Sparks of Rebellion
Chapter 27: The Mystery of Chopper Base
Following the discovery of Atollon, the Phoenix Squadron had established a base on the planet.
The Ghost departed the rebel fleet's Quasar Fire-class cruiser-carrier to deliver a shipment of power generators to Rex, who was supervising the establishment of the base.
"Ghost to Phoenix home, we're heading down with another load."Hera said.
"Copy, Ghost."Commander Sato replied. "I'll meet you on the surface."
"So, one more run, then we'll take a break."Hera commented and looked at Zeb. "Are they still at it?"
"Pretty much non-stop."Zeb stated.
Hera went to the cargo hold with Sabine to see Kanan and Ezra duelling each other using their lightsabers.
"Keep your blade up."Kanan instructed. "It's easier to drop it than it is to raise it."
Ezra fired at Kanan with the blaster mode of his lightsaber.
"You know, that's my move."Kanan reminded.
"I steal from the best."Ezra remarked.
The two jedi continued duelling until Ezra pointed his blade at Kanan's neck.
"Gotcha!"Ezra chuckled.
"And I got you."Kanan added with a frown.
Ezra noticed Kanan pointing his blade at his chest.
Kanan and Ezra deactivated their lightsabers.
"Tied again?"Ezra asked in disappointment.
"There's no such thing as a tie."Kanan reminded. "You lose, you die."
"Yeah and you win by killing an Inquisitor."Ezra said.
"No."Kanan responded. "You win by surviving."
"You two are getting pretty good."Sabine admitted.
"Getting?"Ezra asked. "Are you saying we weren't good before?"
"I think she just meant you're even better now."Hera complemented.
"I'll take it."Ezra said and quickly activated his blade to block Kanan's. "Hey!"
"You never turn your back on an enemy."Kanan replied.
"Okay."Ezra said. "But since when are you my enemy?"
Kanan sighed. "Let's go again."
Ezra and Kanan started duelling each other again as Hera and Sabine watched.
Afterwards...
The Ghost landed at the rebel base on Atollon.
"I thought you'd be more excited about our new base."Hera commented. "We finally have a place to call home."
"Trust me, Hera, I'm excited."Kanan assured with a tight smile. "This is my excited face."
"Yeah, very nice."Hera said with a frown and looked at AP-5. "Here's that crate of power generators, AP-5."
"This shipment was due hours ago."AP-5 stated.
Chopper beeped at AP-5.
"So I can expect them to be late all the time then?"AP-5 sighed.
The Ghost crew met up with Rex at the command center.
"The site doesn't look like much, I'll admit."Rex explained. "The good news is our scouts found a fresh water source deep underground."
"We're placing sensor markers around the perimeter."Sabine said. "We'll know if anyone drops by unannounced."
Zeb notice a dokma on a crate.
"Hey!"Zeb snapped. "Get away from that!"
The dokma shrieked and went away.
"How I hate those little bogens."Zeb muttered.
"This planet may be hot, dry and unpleasant."Rex chuckled. "But at least there's nothing trying to kill us."
Then the crew went their separate ways.
"I can't believe it's all finally coming together."Hera said. "Ships, pilots, a base."
"Everything you need."Kanan agreed.
"Except you and Ezra."Hera responded sadly. "So, when do you leave?"
"As soon as Ferus, Ahsoka and Lisa get back."Kanan replied and sighed. "We can't run from the Inquisitors forever."
"I figured it was something like that, with all that training."Hera admitted and began to walk away.
"Hera, what you've accomplished here is important."Kanan reminded. "I understand that now, the need for us to be a part of a larger rebellion. I'm behind you But none of it will matter if we don't do what we need to do."
"All sensors on the Eastern face are in place."A pilot reported.
"Good."Sabine responded. "Have all the pilots checked in?"
"Lieutenant Deiser hasn't come back yet."the pilot replied.
This caused Kanan and Hera to become alarmed.
"Phoenix-6, report."Rex said. "Deiser, do you copy?"
There was no respond.
"She was on the North face."Sabine commented. "We'd better go check on her."
"Take The Phantom."Hera suggested.
Meanwhile...
Ezra was looking for Zeb on the Ghost.
"Zeb?"Ezra asked as he looked around.
A dokma moved passed Ezra's feet and Chopper bumped into Ezra causing them to drop on the ground.
"Ow!"Ezra growled. "Hey, do you know where Zeb is?"
Chopper beeped.
"Yeah, do you know where he went?"Ezra asked.
Chopper chirped and pointed Ezra in the direction of a nearby cliff overlooking the desert and several giant coral plants.
Then Chopper went after the dokma he was chasing.
Ezra found Zeb relaxing and listening to some music while watching the sun set.
"What are you doing out here, big guy?"Ezra asked.
"Oh. Hey, Ezra. Just getting a little fresh air and privacy."Zeb responded. lHey, pull up a crate, watch the sunset."
Ezra went up on a crate as Zeb took a sip of her drink.
"We're gonna be leaving soon."Ezra admitted. "Kanan and me."
"Yeah, I figured."Zeb remarked. "Going after the red blades, huh?"
"Yeah, I don't know when we'll be back or if we'll be back."Ezra stated worriedly.
"Hey, hey, bad luck to talk like that. You'll be back."Zeb assured. "Course we'll probably have toppled the Empire by then. We can swap war stories."
"It's a deal."Ezra chuckled.
At the Northern Perimeter...
Sabine and Rex found Deiser's sensor marker but could not see any sign of the scout.
"Spectre-5 to Phoenix-6, where are you?"Sabine asked in her comlink. "Deiser, come in."
There was no respond from Deiser.
Rex spotted Deiser's helmet and found a dokma under it.
"Looks like whatever happened, happened right after she placed that sensor."Rex commented.
"Someone else is here."Sabine said.
"Or something else."Rex added and took out his blasters. "Behind you!"
Sabine quickly went next to Rex as a krykna rose from the ground.
"Do you think it's aggressive?"Rex asked.
"I'm not waiting to find out!"Sabine responded.
Sabine and Rex started firing at the krykna.
Then more kryknas showed up.
"More incoming!"Sabine warned.
"Get to the ship."Rex ordered.
"This is Spectre-5. We're under attack!"Sabine reported on her comlink. "We need backup-"
A krykna threw Sabine to the ground while the other captured Rex.
"Get off me, you lousy crawler!"Rex snapped
"Rex!"Sabine shouted.
Sabine continued firing at the kryknas, who were unable to attack since she moved behind the sensor marker.
Then the Ghost arrived as Kanan and Zeb fired at the kryknas from the ramp.
"What are you waiting for?"Sabine asked. "Come on!"
The kryknas left as the Ghost landed on the ground.
"I hate multi-leggers."Zeb scowled.
"Where's Rex?"Ezra asked.
"Those creatures took him."Sabine replied. "I think they got Deiser too."
"Chopper, locate Rex's position."Hera ordered.
Chopper beeped and located Rex's position with his antenna.
"He says this way."Sabine translated.
Sabine, Kanan and Ezra ran off while Hera noticed Zeb stood next to Chopper:
"I'll, uh I'll guard the ship."Zeb said nervously.
"We need you, Zeb."Hera commented. "Chopper, stay here and keep the Ghost ready for take-off."
"More than two legs is just excessive."Zeb panicked.
Chopper flew the Phantom back into the Ghost and stayed aboard the ship.
Meanwhile...
The rebels ventured into the underground tunnels with Ezra and Kanan using their lightsabers to provide lighting.
"Stay sharp and stick together."Kanan instructed.
"They have tough armour."Sabine warned. "Aim for the eyes."
"We need to split up."Kanan suggested. "Ezra, go with Hera."
"No."Hera disagreed. "Ezra, stay with Kanan. Sabine, Zeb, with me."
Kanan nodded. "Let's go."
Ezra and Kanan walked to the other side.
"Shouldn't we have a Jedi on each team?"Zeb asked.
"We've gotta get used to not having them around."Hera reminded.
Sabine looked at Hera, but didn't say anything.
Kanan and Ezra ran into a krykna.
"Oh, let me try to connect with it."Ezra said.
"I don't think so."Kanan stated.
"Trust me, I got this."Ezra assured.
Ezra tried to use the Force to connect with the creature but was unable to establish a connection.
Kanan killed the creature with his lightsaber.
"Maybe I should teach you more common sense!"Kanan snapped.
"I had common sense before you started teaching me!"Ezra argued.
"We can argue about this later."Kanan replied. "Come on!"
"You always change the subject when I start winning!"Ezra shouted.
Kanan and Ezra rushed to another side.
Meanwhile...
Hera and the other rebels stumbled upon a lair littered with several spider eggs.
"I don't like the looks of this."Zeb admitted nervously.
Sabine used one of her blasters to move the empty shell of a dokma.
"Those big crawlers must eat them."Hera said distastefully.
"Ugh."Zeb groaned. "Even I wouldn't wish that fate on these little bogens."
Sabine notice small eggs on the floor.
"Ew."Sabine scoffed. "Are those eggs?"
"I could really use a hand over here!"
Hera, Zeb and Sabine looked up, seeing Rex trapped on a sleeping krykna's mandibles.
"Rex!"Hera called out.
"I met the neighbours."Rex stated. "I don't care for 'em."
The three rebels managed to free Rex from a sleeping krykna's mandibles.
"Kanan! Ezra!"Sabine said on her comlink. "We found Rex."
"Good work!"Kanan replied. "We're coming to ya!"
The rebels noticed the krykna that grabbed Rex was starting to move.
"Actually, I think it's time to go."Sabine warned.
"This way!"Hera shouted.
The group then got pursued by several krykna causing them to blast at the crawlers.
"Aim for the eyes!"Sabine instructed.
Sabine managed to kill one of the krykna with a detonator but was unable to stop their advance.
"Get back, ya stinkin' crawlers!"Zeb growled as he killed a krykna with his blaster.
"They're boxing us in."
As more krykna approached, the rebels shot at them with their blasters.
The rebels were quickly rejoined by Ezra and Kanan.
"Huh."Hera replied. "Glad you could drop in."
"I wouldn't stand there if I were you."Ezra stated. "Come on, we'll clear a path!"
Kanan and Ezra used their lightsabers to kill the kryknas that was coming their way.
After a struggle, the rebels managed to fight their way back to the Ghost
"Chopper, open up!"Hera shouted in her comlink. "Chopper!"
Chopper lowered the ramp so that the rebels could board the ship.
"This whole place is infested."Zeb said.
"Maybe this base isn't so perfect after all."Kanan muttered.
"I'm not giving up without a fight."Hera responded firmly. "Hang on!"
Hera attempted to fly the Ghost but the ship was held down by a large web spun by the kryknas.
"Hera, get us outta here!"Zeb begged worriedly.
"It's no good!"Hera answered. "I'm at full power. Ah, they must have glued us down."
"Well, we're safe in here, right?"Ezra asked.
"Sure."Hera commented.
Ezra, Zeb and Kanan used the ship's laser cannons to blast the krykna but were unable to break the ship free of the web.
"Hungry, are ya?"Zeb questioned angrily. "Well, eat this!"
Zeb blasted a few Kryknas away.
"They're all over us!"Kanan shouted.
"Route auxiliary power to the hull."Hera ordered. "That should knock 'em off."
Sabine diverted all auxiliary power to the hull.
This had the effect of electrocuting one of the krykna but the spidery creatures were not deterred for long.
"It's not working."Kanan reminded. "Hit 'em again!"
"No."Hera said. "If we drain too much power we won't be able to lift off."
"I hate to break it to you, but we're not goin' anywhere."Sabine admitted.
"We have to go outside and cut the ship free."Ezra suggested as he went up the ladder.
"Yeah, fat chance surviving that."Zeb retorted.
"Oh, that's great, Zeb."Ezra said angrily at his comlink. "I'm gonna get eaten, the last Jedi in the galaxy, chomped up by some crawlers because you were too afraid to go outside!"
Kanan and Zeb went into the cockpit.
"We're missing something."Kanan grunted. "Why didn't these things attack us before?"
"You're right."Hera agreed. "They could've overrun the base, they didn't come near it."
Sabine notice the sensor marker that was outside.
"Sensor marker that's it!"Sabine said in realisation. "Kanan! I think I know why they didn't attack the base Look! See that marker? When I was looking for Deiser out there, the creatures wouldn't come anywhere close."
"They don't like the markers and the base is surrounded by them!"Kanan added.
"If we can get it, we can use it to hold them off while we clear the ship."Hera complemented.
"Only problem is, how do we get to it?"Sabine asked.
"We got a breach!"Rex called out. "They're coming in the airlock!"
Zeb and Ezra followed Rex and saw a krykna entering the airlock.
"I'll hold 'em here!"Rex shouted. "Get out and cut the ship loose!"
Rex fought off a krykna which had managed to enter the rear exit of the Ghost.
"We need a plan to get to the sensor."Sabine said.
"Well, I think I have an idea."Ezra commented.
"Figure it out on the way!"Hera said.
The rebels went out to fight the kryknas.
"Okay, kid, quick!"Zeb responded. "What's the plan?"
"All right. Zeb, you and Hera, out front laying cover fire."Ezra instructed. "Sabine, you're on the ramp. Kanan, you're with me."
"What am I doing on the ramp?"Sabine asked.
"Kanan and I are gonna throw you over to the sensor."Ezra answered.
"Times like these, I really wish I had a jet-pack."Sabine admitted.
"Ready?"Kanan asked.
"Yeah."Sabine said.
"One two three!"Kanan, Ezra and Sabine counted.
Ezra and Kanan used their Force powers to hurl Sabine towards the sensor marker.
However, the two jedi threw her too far and she landed at the top of a pit.
"Whoa, whoa!"Sabine shouted. "Whoa!"
"Sabine!"Kanan called out.
"No!"Ezra shouted.
Back in the Ghost...
Rex and Chopper managed to work together to expel the krykna.
"Now, Chopper!"Rex ordered. "Seal it up!"
After Rex had kicked the krykna out, Chopper sealed the ship's rear exit.
Outside...
At the front line, Sabine managed to crawl out of the pit and grabbed the sensor marker before a krykna could catch her from behind.
The Mandalorian then used the marker to force her way back to the Ghost.
"Hera, get us ready to fly."Kanan ordered and looked at Hera. "Ezra! Let's get to work."
Ezra and Kanan used their lightsabers to cut through the krykna's webs around the Ghost.
"That's it!"Ezra admitted. "We're clear!"
"Get us outta here!"Kanan stated.
Hera lift off the Ghost and ferry the rebels safely back to base.
Inside the Ghost...
The rebels sighed that they escaped the krynkas.
"Guess we should inform Commander Sato our site might not work out."Rex responded.
"No."Hera refused. "It took everything we had just to find this place. I'm not ready to give it up."
"We're not going to."Kanan replied as he sat down. "The Rebellion needs this base and we're gonna do whatever it takes to keep it."
"Don't worry."Hera assured. "I'll handle it."
The Next Morning...
Sabine and Kanan watched as several rebel troops erected a fence using several sensor markers.
"I think your fence is gonna hold."Kanan remarked with a smile.
"You'd better go talk to Hera."Sabine suggested.
"Why?"Kanan asked. "What's wrong?"
"Kanan, wake up!"Sabine reminded. "She might agree with your mission, but you're still walking out and taking Ezra with you."
Kanan walked up to Hera.
"Hera..."Kanan started.
"I told the Commander the site is secure and operations can resume."Hera admitted.
"We're gonna be okay."Kanan assured. "You know that, right?"
"You realise I know when you're lying, right?"Hera reminded.
Kanan let out a sad sigh.
"Whatever you're facing, I wanted us to face it together."Hera commented.
"We'll see each other again."Kanan assured. "I promise."
Kanan and Hera then embraced each other.
Meanwhile...
Ezra made a second attempt to connect with a krynka at the northern perimeter.
However the krynka screeched angrily and Ezra dropped on the ground.
"Fine."Ezra said in defeat. "I guess we won't be friends."
Ezra relaxed on the ground before noticing a convor flying in the sky.
Then Ferus, Ahsoka and Lisa walked up to Ezra.
"Hey guys."Ezra greeted as he stood up.
"I see the base is coming along nicely."Ahsoka complemented.
"It looks kind of cool despite those creepy crawlers."Lisa admitted.
"Yeah...um, these creatures almost ruined it though."Ezra explained gesturing to the krynkas. "No matter what I do, I can't seem to connect with them."
The four rebels looked at the krynkas.
"In my experience, just when you think you understand the Force, you find out how little you actually know."Ahsoka stated.
"I don't think I ever understood the Force to begin with."Ezra said.
"Well, the force works in many mysterious ways that we don't even know."Ferus stated.
"We should get going."Ahsoka responded.
Ahsoka and the three jedi walked away as a white green convor watched them while lying in a coral plant.
Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter:)
Next is 'Twilight of the Apprentice'