious answer. "It's a Kalikori."
Hera widens her eyes in surprise, shocked that someone else who isn't a twi'lek, much less an Imperial, would even know what a kalikori was. In her thoughts she starts to grow worried, coming to the realization that Mara was right... and she doubted her.
"A revered Twi'lek heirloom, passed from parent to child through generations. Worthless to outsiders, priceless to family," Thrawn explains, pacing slowly.
"Yes. Well, she stole it," Slavin adds.
"Yes, but why?" Thrawn questions.
He turns around to stare down at Hera with a thoughtful gaze, and Hera looks back up at him with narrowed eyes. Recalling Mara's warning about Thrawn, she begins to drop the act, realizing that he already knows who she is. Perhaps this is how Jarik felt when his identity was exposed as well.
"War. It's all you've ever known, isn't it?" Thrawn asks, and she grimaces, glancing away for a moment. "You were so young when you survived the Clone War. No wonder you're as equipped in spirit to fight as well as you do. War is in your blood. I study the art of war, work to perfect it."
He then leans down to speak into her ear, and she glances at him uneasily in surprise. "But you, like Shan... You were forged by it."
"Sir, she's just a peasant!" Slavin says incredulously.
"It doesn't matter where we come from, Admiral. Our will to be free is what's going to beat you!" Hera retorts firmly with a glare, dropping her act.
"You! You dare-" Slavin growls furiously.
"Slavin, please. You embarrass me in front of our host," Thrawn replies calmly.
"Host? What?!" he exclaims in bewilderment
"May I introduce Hera Syndulla, rebel pilot, freedom fighter and military leader," Thrawn says, gesturing to the mural of her. "Daughter of your nemesis, Cham Syndulla."
Slavin widens his eyes before narrowing them, staring at Thrawn with a firm look. Seeing her cover is blown, Ezra whips out his blaster and prepares to shoot, much to Slavin's alarm. However before he could, a stun blast impacted against him, and he collapsed to the floor with a groan of pain. Hera watches in horror, stunned while Thrawn pockets his blaster with a knowing smile.
"How did you know?" Slavin asks in surprise, glancing at Ezra.
"Rebels always have friends rushing to the rescue," Thrawn replies in satisfaction, glancing down at Hera. "Because unlike Jarik Shan, they are not skilled enough to do so on their own."
Guilt begins to crawl into Hera as she realizes how right Mara was in her warning, and she didn't listen. Now they were all in trouble.
*:*:*
Hera drags an unconscious Ezra into the cell, where a stormtrooper slams the butt of his rifle into her back, sending them both sprawling across the ground. She looks back as Thrawn enters calmly, Slavin standing behind him.
"An unexpected pleasure to meet you, Captain Hera Syndulla," Thrawn greets pleasantly.
"Wish I could say the same, Admiral," Hera retorts angrily, staring up at him.
"It is a pity our first encounter might well be our last. I will keep your Kalikori in a place of honor," he replies, observing it in his hands.
"If I knew you'd take it, I would've smashed it when I had the chance," Hera states bitterly, standing up.
"You surprise me. Is your history worth so little to you?" Thrawn asks curiously, handin the kalikori to a trooper behind him, who secured it in a bag.
"My family legacy belongs to us alone. It is not for some collector's curiosity!" she declares.
"What did you say?" Slavin demands angrily, stepping forwards.
"Forgive him," Thrawn interjects, raising a hand to stop him. "I thank you for your hospitality."
Thrawn then walks out of the cell, and Slavin follows him, allowing the door to close. As they leave, Thrawn gives Slavin another order.
"Have the Kalikori transported to my ship," he says.
"We should just destroy that piece of Twi'lek trash," Slavin suggests irritably in response.
Within moments, Thrawn temporarily loses it as a fit of cold anger comes over him. Whipping around to face him, he grabs Slavin by the collar and snarls at him, hissing furiously between his teeth. Slavin looks at him with wide eyes in a fit of terror, but the moment passes quickly. Recollecting himself, Thrawn attempts to ignore his frustration at the incompetence and prejudice of Slavin, remembering that many officers in the Empire are like that. Slavin is no Eli Vanto, that's for sure.
"My apologies, Captain Slavin," he says calmly, brushing his shoulders off. "I forgot not everyone is able to appreciate art as I do."
Slavin glances up at him nervously, watching as Thrawn returns to his formal personality and begins walking away with his hands behind his back.
"Now, if you'll excuse me, I must resume my search for the whereabouts of Shan. I leave it to your command to finish the job," he comments, walking away.
"And so I shall," Slavin replies, eyeing him with a sense of unease.
Mara POV...
With the unexpected arrival of these two scout walkers carrying anti-tank missiles, Elita was a lot more pinned down than we anticipated. Otherwise, she'd be able to go out there and easily pummel the walkers to the ground with her bare hands... or servos, as they apparently call them. Taking cover behind several large boulders and cliffs in the canyon, the group fires at the approaching Imperials while Kanan and I continue to deflect blaster bolts.
Boil and Numa were both standing side by side, firing their blasters in tandem with each other, Rex not to far away as well, working together like they had done it for years. Elita wasn't as lucky, as every time she would peek out from behind cover to shoot her energon blaster, the scout walkers would unleash their missiles at her. Apparently they were loaded with quite a bit.
"If I'm gonna be honest, this is quite annoying!" she grumbles.
"Yeah, well that's Thrawn for you!" I tell her.
Moments later however, the Imperial force suddenly halts in their attack, remaining in place. We all glance at each other in surprise at the unexpected silence.
"They've stopped firing," Numa comments uneasily.
The reason for it is quickly answered as a hologram of Captain Slavin is projected from the scout walker in the front. "Cham Syndulla, I would have a word with you. It concerns your daughter."
"Where is she?" he demands.
"I have your precious Hera. And the boy, Ezra Bridger," Slavin replies smugly. "They'll face my blaster squad unless you surrender to me."
Cham moves to step out without any hesitation, but Gobi raises a hand out to stop him.
"You can't. You're too important!" he pleads.
"And my daughter is not important?" he retorts. "I will trade my life for hers. She will lead in my place."
He then steps out from behind cover and glares up at the hologram. "Captain Slavin, I will surrender to you, but what assurance will you give me that my daughter and the boy will be released?"
"Only that if you do not arrive for the exchange by sundown, they will both be terminated!" Slavin declares, the hologram turning off.
"Well those are some lousy options," I remark bitterly.
"Could the trap be more obvious?" Sabine states.
"We know. And I am counting on all of you to use my sacrifice to save Hera and Ezra," Cham says firmly.
As the Imperial patrol begins to retreat, a huge barrage of missiles suddenly comes out of nowhere and slams into the scout walkers and transports, obliterating them in massive explosions. We all cry out in surprise, getting blown back on the ground from the force of the explosion, a massive orange fireball floating into the sky. It doesn't take me a moment to sense that all of the Imperials are dead.
"Karabast!" Zeb growls.
"What the kriff was that?!" Boil exclaims in bewilderment.
As I'm getting to my feet, I look up at the smokey filled, narrowing my eyes upon spotting moving of a large silhouette. Nearby, Elita was also looking with her owned optics narrowed, before gasping in horror. I quickly realize what has her afraid, as I spot the silhouette of a large figure jumping down from a cliff up above, landing on the ground with a massive thud. Based on their size, and the booming footsteps as they approach us, I am completely positive that this is another Cybertronian.
"Uhh... what is that?" Sabine asks uneasily.
"It... it can't be," Elita says quietly.
Appearing from the smoke is a large Cybertronian, appearing to take the form of a flying vehicle based on their armor plating. Their color scheme is dark brown, with black as a secondary color. His optics, as he appears much more like a male compared to Elita, are glowing a bright red, reminiscent of the color of Sith lightsabers, making me uneasy.
"Please tell me this guy is on our side..." Rex mutters sarcastically.
"I have a better proposition for you, organics," his voice booms, almost like a growl.
His hand then morphs into a large blaster, which begins to charge up and glow as he aims it in our direction.
"Hand over the Autobot, and I might let you live!" he declares.
Isle of Berk; Ahch-To
3rd person POV...
Kneeling in front of Morai's statue again, I place my holocron on the ground and look up at her, preparing myself for more meditation. Taking a deep breath, I close my eyes and open myself to the Force, allowing it to flow through me. I focus on the memory of the Keeper and that strange world, allowing those thoughts to drift towards the holocron and the statue.
Minutes seem to pass by, maybe even hours, and still I'm not feeling a sense of anything. As I'm about to call it a day and head back to Temple Island, I suddenly feel a flicker of something. Curious, I focus in on it, sensing it emanating from the statue. I probe at the flicker softly, feeling a sense of familiarity and wondering what it is.
Then something draws me inwards.
*:*:*
I open my eyes, looking around in complete bafflement upon finding myself in a strange world. Everything is orange and endless, and I'm somehow standing upon a flat lake of water. Sensing something familiar, I slowly turn around.
A short ways away is some sort of structure, looking a little bit like a piece of a temple. Standing in the center of this small temple is a young girl, and I cautiously approach her, sensing something extremely familiar. I then take notice of her style of clothing, which consists of Jedi youngling robes. The youngling appears to be a togrutan girl, with familiar looking white and blue lekku... I widen my eyes in shock.
"Ahsoka?" I ask quietly.
The girl slowly turns around to look up at me, confirming it to really be Ahsoka. My breath catches in my throat as I gaze down at the young girl from a distant past, the familiar white facial markings and orange skin... and those adorable, innocent blue eyes, staring up at me.
"Can you do it?" she asks curiously.
"...do what?" I ask her softly.
"Fight for good," she states.
I crouch down to be at her level, gazing intently into those wide, innocent blue orbs as I struggle to keep tears from building in my own eyes.
"And for you..." I tell her. "Always."
At those words, the innocent expression on little Ahsoka's face slowly fills with emotion, and tears begin to slide down her face. She then dashes forwards and wraps her arms around me tight, and I softly return the embrace, holding her close. I close my own eyes, uncertain and confused, but full of a desperate wish to have her back.
She then separates, looking up at me sadly, eyes full of a wisdom that betrays her young age. They seem almost older than the Ahsoka that I remember...
"Then you have to let me go," she says.
I widen my eyes in disbelief and confusion, looking at her appalled.
"What?" I ask incredulously.
Before more could be done, everything begins to fade...
*:*:*
I open my eyes with a gasp, looking up and around me, finding myself back in my previous position of meditation. I rub my eyes and look at the holocron, finding it is closed, and then back up at Morai's statue, which is now empty and lifeless again.
Did I just... connect with Ahsoka's spirit?
It shouldn't be possible, but did I? Or was that something else? I want to say that was Ahsoka's spirit trying to reach out to me, but something about it just seems off. It felt like, yet at the same time didn't feel like her. Could it have been those higher powers the Keeper told me about?
And... letting her go? What is that all about? I don't want to let her go, not if there's a possibility that she can come back!
Uh oh, nothing seems to be going well with anyone at all! And now they are in real trouble! Grand Admiral Thrawn has accounted for a lot of different scenarios the rebels weren't prepared for, and now it seems that a Decepticon has found Elita One! And Jarik is going through some internal struggles of his own...
Thank you readers for continuing to be such wonderful supporters for my stories! :D