Luke Skywalker fought back a grin as he stared down at his cards, trying his hardest to keep a straight face but he was finding it increasingly difficult the more he looked over at Kenan, who was staring at his own cards with a composed look on his face, but Luke could sense his elation through the Force.
Kenan must've been dealt a good hand, but Luke knew for a fact that his hand was unbeatable.
"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, gentlemen," said Kenan as he leaned back in his chair and threw his cards down for everybody to read, "but I'm afraid this round goes to me."
Torren groaned as he threw his cards down and watched sullenly as Kenan raked in all of his earnings for the round, a large smile playing on his lips as he stared down at his winnings.
"You can declare me the winner," said Kenan as he took a sip of his Corellian ale.
"Now just wait a minute," said Luke finally, a small grin spreading across his face. "I'm afraid that those belong to me."
He pointed to the large stack of credits that sat next to Kenan, who paused his counting to stare over at the younger man.
"You got something better than this?" he asked as he gestured to his cards.
Luke grinned as he laid his own cards down on the table for everybody in the room to see, a chorus of cheering and laughing erupting throughout the room as Kenan's face fell considerably.
Torren let out a chuckle as he took a sip of his own ale, his hand coming to clasp a defeated Kenan on the back.
"Sorry Mate looks like you aren't the champion of this round."
"You son of a bitch," mumbled Kenan under his breath as he watched Luke collect his earnings. "You were using your wizard senses, weren't you?"
"Wizard senses?" asked Luke. "I'm afraid you've mistaken me for a magician."
"Jedi, Wizard, same kriffing thing," muttered Kenan as he finished his ale before standing up with his empty glass and heading over to where the bottle sat.
"So, who's up for round four?" asked Luke as he started shuffling the cards, his eyes scanning the room for any takers.
"I'm afraid that that will have to wait, Commander," said a familiar voice from behind Luke.
The Jedi recognized that voice as belonging to Captain Rex, a Clone who served in the Clone War and who, subsequently, knew and fought with his father during that time. Captain Rex had known the name Skywalker, so when he heard about a young Pilot who blew up the Death Star and who bore the last name of his former CO, the old Clone had put two and two together.
He had asked Luke what he had known about his father and Luke had told him everything, the both of them coming to the conclusion that their Anakin Skywalkers were the same person. Rex had told Luke that he was glad a part of Anakin Skywalker lived on, and Luke had never bothered to tell Rex the truth about what had happened to his father.
He wanted to preserve the name Anakin Skywalker, the good man his father had once been.
"Captain Rex," greeted Luke as he looked back to see the Clone. "I thought you were stationed on Mortak."
Luke had not expected Rex to be back here at all and he feared that the old man would recognize Anakin, which would force Luke to explain the situation to him. Well, at least part of the situation.
It was probably a good thing Anakin had not come to watch the match.
"I was," said the older man, "until I was deployed to the Ord System to investigate suspicious Imperial activity there."
"Oh, did you find anything?"
"Yes, and we had a few of our informants checking it out. In fact, that's why I'm here."
"Ah. So how long have you been here?" asked Luke as he swept his credits into his pocket before standing up to face the Clone Captain.
"My division and I just arrived about an hour or so ago," said Rex as he looked past Luke at the table where they had been playing, which was littered with cards and half-finished alcoholic beverages.
Luke ignored the look that the Clone had given him as he crossed his arms over his chest. "What are you doing here, Rex?"
"We have a situation," said Rex sternly. "Our informants that were dispatched to the Imperial facility in the Ord System were discovered."
"Have they been interrogated yet?" asked Luke, his whole demeanor suddenly growing cold.
"We think so," said Rex. "But that's something we need to discuss with Mothma and Dodonna, which is why I took the liberty of arranging an emergency Council meeting."
Luke nodded, "let me finish up here and I'll meet you there in a few."
Rex smirked despite the severity of the situation as he looked between Luke and the Sabaac cards on the table, his mind going back in time to another Skywalker who was a lot like the Commander.
"Sure thing, Skywalker," said Rex as he turned on his heels and started to make his way out of the room, a long sigh escaping his lips as he looked over at the young man before he walked out the door.
Luke was in the Council Room within ten minutes of Captain Rex's visit. He was one of five people crowded around a star map as they evaluated all of their options for the dire situation at hand. According to Rex's Intelligence, the Empire was maintaining a weapons development and munitions factory around Ordun, the second planet in the system. They were in the process of developing weapons of mass destruction and new technologically advanced blasters.
It was a scary prospect, especially considering the two informants that had gone undercover in the facility were suspected to have been discovered.
"They were sending us regular reports," began Rex as he looked down at the star map. "Everything was going smoothly until about two days ago."
"What happened two days ago?" asked General Dodonna from across the table.
"Nothing major, really. But the codes within the reports changed all of the sudden. We thought it was strange until we detected a secret message in the codes. They warned us that they had been compromised and were being forced to continue the messages in hopes of luring the Alliance into the Ord System."
"A trap?" asked Luke quietly as he briefly looked over at the Clone before.
Rex nodded, "we're lucky we found the codes when we did."
"Indeed," said Mothma softly from where she stood at the head of the table. "Those two informants were brave to do so."
"Is there any chance they are still alive?" asked Leia, her hand coming to touch her absentmindedly as she looked over at the Clone with worry in her eyes.
"We're not sure," said Rex shaking his head. "They will undoubtedly be tortured before they are terminated, whether they talk or not."
"How long have they been compromised?" asked Luke.
"We're not sure, but we think no more than a few days from the looks of it. They could very well be alive and if they are, I would like to put together a rescue mission. Lt. Barra and Captain Kaipov are two of the best Intelligence Officers we have and I have no doubt that they will continue to do their duty until the very end."
"Of that, we have no doubt," began Dodonna solemnly. "But you must consider the chances that they are even alive at this point in time. You know what an Imperial Interrogation entails, Captain."
"But they could still be alive," said Leia closing her eyes, her eyebrow twitching ever so slightly. "And if they are, don't we owe it to them to at least try to save them?"
"In any normal circumstances, yes. But this situation is less than ideal, Princess. We would be walking into a trap and there is also the fact that the weapons must be stopped from being fully developed. Our number one priority should be the weapons and the facility."
"General Dodonna is right," said Mothma after a few moments of silence, her pale face growing more and more solemn as she bowed her head. "The weapons are our number one priority at this moment. We cannot allow the Empire to have such weapons, no matter the cost."
Leia opened her mouth, as if she wanted to say something before she snapped her mouth shut, a look of anger coming across her face before it was hidden behind a diplomatic and stony expression.
Luke remained silent as he stared down at the Star Map, his eyes tracing the layout of the Imperial Fleets current position in the System as well as the flight paths they had taken. Ever since the codes had been sent out by the informants, there had been an increased Imperial presence there.
They had forced the informants to send out the message saying it was safe to strike. Now, they were lying in wait for the Alliance to walk in on their crafty little trap, unbeknownst to them that they already knew that Lt. Barra and Captain Kaipov had been discovered.
He knew the situation was less than ideal, and he knew that the weapons were their number one priority, but a part of him was angry that they were willing to throw two of their own Officers away, not even willing to attempt a rescue mission.
Rex sighed, "I see. When shall we start preparations?"
"As soon as possible," said Mothma. "We must act quickly if we are to stop these weapons from falling into the hands of the Empire."
"I will call a Council meeting with all of the Squadrons tomorrow," said Dodonna. "We will go over the battle plans before the mission."
"Very well. I shall also call a meeting with the rest of my Generals to discuss the plans. I would preferably like to hit the facility by noon tomorrow if that is at all possible."
Luke nodded, "we can do that. I'm guessing it will be up to the Starfighters to take down the facility?"
Dodonna nodded, "I will need your help Commander in formulating the flight plans if you don't mind."
"Not at all, General. Will you be sending out the call to arms to the other Rebel Cells within the vicinity?"
"Yes," said Mothma. "We will be needing all the help we can. Which reminds me, Commander. Will your friend be participating in this mission?"
Her gaze was unwavering as she stared over at Luke, who shuffled his feet awkwardly at the look she was currently giving him.
"He's a member of Rogue Squadron now, so yes I would assume so," said Luke as he ignored the confused looks of the other people in the room.
"I would ask that you keep a close eye on him. If I remember anything about him, it's that he has a knack for getting himself into sticky situations."
She clearly still did not trust Anakin. Rightly so, but still-
Luke nodded, "you have my word that he won't be getting himself in any sort of situation, Mon. I'll make sure to keep my eye on him the entire time."
"That is all I ask," she said as she looked away from Luke and over to Rex, who had been looking between Luke and Mothma.
"Captain Rex, thank you for bringing this information to us. I am sorry we could not do more for your two informants."
She truly was sorry about the Informants, but Mothma was a leader and she knew how to prioritize. She had the sort of mentality that tended to favor the safety of the group rather than the individual, which was something that was not without its merits.
Sometimes hard decisions had to be made and this was one of them.
"As am I," he said, a hint of resentment in his voice. "They were two fine Officers. They will be missed greatly."
Mothma nodded, "as all who die in the line of duty are."
"Are we done here?" asked Leia, her voice slightly irate as she finally spoke for the first time in a few minutes.
"Yes, I believe we are," said Mothma as she gracefully stepped away from the table, her white robes flowing behind her. "This meeting is now adjourned."
Mothma made her way out of the room promptly, leaving the other four behind in her wake as he went to retire to her own quarters.
Mothma was a Master at hiding her emotions, but Luke could sense her dismay at the severity of the situation as well as the decision that she had come to concerning the Informants. She did not enjoy making that decision and she did not do so lightly.
"Commander Skywalker, I need to go over the flight plans with you first thing in the morning," said Dodonna as he turned to look at the younger man. "I will also need the help of Captain Antilles as well."
"I'll talk to him tonight," said Luke crossing his arms. "How does 0400 hours sound to you? Is that early to formulate the plans?"
"Ah, that should be plenty of time. We'll go ahead and reschedule the lecture on in-flight safety for another day."
"Very well. Is that all, General?"
"Yes, I think so. You all get a good night's rest tonight. I have a feeling tomorrow's gonna be a shit show."
Luke could not argue that statement because he could sense that it wasn't going to be pretty tomorrow. The Force gave no further indication as it swirled uneasily around him, a sense of anticipation and urgency spreading out from his fingertips to the rest of his body.
The entire thing made him uneasy, but what made him most nervous was Anakin.
It would be his father's first time flying into battle with the rest of the Squadron, and although Luke had every bit of faith in the younger man's piloting skills, he was still nervous.
He would have to faith that Anakin would come out unscathed. He had to trust that the Force would be diligent in making sure that nothing happened to the time-traveler, the one meant to change the past and prevent this future.
"Are you going to be ready for tomorrow?" asked Rex as he pulled the younger man out of his reverie.
"I think," breathed out Luke, his gaze traveling over to the old Clone. "What about you? You gonna be cheering us on from the Control Center?"
"Wouldn't miss it for the world, Commander," said Rex with a short laugh, not at all offended by the subtle remark at his age. In reality, he was not that old, but Clone aging was a lot more rapid than that of a human, which meant he was nearing the end of the line. His combat days were long behind him, his arthritic joints and his lungs far too old and worn out to ever step into another combat position ever again.
The glory days with Kenobi, Skywalker, and Tano were long behind him, a piece of his past that he had been forced to hang up, as sad as it was.
"Good, I have a feeling we'll need it," said Luke before stopping to look back, finally realizing that Leia had disappeared during their little conversation.
Rex nodded as he followed after the younger man as they made their way down the corridor.
"So what's this I hear of a new Jedi joining our ranks?" he asked after a few moments, his curiosity finally getting the best of him.
Luke paused momentarily, his blue eyes meeting those of Rex's before he looked away, as if the topic was not something he was in the mood to discuss.
"Yeah, found a straggler on Ben'we and brought him here. He's now a member of Rogue Squadron. Why?"
Rex shook his head, "I'm surprised you managed to find him before the Empire did."
"Me too. I'd hate to think what they would've done to him, especially since he's just a kid."
"I'd think you'd be surprised at just how resourceful Jedi can be, even the younger ones."
"I'm sure you would know more about that, Captain. You knew the Jedi, perhaps even better than I do," said Luke, referencing his time spent fighting with the Jedi during the Clone War, his father having been one of them.
"Oh I don't know about that," said Rex as he placed a hand on his aching back, wincing slightly at the pain before he composed himself, which did not go unnoticed by Skywalker. "I may know a few things about them, but I'm afraid it's not that much. However, if you're wondering what sort of soldiers they made, then I could write a whole kriffing book or two."
"What were they like? During the war, I mean," asked Luke.
"Well, as I'm sure you know, war tends to change people. I never had the pleasure of knowing any of the Jedi before the start of the war, but they sure did make good Generals. It was an honor to fight alongside them, but they weren't perfect."
"They sure didn't make the best of decisions nearing the end of the war," commented Luke thoughtfully.
Rex shook his head, "no, they didn't. But can you really fault them? They were being played the entire time. They never even realized what was happening until the end, and even if the Republic had not fallen, I am fairly certain their reputation still would've been destroyed."
Luke nodded in agreement, "it was a no-win situation."
"Exactly," said Rex as his eyebrows scrunched up. "I only wish that things had been different, but I suppose there's no going back, is there?"
The question was meant to be rhetorical, a reference to an impossible occurrence in which the past could be changed. But Rex had no idea that it could actually be changed, and the one to bring about that change was currently snoozing away in his bed not even a few meters from where they stood staring at each other.
Oh, the irony.
Luke only looked away as he stuffed his hands into his pockets, "I suppose not."
Rex smiled sadly as he clasped Luke on the shoulder, "I wish you could've met him, Commander. You remind me of him and I know for a fact that he would've been proud of you."
Luke smiled sadly, "you think?"
"Absolutely," said Rex.
The way that Rex talked about his father made Luke almost forget that masked monstrosity that had once been Anakin Skywalker, a fact that Luke had decided to keep from everyone, especially people who knew his father personally like Rex did. A part of him wanted to preserve the man that his father had been, a war hero and a kindhearted person who would've done anything for his friends.
Then there was also the fact that a younger, untainted version of Anakin Skywalker was here in this time. Luke knew that the man that Rex was talking about was neither of the two, but something in-between them.
He tried to imagine a combination of the two, an older Anakin with darker tendencies brought on by loss and by war, but it was almost impossible to comprehend.
Luke nodded, "I should get to bed here soon, as should you. It's getting late and I have to be up by 0400 hours as it is."
"Of course, Commander," said Rex. "I think it's about time I retire as well."
They said their farewells before they both headed off in their own separate directions, nothing but sleep on both of their minds. Luke was tired and he knew he needed to get some sleep before tomorrow, which would require him to be alert and at his best at all times.
Luke could feel that Anakin was already deep in the throngs of sleep, the soft hum of his force presence glowing softly, but less vibrant than usual seeing as he was fast asleep.
Luke had no idea how he was going to keep Anakin away from Rex, or what he would do if the Clone saw his young father. He would undoubtedly recognize him, and then he would be interested in what exactly he was doing there.
That would be quite the story if that ever did happen.
Luke let out a yawn as he finally walked into his quarters, the door swishing shut behind him as he practically threw himself on his cot.
He would have to figure out what to do about Anakin and Rex tomorrow, his tiredness suddenly becoming far too much for him to handle as he closed his eyes and laid his head on his pillow.
When Anakin awoke that next morning, he was pleasantly surprised that he had not had another vision that night, in fact he hadn't dreamt of anything at all. For the first time in weeks, his night had been peaceful and he had actually awoken refreshed and ready to conquer the day.
He let out a yawn as he stretched his sore muscles and swung his long legs over the side of his cot, his feet hitting the cold durasteel floor beneath him as he wiggled his toes, his eyes going over to the lunar clock before he stood up and made his way into the refresher.
He couldn't describe what it was, but he could sense apprehension through the Force, as if something big was about to happen but he didn't know what, or if it was even something that he should be worried about.
He decided after a few moments that it wasn't something to be worried about as he splashed some cold water on his face and running a comb through his hair before redoing his braid, which had partially come out during the night.
He quickly dressed, remembering Luke's message to come to the Council room first thing in the morning as he shrugged his boots on before putting his jacket on. He decided that breakfast would not be a priority that morning as he made his way into the Council room, his eyes gazing over the various people that had accumulated there, including a few pilots from a few different Squadrons, including his own.
Yet again he could not escape the stony expression that Mon Mothma gave him as he entered into the room, but Anakin didn't even acknowledge the older woman as he came to stand next to Luke, who strangely seemed a bit shorter than Anakin remembered as well as the Princess, who was busy at one of the consoles with another crewmember.
"What's this all about?" asked Anakin in a hushed tone as he leaned in slightly to the older man.
"Mission briefing," said Luke stiffly as he looked over to where a few of the Generals were all crowded over a star-map, their hushed tones offering no hint over what the mission was about.
"What sort of mission?" asked Anakin, his curiosity suddenly peaked.
Luke leaned in even further, "not too long we received information from two of our informants in the Empire that there was an Imperial munitions factory orbiting the planet of Ordun. There are reports that they are developing prototype weapons that are far more technologically advanced than the normal blaster. We had a few spies on the inside but we lost contact with them."
"Where they discovered?" asked Anakin, his mind already going over the implications of what such a things could mean for them.
"We know for a fact that they've been compromised," began Luke. "When the Empire discovered them, they forced them to keep sending mission reports saying that it was safe to strike. However, the Informants managed to hide secret codes within the reports warning us of the situation."
"So then what?" asked Anakin after a few moments of silence.
"Now we only have one option," said Luke solemnly, "we destroy the facility and the plans, and then we figure out who designed the weapons and deal with them."
Assassination. Luke was referring to assassination, which somehow did not really bode well with Anakin.
"What about the Informants?" asked Anakin, his mind already going back to the missing spies.
"I'm not sure," said Luke shaking his head solemnly, "the Empire would undoubtedly torture them for information which could compromise us. And once they're done with the interrogation, then they would no longer be of any use."
"You're saying they're already good as dead," said Anakin with a sigh.
"What I'm saying is that we don't know the situation and even they were alive, there's really nothing we can do for them."
"Well we should at least try," said Anakin pointedly.
"I'm not saying that we shouldn't, but Anakin you have to understand how things work here. We can't save everybody. Our first priority is the mission, we have to make sure that these weapons are not completed and in the hands of Empire first and foremost."
"I know," mumbled Anakin under his breath. The mission always came first and right now the Alliance was more concerned with weapons of mass destruction than they were of a few hostages that would undoubtedly be killed by the Empire anyway, but it was hard to think that way.
"Let's just see what Mothma and Dodonna say, shall we?" said Luke, sensing Anakin's churning emotions through the Force.
Anakin said nothing as the quiet commotion that was taking place around the star map as the Rebellions next mission was being coordinated before everything fell silent.
"We thank you all for coming," said Mon Mothma as she addressed all of the pilots in the room. "We shall commence the briefing presently. Please take a seat."
They all took their seats, their eyes focusing on the Generals that were all standing at the front of the room, their solemn long faces glancing over the crowd before them before the debriefing finally went on.
"Pilots," began General Dodonna, "we have recently received intel reports of a science laboratory in orbit around the planet Ordun in the Ord System. Our informants had informed us that the Empire is in the process of developing new and advanced weaponry that would be capable of mass destruction if implemented."
Soft murmuring erupted around the room before it was silenced by the Generals loud and commanding voice.
"We were in the process of monitoring the situation when the intelligence reports stopped. We were concerned that our informants had been discovered when we started receiving more reports telling us that it would be to our advantage to move in. But not long after that, we discovered something about the new data files that not even the Empire had known about. There were short, encrypted messages in the files from our informants, warning us that they had been compromised."
"What do you mean compromised?" said Kenan.
We can only assume that the Empire has discovered our informants and has been using them to try to lure us into a trap. There have also been reports of increased Imperial activity in the Ord System as of a few days ago."
"So they're hoping that we'll mount a rescue mission?" asked one of the pilots that was seated near the front of the room.
"That or they're hoping we'll try to sabotage the station," said Anakin suddenly as he injected himself into the discussion.
"But we have no choice but to sabotage the station. We can't let these sort of weapons get into Imperial hands. How far are they in the manufacturing process?" asked one of the few female pilots in the room.
"If our reports are true, then they have not been completed, yet. But they will be soon, which means that we must take action now," said Mon Mothma.
"Then we'll just be walking into a trap," said Torren solemnly.
"We already know that," said Luke. "But we have decided to move in anyways."
"In essence, we will be springing the trap," came a new voice from the door.
All heads in the room turned to look at the newcomer, an old man with a white beard and tan skin that was marked with the passage of time. Anakin didn't know why, but this man felt-
Familiar somehow.
Luke shifted in his seat uneasily next to Anakin, his blue eyes darting uneasily between Anakin and the newcomer. Anakin gave Luke a questioning glance but received no answer as Luke merely sunk down in his chair, his arms coming across his chest.
"Captain Rex," greeted Mothma as she motioned for him to step up to the front. "Please join us."
Captain Rex gave her a slight smile as he began making his way over to where she stood, his eyes flitting over the sea of orange before he stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes widening as they took in the form of Anakin, who was seated somewhat near the front.
Captain Rex looked like he was in the throngs of shock as he stared at Anakin, who seemed to shrink under the strange man's scrutinizing stare. He briefly looked over at Luke, who had averted his eyes from the scene as he stared over at the exit quite intently.
Anakin looked back over to the old man, whose face had paled considerably in the last few seconds of their little impromptu staring session.
"Captain Rex?" came Mothma's soft tone as she brought the man out of his strange reverie. "Is everything all right?"
"Yes," said the man as he gained his composure, his feet bringing him to stand next to Mothma and Dodonna. "My apologies, Ma'am."
"It's quite alright," she said as her gaze briefly flitted over to a very confused Anakin before looking back at Rex, an understanding look coming across her features.
"Who is that?" asked Anakin as he leaned over to address Luke, who refused to meet the younger Jedi's eyes.
"I'll tell you later," said Luke under his breath.
Anakin blinked at Luke before he returned to his chair, his eyes centered at the front of the room and anywhere but the old man who was still staring at him as though he was an apparition.
"Well, the Empire doesn't know we know it's a trap," said Torren from he sat with his legs crossed on the front row. "So then I say we give it all we've got and make sure those weapons and the plans don't fall into the wrong hands."
"But what about the scientists behind it? Even if we destroy those plans, they will still be able to re-engineer it again," pointed out the female pilot.
"Our mission isn't just to destroy those plans," began Mothma. "Our mission is to take out the whole station. It is the only way to ensure those plans are destroyed as well as the Imperial minds behind it. It is our only option."
"But what about the informants?" asked Jase Toneri, finally speaking up for the first time since the debriefing had started.
"We have to assume that the Empire has already started to interrogate them and we know it won't be long before they start talking, and once they do that they won't be of any use to the Empire anymore. We must remember that the mission comes first. Saving the hostages is not our number one priority in this case," said Dodonna.
"I don't like this," muttered Anakin under his breath to Luke. "We should at least try to rescue them."
"I know," said Luke in understanding. "It's not a good situation and we're already at a disadvantage seeing as we will be walking head first into a trap. We can't do everything at once, but we'll see what we can do."
"How many informants were there again?" asked Anakin as he leaned in further.
"Two. Lieutenant Barra and Captain Kaipov. According to Captain Rex, they're some of the best-damned Intelligence Officers the Alliance has had in a long time."
"Two people shouldn't be that hard to mount a rescue for," said Anakin pointedly.
His Master and he had mounted plenty of rescues in the past, his time as a Jedi having taught him ins and outs of rescue missions as well as hostage situations. He had seen his fair share in short life.
Luke only seemed to give Anakin a pointed stare that probably meant that Anakin was out of his mind for saying that, and maybe he was being a bit naïve.
"-We'll need all available hands to get the job done. It is without a doubt that the rest of the Imperial Fleet will respond and that means that we will have to divide our attention and resources among the different ships. Blue Squadron, Gold Squadron, Ace Squadron, and Green Squadron, your mission will be to hold off the rest of the Imperial Fleet. Red Squadron, Rogue Squadron, Purple Squadron, Yellow Squadron, and Tiger Squadron, your mission will be to destroy the station. Also, be advised we will also have more Squadrons joining us from other Rebel Cells," said Dodonna.
"May the Force be with you," said Mothma as she clasped her hands together, her head bowing slightly as she looked over the crowd of men and the few women there were, knowing full well that not all of them would be returning.
With that all of them rose out of their seats and started to file out of the room, each of them heading off to the hangar before meeting up with their own Squadrons as Anakin ducked into the changing room to put his jumpsuit on before heading out to meet up with his own Squadron.
He didn't know whether or not he should be excited or fearful of the upcoming mission. It would be his first mission as a part of the Rebellion but something told him that this might turn into a bloodbath from the looks of it.
"You guys heard what Mothma and Dodonna said. Keep your eyes and ears open and you should do well," said Luke as he addressed the men. "May the Force be with you all."
"And may it be with you," said Anakin to Luke.
Luke looked over at Anakin and nodded grimly as the two of them reassured each other silently through their strange bond, a sense of fear and anticipation emanating from them both as well as hint of elation at the prospect of kicking some Imperial butt.
Anakin gave Luke a long look, a strange feeling of protectiveness washing over him before he swatted it, as if it was an annoying fly zooming around his head. He didn't have time to dwell on that strange and alien emotion as he climbed into his X-Wing and pulled the hatch down around him before he revved the engine, his eyes scanning the controls around him as he made sure everything was in good shape.
He shoved his helmet on as he flipped the communications button on, allowing the feed from all the pilots to pour into the cockpit.
"Oh, Anakin, I forgot to tell you your new call-sign is Rogue Six," said Luke over the channel to him.
"Copy that," said Anakin as he flipped on the navigation before he reached down and slowly brought the throttle to him, allowing the craft to levitate off the ground.
"This is Rogue Leader. Does everyone read me?"
"Loud and clear, Rogue Leader," came Kenan's voice as the others also gave confirmation.
"Copy that, Rogue Squadron. Prepare for launch," said Luke as the Squadron began to line up in flight formation in front of the hangar doors. They sat there for a few seconds before Luke's voice came over the com again.
"Commencing launch in Three…Two…One…"
With that each of the pilots stepped on the accelerator and flew out of the hangar, all of them in formation as they flew away from the Rebel Ship, each of them preparing for the jump to hyperspace.
"Rogue Squadron please give confirmation that your coordinates have been set," said Luke.
"Affirmative, Rogue Leader," said Anakin as well as the others.
"Copy that. Prepare jump to hyperspace. Rogue Leader out."
It was immediately after that they each of the craft made the jump, the blue hue of the hyperspace waves surrounding the ships. It would only take, at best, twenty minutes for them to reach Ordun. They would be one of the first ones to arrive, the Rebel fleet and the other Squadrons close behind them.
According to Luke, the Alliance had made a call to arms to other Rebel Cells who were near Ordun, which meant that they would be receiving aid from other ships and Squadrons as well. They were not about to spring a trap without lots of back-up.
"Rogue Leader, what is our ETA?" asked Anakin.
"Approximate ETA is 12:31, Rogue Six."
"Copy that, Rogue Six out," said Anakin as he leaned back in his seat and stared out the viewport with nothing more than silence as his companion.
The twenty minutes it took to reach Ordun went by a lot faster than Anakin thought it would as they finally reached their destination, a huge space station staring at them through the viewport as they flew towards it at full speed, two more Squadrons falling out of hyperspace next to them along with a few Mon Calamari Cruisers, some Y-Wings, and a few A-Wings. The rest of the Fleet followed suit as they all amassed in front of the station, all of them prepared for battle.
They must've made quite the sight.
"Target confirmed. Move into attack position and proceed with the assault," said Rogue Leader as he took the lead, his craft swooping down with the rest of his Squadron in formation behind him.
"Let's take these motherkriffer's out," came Kenan's enthusiastic voice over the com. Judging from his tone he was probably talking more to himself than he was to them, but Anakin had to admit that he held the same sentiment.
"Please be advised, Rogue Eight. We can hear you," said Rogue Leader with a slight chuckle.
"Copy that, Rogue Leader," came Rogue Eight's voice.
It was only seconds after that the station had its torpedoes locked and loaded on them, a hail of blaster fire exploding around them as they swerved to avoid it before returning fire on the station. They only had a few seconds before the TIE Fighters were deployed and a few minutes at best before the rest of the Imperial Fleet came to defend the station, which was a lot bigger than Anakin had expected it to be as it seemed to grow larger and larger before his eyes.
And yet Anakin couldn't help but grin at the prospect of it all.
"Here come the TIE's, Rogue Squadron."
"Now the real fun begins," said Rogue Eight as he fired the first shot at the fast approaching swarm of TIE Fighters, which still looked comical to Anakin despite the fact that he had flown one before and he knew just how capable the little ships actually were.
Anakin couldn't help but let out a grin as he started firing at the tiny black ships, the Force guiding each of his shots as he tore through the vacuum of space. He narrowly avoided one shot as he veered off to starboard before getting a few of his own shots in before pulling up, his eyes traveling over to where the Imperial Fighters were pouring out of the station, all of them shooting at the wide variety of ships that were present with the Alliance, who of course did not hold back either as they fired into the swarm.
"Rogue Two, Six, Eight, and five follow me, the rest of you fall back and make sure none of those TIE's comes anywhere near us," said Rogue Leader as the Squadron broke apart, the designated ones moving to the front of the formation while the rest of them fell back to defend the rest of them.
"Copy that, Rogue Leader," said Anakin as a TIE Fighter blew up not too far from his position, the craft exploding into a cascade of fire and smoke in his peripheral vision, forcing Anakin to swerve to avoid the flying debris.
"Kriffing hell," mumbled Anakin as he rejoined the formation.
It was at that precise moment that the Imperial Fleet dropped out of hyperspace, three large Star Destroyers suddenly appearing from out of nowhere as they began to fire at the Rebel Fleet, even more Tie Fighters pouring out of them and heading their way from the looks of it.
Anakin looked back at the ominous shapes before he returned his gaze to the viewport at the station and the planet that it orbited, which was almost completely covered in white swirling clouds. His stomach churned uncomfortably, his sense tingling as they warned him of something bad to come.
A group of TIE Fighters came up behind them and started firing at them, forcing them to split away in different directions as they turned around to face the TIE's that had amassed behind them, another Squadron quickly swooping onto the scene and firing on the Imperial Fighters before they too turned around to continue the assault.
"Thanks, Blue Leader," came Rogue Leader's voice over the com.
"Anytime, Rogue Leader. Blue Leader out."
However, the moment was short lived as one of the X-Wings behind them was hit by enemy fire, their craft spiraling out of control. It was Torren who had been hit, his frantic voice pouring over the intercom.
"I've been-!" he never got the chance to finish that statement as his ship crashed into another one of their own X-Wings, the both of them exploding into a torrent of smoke and fire as the heat quickly spread out from the epicenter.
It all happened all so fast and Anakin was far too close to the explosion to escape it enough time as he tried to maneuver his ship into a barrel roll to try and get away from it, but he couldn't stop the heavy, burning metal debris from hitting his ship as his craft rocked violently to the side from the impact, an explosion of smoke from his own vessel temporarily covering the viewpoint as his dashboard started to light up with warnings.
He was pretty sure in that moment he was screwed.
"Rogue Six, report, "came Luke's gargled voice over the com, which had apparently been damaged as well.
"Rogue Six come in!" said Luke frantically as he waited for Anakin to respond.
"I've been hit, Rogue Leader," said Anakin after he finally managed to get control of his vessel.
"How bad it is?"
"Bad enough!" said Anakin as the engine started to stutter, a loud clanking sound start to emanate from the bowels of the ship. "I need to land somewhere, Rogue Leader. This ship is going down."
As soon as Anakin said that, the situation took a turn for the worse as smoke started to flood into the cockpit, the life support systems were starting to fail.
The Force seemed to come alive at that moment as he felt a tingling sensation at the back of his neck as the Force started to guide him, his gaze falling to the station where a hangar was on the port side. The Force screamed at him and Anakin knew that it was his only chance of survival at that moment.
"Rogue Leader I got to put her down. There's a hangar near the port side of the station."
"Rogue Six you can't-!" came Rogue Two's gargled voice over the com as Anakin registered only half of the message. "-take out!" More static. "Won't be able too-"
"I really don't have any other options here!" yelled Anakin as he started his descent towards the station, the ship stuttering and rocking violently as he started to feel the engine start to go. Wherever that debris had hit, it had really done a number on his ship.
"Rogue Six-" came Rogue Leader's gargled voice over the com before everything else he said became incomprehensible. "-Rescue-"more static. "Get out-"
It was then that Anakin had lost communications completely, his eyes trained on the hangar that was steadily growing closer by the second, the shield around the entrance suddenly posing a problem for him. But Anakin barely had any time to dwell on this before Luke's craft swooped in and fired around the hangar, causing the shield to fall away just in time for Anakin's ship to come barreling into the hangar. His craft skidded on the ground, leaving a blazing trail behind him before his vessel finally came to a halt.
Anakin grabbed his lightsaber, tore his helmet off, and force threw the hatch open as he gracefully force jumped out and landed on the shiny black floor, his weapon already ignited and drawn as he took on a defensive position, his eyes scanning the shocked and confused ones of all the Imperial soldiers and a couple pilots in the room. The hangar was practically empty seeing as most pilots by then were already up in the air, leaving only the air control and maybe a few pilots who were in the process of getting their TIE's ready for takeoff. Taking them out would be relatively easy, however, Anakin could not have them calling for backup.
Half a second later, they finally managed to get their heads together as they started firing at Anakin, who seamlessly blocked each and every one with ease as he used the Force to disarm them, their faces growing fearful as their blasters were ripped from their hands and tossed behind Anakin.
"Now we can't have any of that, gentlemen now can we?" asked Anakin before he force pushed them against the wall, hard enough to knock them unconscious, but not enough to kill as the four men fell limp to the ground.
Anakin turned to look at the hangar, only noting two Lambda-Class shuttles parked against the far wall. He was about to make his way onboard so that he could get off the station before the Alliance blew it to pieces, but he stopped short as he slowly turned to look at the door that led out into the corridor of the station.
I can save them, I know I can.
He knew he needed to get off the station as soon as possible, but there was also a part of him that wanted to go find the hostages. The Force started to churn uneasily around him as he looked back at the Lambda-Class shuttle before he turned and ran out the hangar, his heart overruling his head.
The corridor was dark, except for the alarm which glowed red and was accompanied by a short wailing sound. There wasn't a soul nearby as Anakin slowly reached out his senses and used the Force to push his mind through the station as he finally came upon what he was looking for.
The two Rebel informants were alive, but one of them was growing steadily weaker by the minute and the other one seemed to be in shock if Anakin's senses were right. He could tell they had been tortured, their minds under the influence of whatever cocktail of drugs the Empire had submitted them too.
Anakin had a good sense of their general location, which wasn't that far from where he was then. If he moved quickly, he could save them both in plenty of time before the Alliance managed to destroy the station, which seemed to be proving harder than originally planned as the station rocked with a series of hits.
Anakin wasted no time as he sprinted into a full-on run, not phased at all from the jostling sensation of fire blasts as he kept his senses attuned to his surroundings in case he would need to use his lightsaber for anything.
He did run into a small group of Stormtroopers whom he easily took care of before they could even call for backup, their dismembered bodies lying in the middle of the floor as Anakin continued to make his way through the bowels of the station.
"All available crew personnel report to Deck seven. I repeat, all available crew members report to Deck seven for further instruction. Everybody else, maintain battle stations, this is not a drill," came a male voice over the intercom.
Anakin stopped short in the middle of the corridor as he heard the pelting of feet against the cold metallic floor, the distinct sound of a squadron nearing his position as he quickly ducked into a small alcove, his head slightly popping out to see a whole group of Stormtroopers and Officers run past him as they barked orders at each other. Anakin waited silently for a few seconds before he came out of hiding, checked both ways in the corridor before he made a run for it.
He finally made it into the prison-block of the station, which had been abandoned in the chaos of things. There were five cells altogether but only two of them were occupied by the two informants, who were in not good shape from the looks of things.
The woman was laying down on her side in one of the cells, her blond hair matted and caked with blood that had emanated from her forehead which held a deep laceration that was so bad, her skin was partially dangling off in parts and looked ripe for infection. Her eyes were swollen shut with yellowish bruises starting to form around them, dried blood caked to her pale and probably once beautiful face.
She was lying in a pool of her own blood, a limp hand resting on her side in a futile attempt to stop the flow of the red liquid.
She was unconscious from the beating she had obviously sustained, the soles of her feet were raw and bloodied and if Anakin had not been a Force Sensitive, he probably would've thought her dead.
The next cell contained a man in an Imperial uniform, but who was obviously not an Imperial as he sat against the wall staring at the bars blankly, a bruise around his left eye and cut lip, but nothing that even remotely compared to that of his female companion.
"Captain Kaipov?" asked Anakin as he made his way over to the control panel. "I'm Anakin, I'm here with the Rebel Alliance."
The man said nothing, only craning his head slightly in Anakin's direction only to stare at him for a few seconds before he jumped to his feet and made his way over to the bars, his green eyes wide as he observed the Rebel Pilot before him.
"You here to rescue us?" he asked weakly, his throat scratchy as he swayed a little bit against the bars.
"Yes," said Anakin as he released the lock on the doors, allowing them to slide open so that Anakin could make his way into the woman's cell as he carefully picked her up in his arms, a soft moan escaping her lips at the jostling movement.
"She took a really bad beating," said Kaipov as he stared down at the woman in Anakin's arms. She was light enough that Anakin could carry her without any problems and Kaipov seemed strong enough to make it out without too much assistance, his mind already starting to wake up from the drugs.
"What the hell did they do to her?" asked Anakin as he motioned for Kaipov to follow him, their pace a lot slower than what it should be as they began their trek back to the hangar.
"Lots of stuff. They tortured her to get me to talk, forced me to watch as they did," he said numbly as he stumbled after Anakin.
"What did you tell them?" asked Anakin as he readjusted her in his arms as the facility was jostled by another explosion.
"Nothing," said Kaipov. "She made me promise I wouldn't tell them anything."
Anakin was impressed at his ability to keep silent about the whereabouts of the Rebel Alliance seeing as he could sense that the man had strong feelings for this woman, who looked to be at the doorstep of death.
"If I had told them, she would've never forgiven me," he said as he kept pace with Anakin, his face growing sadder by the second. "She didn't tell them anything either."
"We were afraid that you had," said Anakin shaking his head. "It's a good thing you didn't. Now we have to get off this station before the Alliance blows this place to bits."
"What about the weapons?" asked Kaipov as scrunched up his eyebrows, "The Alliance isn't going to try and get a hold of them?"
"Our mission is to destroy the data and everything else with it," said Anakin.
"But I know where they are," said Kaipov. "We can grab some and have the Alliance reverse engineer them. There's also a whole bunch of other weapons we could use too, thermal detonators and blasters and what not. There's even a new type of detonator that the Empire is in the first stages of developing."
"What type of detonator?" asked Anakin, his curiosity suddenly growing.
"Some type of thermal detonator, but it's a lot more advanced than just the average one."
"Where are they?" asked Anakin as they came to a halt at the end of the corridor, his blue eyes determined as they looked over at Kaipov.
"The laboratory is only a few meters that way," said Kaipov as he nodded his head over to the adjacent corridor.
Anakin stared down the corridor for a few seconds, which seemed a lot longer than that as he came to the conclusion that he was going to at least get one of the prototypes for the weapons. The Alliance could reverse engineer them and at least level the playing field a little bit.
He bit his lip as he reached out with the Force to find Luke's presence still somewhere above them, a sense of fear and anticipation coming from the older man. He hadn't been sure what it was that Luke had told him back there, but he was sure it was something along the lines of get the hell out of there, which he hadn't done, not yet that was.
Luke could also sense that Anakin was still onboard and he felt a sense of urgency through their bond as the older Jedi tried to coax him off the station, but Anakin wasn't quite done with his own personal mission yet.
"Here, take her," he said as he handed Lt. Barra over to Kaipov. "Take her to the hangar, there's a Lambda-Class shuttle in there."
"What about you?" asked Kaipov.
"I'll go see if I can one of the prototypes. If I'm not back in five minutes then take her and go."
"You can't go alone!" yelled Kaipov at an already retreating Anakin.
"Just trust me! I know what I'm doing!" yelled Anakin back before he disappeared down the corridor completely. He had his lightsaber drawn as he followed his senses through the station, allowing the Force to guide him to the laboratory, which had been barricaded closed.
Anakin wasted no time as he plunged his lightsaber into the durasteel before pulling it down in a circular motion, which took a lot of his strength away before he finally finished with it. He Force pushed at the circular shape, allowing the durasteel to fall back before he climbed in through the circular hole, his feet hitting the cool floor of the sterile looking lab.
There was no one there, all of the scientists having retreated to somewhere else in the station as Anakin observed the room, the smell of antiseptic attacking his nostrils as he made his way over to the far wall where a series of glass containers sat. There were various weapons that were quite unlike anything he had ever seen before inside of them that Anakin wasted no time in smashing the glass and grabbing them.
He swung two over his shoulders and was about to make his way over to where the detonators were being kept when his gaze fell to where a few familiar looking crystals sat. They were undoubtedly kyber crystals, the gems that powered the Jedi's lightsaber.
Anakin grabbed as many as he could as he shoved them into his pockets, the heaviness of the crystals weighing his jumpsuit down before he finally made his way over to the detonators, which he could tell were not exactly like the average thermal detonator.
No, he could sense the raw potential power that they carried, much more deadly than the previous ones had been. Anakin grabbed two of them, deciding to leave the third one there as he started to formulate a plan which involved detonating them.
His five minutes were probably nearing an end, but Anakin knew that there were two Lambda-Shuttles in that hangar so if Kaipov left with Lt. Barra, he could still take the other one and get off the station before anything happened.
What he was about to do was dangerous- no, it was downright suicidal but he knew he had to do it. The Rebel Fleet seemed to be having a hard time destroying the station and Anakin knew that if he managed to pull this off, he could very well take out the station and possibly anything close to it.
He could sense that he was not far from the core of the station, a perfect place to detonate say something like a bomb. Anakin ran through the bowels of the station, not waiting any time in disabling any Stormtrooper and Officer he ran into. He just simply used either the Force or his lightsaber to incapacitate them, making sure that they could not follow him or try to stop him as he finally made his way to the point in the station that was the weakest, or technically nearest to the core of the station that he could possibly get
He stuck both of the detonators to the wall, out of sight from anyone that could potentially disarm them.
He was about to make his way out to the corridor when he felt the familiar burning sensation that came with being hit with a blaster. He had been so distracted with the detonators he had not sensed the presence of the Imperial that had found him and had fired his weapon at Anakin.
Anakin cried out as he clutched at his shoulder, which was burnt, the smell of burning flesh assaulting his nostrils as he looked down at the black skin.
"Rebel scum!" yelled the Imperial as he fired off another shot which Anakin dodged easily enough before he ignited his lightsaber.
The man's eyes widened as he tried to fire at Anakin once again, only for the Jedi to block all of them, an angry glare spreading over Anakin's face as his rage started to take control of him.
"I wouldn't have done that if I were you," said Anakin coolly as he used his lightsaber to cut off the man's hand that held the blaster.
The man screamed as he clutched at his arm, which had been instantly cauterized by his weapon, the stump of burning flesh all that he had left of his limb.
"Y-you cut my hand off!" yelled the Officer in shock as he looked up at Anakin with frantic rage in his dark eyes. "You bastard!"
Anakin said nothing as he simply waved his hand, sending the Officer flying into the wall with enough Force to effectively knock him out as he crumpled to the floor. Anakin stepped over the man before he ran off down the corridor, his arm burning and tingling painfully.
It was only a few minutes later that he ran into the hangar to see that Kaipov had followed his directions had taken one of the shuttles and had gotten off the station. Anakin ran up the ramp, dumping the weapons that he had accumulated onto the floor before making his way into the cockpit as he sat down in the pilots chair and revved the engine, quickly adding the Rebel frequency into the communications console so that he could warn the Alliance that he was one of them and not the enemy.
Anakin made his way out of the hangar and back into the black void of space, where the battle was still raging between both sides. Anakin breathed out a sigh of relief as he felt Luke's presence shining brightly near him, the older Jedi still in the middle of the fight.
He was about to turn on communications when his ship rocked to the side, having been hit by one of the Alliance Starfighters. They probably thought he was the enemy, which would mean he would have to rectify that before he took any more blaster fire.
"Rebel Alliance control, this is Rogue Six. I am currently flying a Lambda-Class Shuttle that I commandeered from the station. I am requesting safe passage and a cease-fire on my vessel."
He waited a few seconds before he got a response from the Alliance control center.
"This is Alliance control center, we read you loud and clear Rogue Six and we are aware of the situation and have warned the rest of the Fleet not to attack your vessel."
"Good," said Anakin. "Did the other Shuttle with the informants make it safely off the station?"
"Affirmative, Rogue Six. Captain Kaipov and Lt. Barra are onboard one of the Nebulon-Frigates and they are receiving medical attention as we speak. They are currently awaiting transport back to Home One."
"Copy that," said Anakin as he breathed out a sigh of relief. "You might want to tell the fleet to move as far away from the station as they can. The place is about to go up."
"Rogue Six can you repeat that?"
"Tell the Fleet to move away from the station. While I was onboard I planted detonators near the core of the ship, you need to make sure none of our ships are caught in the explosion."
"Uh, hold on a second, Rogue Six," said the man before the line went silent for a few seconds.
"Rogue Six," came a new voice, one that he recognized as belonging to that old guy that had been staring at him. "Can you confirm that you planted detonators near the core of the station?"
"Yes," said Anakin as he started to grow more and more impatient. "I'm not yanking your chain here, Control."
The man laughed, which was surprising to Anakin, to say the least.
"I don't doubt you, Rogue Six. I've put in the order to have all of our ships move to a safe distance."
"Good," said Anakin as he almost let out a sigh of relief, thankful that this Captain Rex had actually listened to him. "Rogue Six, out."
It was only a few minutes after that the all of the Rebel ships started to back away from the station, even the Starfighters began to retreat from the station to a safe distance. Although this did not stop some of the TIE's from pursuing them, but a vast majority of them stayed near the station and the ships.
He could feel Luke's confusion in the Force as to why they were being forced to move away from the station and from the Star Destroyers that had come in closer to the station so as to defend the facility better, unknowing to the impending destruction at hand.
Anakin made sure his vessel was safely away from the station before he closed his eyes and plunged his mind into the Force, reaching out to the detonators that he had left onboard. He used the Force to activate the energy inside of the detonators, the atoms inside of them started to speed up as the energy built until it was enough for the detonators to go.
It was only a few seconds later that a magnificent explosion overtook the station, the light from it so bright and hot that Anakin had to shield his eyes from it. The explosion single-handedly destroyed the station as well as the Star Destroyer that had been closest to it, the both of them erupting into a bright light as they were torn apart.
The Star Destroyer that had been hit broke into pieces, the debris hitting the other two ships hard as they both rocked violently to the side from the sheer force of the explosion. The Star Destroyer that had been hit the hardest by the debris lost engine power and propulsion as it started to be pulled down towards the surface of the planet, the ship starting to smolder from the heat of the atmosphere that would undoubtedly tear the ship apart.
Anakin could feel the shock that was emanating from the Rebel Fleet as they watched the destruction at hand, all of them frozen in place before Alliance Control finally broke the silence.
"Rebel Fleet, we are detecting a large number of Star Destroyers making their way here. Let's get out of here."
"Copy that, Control."
With that, all of the Rebel ships started to make the jump to hyperdrive until none of them remained.
Anakin sighed as he sat back in his seat. He had twenty minutes before he reached the main Alliance ship, which provided him with ample time to tend to his throbbing shoulder as he found a med kit in the back and started to apply bacta wraps onto the burned part.
He also grabbed a canteen of water that had been stored in it as he swigged the cool liquid down his parched throat before he shrugged his jumpsuit off which stunk of sweat and burned flesh as well as Lt. Barra's blood. His hair was drenched in sweat and so were his undergarments, but Anakin barely noticed as he finished bandaging his arm.
Once that was done, he sat back down in the pilot's chair as he blankly stared out the viewport. Everything had happened so fast and he was still in shock at what he had managed to do. He had done the same to the Trade Federation ship when he was nine, but this-this had been different than that.
Then he hadn't had to actually go in and rescue hostages by himself or plant detonators in the ship. This battle had been more intense than Anakin ever remembered the Battle of Naboo being, the casualties being substantially higher in this one.
At least two members of their Squadrons had been killed and that number could've very well gone up while he onboard the station, and not mentioning there were other Squadrons that had taken even more hits than they had while they had defended their position.
Anakin had also noticed on his return to the Fleet that there were considerably fewer ships than what they had started with, the Empire having taken them out. But there was also the fact that the Empire had lost more men, including the station and two of the Star Destroyers. It was a good thing they had left when they had, the rest of the Fleet finally having received the distress call and having arrived, too late to engage the Rebel Fleet.
They had done what they had come for and much more if the weapons in the back were any indication. Anakin didn't know if it was worth it taking them, but they had them now and maybe they could be of further use in the near future if the Alliance ever chose to reverse engineer them.
Anakin didn't know what they were capable of, but if those detonators were any indication than it was good that they were no longer in the Empire's hands.
He wondered what Luke would think of his little detour, seeing as it was not a part of their original mission. He had sensed Luke's fear and urgency through the Force back on the station when the older Jedi had discovered that Anakin was still onboard and the youth had a feeling that Luke would not be impressed with him.
But Anakin found himself not really caring what the older man thought about his actions. He had saved Captain Kaipov and Lt. Barra even though they were not a priority to the Alliance, and Anakin had no regrets about what he had done.
The console in front of him beeped, warning him that they were approaching the designated coordinates. He sighed as he pulled the ship out of hyperspace, the Rebel Ship appearing in front of him as the rest of the Fleet dropped out next to him, well most of it. The Rebel Cells that they had called for backup were already on their way back to wherever they had come from.
"Rogue Six come in," came Luke's voice over the com. "Rogue Six do you read me?"
"Loud and clear Rogue Leader," said Anakin into the com as he manually piloted his craft towards the open hangar.
"Nice to see you're alive, Rogue Six," came Luke's bland tone. "Some of us were sure you hadn't made it."
"I'm fine, Rogue Leader," said Anakin.
"Good, you're not injured, are you?"
Anakin looked down at his shoulder before going back to the com.
"Blaster burn on my shoulder, other than that I'm fine."
"We'll see to that when you land. Rogue Leader out," said Luke as his ship disappeared into the hangar, followed closely by Anakin's own shuttle.
He landed the vessel and lowered the ramp only to bombarded with excited Rebels and pilots who were all cheering at him with big grins on their faces as they patted him on the back and congratulated him.
Apparently, word had already gotten around about who was responsible for the destruction of the station, but Anakin didn't feel like celebrating as he pushed his way through the crowd, his eyes searching the crowded hangar for any sign of Luke.
He knew that Luke had escaped the battle without any scratches, but for some odd reason he wanted to make sure that the older man was okay.
"Excuse me," said as he shoved his way through the crowd, his elbows going out beside him so as to provide him with enough room to walk.
He caught a flash of blond in his peripheral and whipped his head around to see Luke standing at the edge of the crowd, his blue eyes boring into Anakin as he stood silently, his posture tight and rigid.
Anakin froze at the sight of him, unsure whether or not he should proceed with extreme caution or just run away altogether.
"Hey let's hear it for Rogue Six!" yelled Kenan as he grabbed Anakin's arm and hoisted it up into the air as the room erupted into a chorus of cheers. Anakin quickly yanked his arm down before finally pushing his way out of the crowd and making his way out of the hangar, Luke following closely behind him.
"Hey where are you going?" yelled Kenan after the two retreating forms before he shook his head and went back to cheering along with the rest of the group.
As soon as Luke and Anakin were out of the hangar, Luke rounded on Anakin with controlled anger as he addressed the youth in front of him.
"Explain yourself," he demanded as he crossed his arms over his chest.
Anakin didn't whether or not to be offended by the question. He had saved the hostages and he had destroyed the station single-handedly, so what gave Luke the right to be angry with him?
"What do you think I did? I saved the hostages," said Anakin defensively.
"No, explain what you did after you saved the hostages," said Luke as he lowered his tone. "You knew we were going to blow the place up, so why didn't you get off the station as soon you had the hostages?"
"Wait, so you're not mad about the hostages?" asked Anakin.
"No, this isn't about them. Anakin, do you know how scared I was? You could've died out there. Did you even think about that?"
"Yes, of course, I did," said Anakin as his tone became angrier.
"So then why did you do it? You were given orders Anakin, and saving the hostages, although was not a part of the mission was really kriffing heroic, but foolish at the same time. Just what were you thinking going in half-assed by yourself? Were you trying to get yourself killed?"
"I did what I did," said Anakin simply. "The station is gone, the hostages are safe, and I have a few of prototype weapons so what are you complaining about?"
"The fact that you decided to go traipsing through an enemy ship without any backup. Why didn't you tell me what you were going to do through the Force?"
Anakin paused as he realized that he could've at least given Luke a heads up through their bond, but instead he had just ignored the older Jedi when he could've had backup. In this situation, he could see why Luke was angry but Anakin refused to capitulate to the older Jedi.
"You know what, Luke? You're not my father and you're certainly not my Master, so why don't you get off my back for once?" said Anakin as he pushed past the suddenly quiet man, who did nothing to stop Anakin as he stormed away.
"Oh, and the prototype weapons are in the shuttle. You're welcome by the way," he called back to Luke before he disappeared around the corner. He wanted nothing more than to go to his own quarters, but there was something else he had to do before that.
He made his way to sickbay where he could see a large number of pilots who had been there all receiving medical care from the nurses and doctors that were on staff there. The smell of antiseptic and blood assaulting his nose as he looked around for any sign of Captain Kaipov and Lt. Barra.
"You injured, hun?" asked an older woman as she approached Anakin, her kind looking brown eyes assessing him before she caught sight of his shoulder.
"Oh," said Anakin, who had temporarily forgotten about his own shoulder as he looked down at the bandages. "Yeah, I guess I am."
"Come have a seat," said the woman as she pointed to a nearby bed. "We'll take a look at that shoulder, okay?" she said as she put some latex gloves on.
Anakin awkwardly took his seat as she gently pulled the bandages away to look at the charred flesh, her face growing more and more concentrative as she assessed the damage.
"It's not too bad. Nothing bacta and some bandages won't heal," she said as she smiled at him, her other hand reaching for some fresh bacta strips and some fresher looking bandages than what had been in the med-kit. She also sprayed it with some antiseptic before she bandaged it up again, hers a lot better looking than Anakin's had been.
"Do you know what happened to the two informants that were brought here? Captain Kaipov and Lt. Barra?" asked Anakin as he watched her.
"Captain Kaipov will be fine, but Lt. Barra was too injured. She didn't make it," she said shaking her head.
Anakin was crushed that she hadn't made. He had really thought that she would make it, but those kriffing bastards must've done too much damage when they tortured her. It was sickening to think about and Anakin would be lying if he said he didn't feel his stomach roll as he remembered the state he had found her in.
She could've talked, but she didn't and they had killed her for it.
"Oh," said Anakin softly. "I-I'm sorry to hear that. How is Captain Kaipov holding up?"
"We had to sedate him when he found out," she said nodding over to the unconscious form of Captain Kaipov, who was lying on the bed with his uniform jacket open and bacta patches lining his stomach, an intravenous line running out his arm.
He must've been injured during his escape with Lt. Barra and Anakin felt bad that he had left them in the first place. Maybe if they had been faster Lt. Barra would've lived, a thought that plagued Anakin the more he thought about it.
"A real shame isn't it?" said the Nurse. "Those Imperials are a brutal lot of people. I can scarcely believe what they did to that poor woman."
"Me neither," said Anakin numbly as he stood up and shrugged his undershirt back over his shoulder, the bandages making his arm look bulkier than it really was. He could imagine how Captain Kaipov would be upset over her death if his senses had been correct, the man had really cared for Barra. He didn't know if it was just a strong friendship or if there had been something else there, but it was tragic nonetheless.
"You have a nice day, Ma'am," he said to the Nurse before he padded out of the room, the sterile environment becoming all too much for him at that moment.
"You too," she said not even looking up at him as he left, her attention already focused on another patient.
Anakin inhaled deeply as soon as he out of that clustered room as he leaned back against the wall.
Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale.
He closed his eyes as the image of Lt. Barra's bloody and bruised face came to mind, the smell of her blood permeating the air around him as well as the smell of flesh burning, his own flesh if he wasn't mistaken.
"I'm so sorry," he whispered under his breath before he opened his eyes and started to walk towards his quarters. A few people smiled at him as he walked along with a few-
"Good job out there!"
"Way to show those Imps!"
"What you did was amazing-"
It wasn't flattering to Anakin and he certainly didn't feel like a hero as some of the people had referred to him as. When he had been nine he had enjoyed the attention he had gotten for his part in the Battle of Naboo, but now that he was older and more capable of understanding the consequences, he didn't find it as enjoyable.
As soon as he made it into his quarters, he was already undressing to take a shower before he went to bed. His appetite was quite frankly gone at that moment, the thought of food making him want to vomit.
In fact, he wasn't really in the mood to be doing anything that night. He just wanted to sleep without having any more of those wretched dreams that plagued his subconscious day and night, visions that he never really quite understood no matter how hard he tried.
All he knew was that he didn't want to have any more of them.
He turned the water on hot and let it flow over him, washing the sweat and blood away that had covered his body previously. He had never realized just how much blood Lt. Barra had lost, but staring at his clothes and the red water that was swirling around the drain, all of it having come off of his own body, it made him realize that she would've never survived as it was, no matter what he had done.
It did nothing to comfort him though as he looked down at the water-proof bandages, a small reminder of his own confrontation with an Imperial Officer. He hadn't realized it before, but if the blaster had hit him only a few inches to his right, it would've hit his heart and he would probably be dead, the shock of the blaster enough to send his heart into cardiac arrest.
He had been lucky, but Lt. Barra, not so much.
Once he was done scrubbing the last of the vestiges left over his body from the battle, he shut the water off and stepped out, his gaze falling on his own image that appeared over the foggy mirror. Somehow, looking at his own reflection, he felt-
Different. Older, somehow.
As if he had just aged a few years in a matter of only a few hours, his hair darker and longer and a faint scar running over his eye.
He blinked and the image was gone, replaced with his own familiar and youthful face that looked beyond exhausted, emotionally and physically.
He could've sworn, if only for a second-
The man in the mirror- was him.
Older him?
Anakin sighed as he looked away from the mirror, his hands reaching over to where he laid his robes down, the soft and warm material perfect for sleeping in. He dressed before he sat down on his cot, his hands coming up to undo his braid, allowing the long strand of blond hair out of its previous confines. He usually didn't like wearing his hair out of his braid, not out of tradition but because it looked kriffing stupid when it was loose.
He fell back on his cot, staring up at the ceiling as he used the force to turn the lights out, far too lazy to get out bed and turn them off himself. His hair was still wet, soaking the pillowcase beneath him but he didn't mind as he closed his eyes, scared to fall asleep but too tired to fight it as his breathing became softer and he fell asleep.
And then the dream started.
AN: Whew that chapter had a lot more action in it than I'm used to, but I hope you enjoyed the change of pace within the Rebel Alliance. I also hope you like my little addition of Captain Rex, who will be making a few more appearances in this story. Also, just because you guys have waited to kriffing long... The next chapter is when everything blows up. I hope you're ready since I've been ready for this chapter before I even started writing this fic.
Enjoy :)