Previously on the Jedi and the Mandalorian...
"Hey guys!"
"Hey Sun." Ruby answered
But Sun didn't seem to buy it as he looked at her, "Wait a minute...I know that symbol...You're one of the rebels."
"Slow your roll, girl." Sun brushed her aside, "I'm just jealous that my friends have been kicking it with you rebels. It's cool, and any friend of Blake's is a friend of mine."
"We've heard others talk about you guys in...well…'not-so-friendly' ways."
"I was sent to keep an eye on Paintbomb here, and her boyfriend."
"HE'S NOT MY BOYFRIEND!"
"That wasn't until Ruby and her friends joined you." Qrow retorted, "If you and the others are identified as collaborators in fighting against Atlas the Schnee Dust Company, there could be a crisis all over Remnant."
"And you, the illegal actions you and your friend have committed will not go unnoticed. We do not support vigilantism in Vale, and now the White Fang have become more extreme in their actions against the kingdom! And you will be dealt with by the authorities!"
"Oh I bet." Cardin said smugly, "Fighting animals and the Schnee's lap dogs? Yeah, we know about that. You know there are already people who do that. Us."
"You should give up and let the professionals do their job." another student jabbed
RWBY: The Jedi and the Mandalorian
Chapter 12 - The Crown
Premise: In their search for Separatist tech, the rebels cross paths with a team of huntresses.
Having recovered from his injuries, Ezra quickly began working in tangent with Ozpin on locating the Separatist base. Thanks to the intel recovered at the SDC facility, Tech had been compiling every place Atlas and the SDC recovered Separatist tech.
"This map shows every droid unit discovered by Atlas." Ezra stated as he, Sabine, Ozpin, and Qrow observed it. Chopper was displaying the image.
"They've recovered so much." Qrow muttered as he glared at it, "What they'd find exactly?"
"From what we found along with the Bad Batch, only small droid units." Sabine answered, "They must've spread very thin before receiving the shutdown command. But there's no pattern to begin with."
Just then, Chopper grumbled something. His antenna began to spin as well.
Qrow raised an eyebrow, "What's up with your robot?"
"Incoming transmission." Ezra explained, "Short-range communication, put it through Chop."
The hologram of Remnant disappeared, being replaced with that of Hunter.
"Hunter." Ezra said, "Good to hear from you."
"Same to you, kid." the clone replied, "Headmaster, pleasure to finally speak with you. Sergeant Hunter."
"Sergeant." Ozpin greeted, "Mr. Bridger has informed me of you and your men. I assume you have news?"
"You're correct, Headmaster." Hunter answered
"What did you find, Hunter?" Sabine asked
"While Tech and Echo investigated all known excavations by Atlas and the SDC, we found a pattern amongst their findings." Hunter stated
"What patterns?" Qrow asked, "All I saw were a bunch of dots on a hologram of Remnant."
"Each location was moving away from one place: Vacuo."
The revelation was first to hit Sabine, as her eyes widened in realization, "He's right, all units that were discovered were moving out of one place. Vacuo is the only area on Remnant with no discoveries."
"And to further add-on to that, we detected a faint power surge in the region." Hunter added
"So that's it then!" Ezra shouted, "The Separatist base is in Vacuo!"
Ozpin hummed as he scratched his chin, "It's possible, but would a base under the jurisdiction of deactivated robots suddenly reactivate?"
"I suggest we go there and investigate." said Sabine, "Maybe several droids refused the shutdown command after the Clone Wars."
"Perhaps." Hunter agreed, "I'll forward you all our intel. Good luck."
Hunter's hologram then disappeared before Chopper grumbled.
"So, Vacuo…" Ezra muttered, "What can you tell us about it?"
"Vacuo, is one of Remnant's four kingdoms." Ozpin explained, "One of Remnant's oldest in fact, and the weakest. It is located on the western part of Sanus."
"How is it weak exactly?" Sabine asked
Qrow then spoke up, "Vacuo was originally an oasis in the middle of the desert the kingdom is in today. After the Great War, and the removal of their king, the people rejected any form of order. The Council is ineffective to say the least. Hell, the only form of law in the kingdom is the huntsmen academy, Shade. As the years went on the SDC and Mistral Trading Company set up factories in the kingdom, depriving it of its resources. Many Vacuans are resentful to outsiders, even their huntsmen are resentful."
"Not all." Ozpin countered, "Shade Academy's Headmaster, Theodore, is an old friend of mine. I shall speak to him of having you both receive clearance to investigate any Separatist presence in the area."
"Thank you, Headmaster." Ezra replied, "We'll prepare our ship, and who to bring with us. We'll need someone who's from Vacuo to act as a guide."
"I can think of someone…" said Ozpin
"ALL RIGHT!" Sun shouted from inside the Gauntlet, "HOME SWEET HOME, HERE I COME!"
"Keep it down Sun!" Blake hissed from her seat
Sun smiled nervously, "Hehe, sorry."
"Why are we bringing him?" Blake asked the three rebels
"Sun is from Vacuo, Blake." Omega explained, "It's best to bring him along."
"I don't see anything wrong with him." Ezra added his two cents, "Sun's friendly."
Then, from somewhere in the Gauntlet, the sound of several objects crashing onto the ground were heard.
"Uhh...those were broken after they fell there!" Sun shouted in the back
Blake rolled her eyes as she facepalmed herself at Sun's antics. Sabine then stared at Ezra with an eyebrow raised.
"Nevermind." the Jedi muttered as Sun entered the cockpit and sat down. Rather than sitting properly like everyone else, Sun sat with his legs crossed as if he were sitting on the ground.
"So!" he announced, "What brings us back to my old stomping ground?"
Sabine then looked at him, "Didn't Blake tell you about us."
"Oh yeah." Sun nodded upon realization, "You two are from outer space, where an evil empire is trying to kill you. Both are part of some rival cults whose people have a very complicated history. Your ship broke down or something, so now you're tracking an old army of robots who've been on Remnant longer than you have to fix your ship and prevent Atlas from finding them."
"...Well, it's not right, but also not wrong…" Blake muttered, "You're correct."
"Hey, we're gonna be landing soon, so get ready." Omega then announced
Sun looked curiously out the window; an endless terrain of sand was below them. Where was Vacuo?"
"Uh, not to interrupt or anything, but where are we landing exactly?" he asked
"We don't wanna risk flying the Gauntlet over Vacuo out of fear that Atlas or agent of Atlas might see it." Ezra explained, "We got lucky leaving Beacon, but we're not risking anything. Their scanner might not be good for tracing us, but physical ones are good enough."
"He means they can use their eyes." Balke added for a confused Sun
"Ah, got it."
The Gauntlet then landed on a worn-out landing pad just outside Vacuo. A bullhead was already docked there waiting for them. Ezra, Sabine, Blake, and Sun entered the craft, while Omega and Chopper stayed to watch the ship. Once on board, the bullhead took them into the city of Vacuo. It was massive to say the least, and seemingly cramped. Then came Shade Academy itself, and like Vacuo, it also looked cramped, vertically speaking.
The bullhead landed, and the rebels and huntsmen stepped out. Ezra had his scout trooper helmet slung under his arm, while Sabine had donned hers instead.
"So, this is Shade…" Ezra muttered as no one was there to greet them, "Gotta love the welcoming committee."
"Yeah, this is how they do things here." said Sun
"Ah, good! You've finally arrived!"
Two individuals then approached the group. First was that of a man, presumably in his forties, that appeared to be 'putting everything out there' so to speak. He had dark, close-cut hair that was almost shaved off, and a checkered vest showed off his wiry frame thin but with sharp lines of muscle like he had been chiseled from stone. He also wore an ankle length, grey-blue cape likened to the color of a storm sky which was clasped onto his shoulders with a silver chain, a silver belt with a round buckle, matching boots, and bright white slacks with deep side pockets. Lastly were a pair of red gloves that were decorated in dust crystals.
Overall, the man's outfit was ridiculous. But somehow, he managed to make it work.
The second was a woman of short stature, roughly at four feet tall. It was nearly impossible to tell just how old she was due to this. On top of that, her wide, squarish frame just exaggerated her stature even more. She had dark tan skin and sandy brown hair that reached her ankles and tied into a long braid by a golden cord. She wore a sleeveless long coat, dark brown and coarse on the outside with glittering flecks, and brown pants with a loose, dark green tunic cinched with a brown leather belt at her waist.
"Welcome to Shade!" the man greeted them, "I'm Theodore, the academy's headmaster. This is Professor Rumpole, my right-hand woman. Come, we have much to discuss."
Theodore's office was located at the very top of Shade Academy, along with the kingdom's CCT tower. It was a large room led by two large doors in the center of the room. The office has various portraits of individuals including Ozpin and Theodore shaking hands, Qrow, a male lion Faunus with a beard, and a girl in a checkered dress with a small dog.
Ezra and Sabine's gaze then fell on one last picture of General Ironwood. The two were already familiar with what the Atlesian looked like; tall stance, white uniform, black hair cleaned up nicely, but ready to be tarnished if stressed. His portrait however had a massive dent in it made by a fist, and a crack in the glass protecting it.
"James…" Theodore muttered as he sat at his desk, "...How could you do this…"
"That's why we're here, Professor." Sabine said to him
The old man looked at her and snorted, "Please! Don't call me that! Just Theodore! Ozpin told me about these Separatists, what I like to know is-"
"We want to know how much of a threat they are to the kingdom." Rumpole cut in, "And what do you plan on doing if you find what you're looking for?"
"We plan on destroying it, all of it." Ezra answered, "We've seen what Atlas has been doing, and we'd like to make sure the people of Vacuo are safe."
Theodore smiled, "That's all I needed to hear!"
The aged huntsmen then stood up and placed his scroll on his desk. A hologram of Vacuo then appeared in front of them all.
"This is a layout of the territory just outside the main city." Theodore explained, "Ozpin sent it to me, along with someone named Hunter. I'm assuming he's with you."
The two nodded in response. Theodore then pointed at an area just outside the kingdom. The hologram then zoomed in, revealing a settlement.
"This is Feldspar." the headmaster said to them, "A small settlement, considered an oasis in the middle of the desert. This is where the Separatist should be located, according to Hunter. But there has been a problem…"
Ezra and Sabine looked at one another before the latter spoke, "What kind of problem?"
"Feldspar has a small CCT tower." Theodore explained, "Until a day ago, it shut down without warning. At first, we assumed either the Grimm attacked, or a sandstorm blew through. But after receiving the news Ozpin sent me, I assume the worst."
"The droids must've raided the village?" Ezra muttered darkly
"I hope not." Theodore sighed, "So! I ask you both to help me. I wish to send a team of huntsmen to Feldspar to assist you. You will investigate the Separatist presence, and they will clear out whatever happened to the settlement."
"Have you told them about...us?" Ezra asked curiously
Theodore shook his head, "No, I haven't. That is up to you."
Ezra looked at Sabine, who simply shrugged. Her face had a look of: 'hey it's not like we have any other choice'.
"We accept."
"Excellent!" Theodore exclaimed, "I'll inform the team I'm sending with you."
"Uh, one other question however." Sabine then asked, "What's your opinion on Ironwood? Were you close?"
Theodore walked aimlessly around his office, "Professionally, yes. Idealistically speaking, no. James Ironwood, is one of the most reckless and arrogant people I've ever known. Always looking towards the next threat, anything he sees that he doesn't understand, he must always mark it as a threat."
He then stopped at Ironwood's portrait; placing his fist on the dent, it fit perfectly.
"...Now he must be stopped." he sighed, "Then again, I can't blame him. I am more cautious than he is, could just be the Vacuan side of me talking. But it's all of us; me, Ironwood, Lionhart, Ozpin..."
"Cautious?" Sabine questioned, "How?"
Theodore then turned to face them, "We must protect what we have: the Academies and the people. Before the 'big one' arrives."
That last part he muttered quietly, before Rumpole stepped in and glared at him.
"Theodore." she hissed
Ezra looked at him, "The what?"
"Oh, just the Grimm." Theordore said to him, "Everyday they get more and more reckless. Who knows what could happen...Now, I'll get that team together for you."
"YOU WHAT!?"
Ezra and Sabine were now back outside Shade Academy, speaking with Sun and Blake, who were utterly mortified at what they just heard.
"What?" Ezra asked, "Theodore requested it."
"Ezra, Vacuan huntsmen are one of, if not, the worst people on the planet!" Blake explained
Sabine raised an eyebrow, "How exactly?"
"They have a reputation for looking down on 'outsiders'." Sun explained, "People from outside the kingdom. And not just huntsmen, but the common folk too."
"But you're from Vacuo, Sun." Sabine retorted
Sun couldn't help but smirk, "Fair point, but trust us…Or trust Blake at least."
"Alright, but we need them." Ezra insisted, "Besides, I'm good with people."
"Oh really?" Sabine questioned, "How exactly?"
"Hey, I befriended you." Ezra retorted
"Fair point."
It was then that the four noticed four girls approaching them, roughly around Blake and Sun's age. The first had lightly tanned skin, indigo hair brushed over to her left side and olive eyes. She wore a high-necked, tight-fitting gray shirt with dark gray accents, along with a long, lilac coat with one long sleeve with the other rolled up. She also wore a leather bandolier with a steel gray pauldron on the right shoulder, which also appeared to hold her weapon. She wore a slanted dark gray belt on the second notch alongside a breastplate that matches her pauldron. Along with gray pants with dark gray boots with light gray laces alongside dark gray forearm length gloves with the left glove being fingerless and having a cuff. She also had a dark gray band around her right elbow with a smaller band on her upper left arm.
The second had lightly-tanned skin, dirty blonde hair swept to the left, and violet eyes. She wore a sleeveless green dress with an asymmetrical hem, what appeared to be a golden scale one-sleeved high neck top underneath her dress, a lighter green sarong tied around her hips, and a golden spaulder. Two thin chain loops ran from the front of her spaulder and around her torso to the back. She also wore a pair of over-the-knee scale stockings, armoured calf-high boots that match her spaulder though the rear of her calves is exposed and a simple chain bracelet with a ring connected to it on her right hand as well as a brown band around her left wrist with two beaded bracelets.
Third had lightly tanned skin, curly black hair pulled back from her face into ringlets, and brown eyes with purple eyeshadow. She wore a black corset dress with a dark gray front, purple hem and purple laces on the back, and a light gray top with short sleeves and black cuffs. Her top also had a high gray collar that appeared to be armored. Her belt was a long purple ribbon edged in gray, with a bow in the back and tied in the front, and connected to the belt were a pair of armor tassets that also acted as storage for her weapon. Her shoes were flats and ribbons. She also had light gray stockings and pale gray ballet flats, with ribbons around her lower legs.
The last one had fair/lightly tanned skin, brick red hair left loose with swept fringe to the right and olive green eyes. She wore a teal blue waistcoat with two long tails and a dark brown strapless top. A cropped sleeveless vest of the same color was worn over the top and waistcoat. Her skirt was pale green graduating to a cream with a zigzagged pointed hem accompanied with an open front layer that graduated from brown to light brown. She wore a pair of navy belts crossed in the front and back and a pair of sky blue layered spaulders, held in place by a dark brown leather strap across her chest. Her shoes were a pair of simple, navy blue ankle boots with folded over top and brick red lining. She also had a navy blue choker.
Whoever they were, their facial expressions were seemingly analytical.
The purple-haired girl then spoke up, "You Bridger?"
"I am." Ezra replied, "Theodore sent you?"
"Nebula Violette." the girl introduced herself, "Team NDGO's leader, and yes, Theodore sent us."
"That's Sun and Blake, from Beacon." Ezra introduced the two huntsmen with him, "And this is Sabine."
The Mandalorian simply nodded in response.
"This is Dew, Gwen, and Octavia." Nebula introduced her team. Octavia then approached them before stopping in front of Sabine. Her eyes seemed to gaze at her with the same analytical look as before as she examined the Mando's armor.
"Hmm…" she muttered before brushing past her, and onto the bullhead. Ezra and Sabine then looked at Nebula.
"Well then, let's get moving…"
"Spectre Six to Gauntlet, do you read?"
No response.
"Omega, do you read? Come in Omega."
Ezra then sighed before getting off comms and turned to his friends and Team NDGO.
"Any luck?" Blake asked
Ezra shook his head, "None, Omega's not responding, but the Gauntlet's transponder is. Looks like the plans changed."
The young Jedi then looked at Team NDGO, who were staring at him after his attempt at contacting his ship, "How much of the mission do you know?"
"As much as Theodore told us." Nebula replied, "Investigate the town, see what happened to the CCT, and take out whatever Grimm might be there."
"That's about it." Sabine said to them, "Now we got a friend not responding and our ship unattended."
"Hmm…what are you gonna do about it?" Gwen asked rather skeptically, which didn't go over both Sabine and Blake's heads.
"We'll split up, Sabine, take Blake and Sun and investigate the Gauntlet, I'll go with Nebula and her team, we'll check out the town." said Ezra
Nebula then spoke up, "I'll send Octavia as backup for your friends."
"If you insist."
The bullhead soon landed and the rebels and huntsmen all disembarked before the ship flew back to Vacuo.
"Hey look, there's your ship!" Sun announced as he pointed towards the Gauntlet. The ship was currently parked just outside Feldspar, which looked like a ghost town to them all. Sabine then donned her helmet before looking at Sun and Blake.
"Come one, let's go." she said before heading towards the Gauntlet, followed by Blake and Octavia. Sun then looked at the others before, "Good luck guys!"
Ezra and the three members of NDGO walked through the now abandoned town of Feldspar. The town looked like it had seen better days. Homes were destroyed and damaged, and the environment was slowly taking it back.
"This place was once considered an oasis in the desert…" Nebula muttered, "Look at it now."
"What do you make of this?" Ezra asked the girls as they started looking around
"Could've been bandits." Gwen suggested
"Doubtful." Dew said, shooting down her teammate's claim, "This was uncoordinated, messy, sloppy."
As for Nebula, she and Ezra continued searching the surrounding area, stopping at the ruins of a home. Ezra knelt down and picked up a piece of wood.
"This is wrong…" he muttered before gently tossing the debris aside, "These people deserved better."
Nebula stared at him as he stood back up, "Why would you care about these people? They aren't yours."
"Mine or not, I've learned to care about everyone." Ezra said to her, "I've seen people die, silenced by forces that want total control. It's my duty to protect the innocent."
"The innocent?" Nebula questioned, "But they aren't your people. You're an outsider. Pity on the innocent, is a weakness."
Ezra was about to retort when Dew interrupted
"Over here!" she shouted from the CCT tower, before Ezra and Nebula ran over to them. The tower was luckily still intact, but signs of a battle were visible.
"Well at least the tower is still intact…" Ezra muttered before his comm went off
"Spectre 6 come in." Sabine said on the other end, "Ezra, you there?"
"I'm here Sabine, what is it?" he answered
"We secured the Gauntlet, and found Chopper too." Sabine informed him, "He says that Omega left the ship after seeing several people in the town. When she didn't return, Chopper locked the ship so no one could get in."
"Think they're survivors?" he asked her
"Could be." she answered
"Alright, stay there, we'll contact you should we need backup." Ezra replied
"Understood." Sabine said back, "How are you holding up?"
"We got to the tower, signs of a battle were here though." he answered
"And the huntsmen?" she questioned
Ezra shrugged, "Fine, I guess."
"Alright." Sabine sighed, "We're heading your way, Spectre 5 out."
Ezra then got off comms and turned to the rest of Team NDGO, who were staring at him, once more with an analytical look.
"What was that?" Dew asked, "Are you hiding something from us?"
"What? No." Ezra answered, surprised that they would ask such a thing, "That was the others, they got the ship. They said that Omega wandered into town after seeing several people here, but never came back."
The girl still glared at him, which confused the young Jedi even more. What was wrong with them?
A few minutes later, Sabine and the others showed up. The Mando and Chopper was working on repairing the tower.
"That is one weird-looking garbage can…" Nebula muttered, earning a snort from Sun and Blake
"Good one." Sun said to her
Blake then added with, "You're not the first to say that though."
"Alright." Ezra then announced, "Once Sabine and Chopper are done repairing the tower, we'll start searching for Omega."
"A missing persons case isn't our problem." Dew insisted, "We have our objective: the CCT tower Right. Here."
"But we still don't know what happened to the people who lived here." Ezra retorted, "If we keep looking, maybe we'll do something that can help us."
"That's not our job, boy." Gwen shot back, "Theodore told us to find the CCT and clear out any Grimm in the area."
"But he also told you to see what might have happened." Sabine stated as she stood up and approached the girls, "He promised that you would be helpful."
"And I still can't believe that Theodore is willing to work with people who blew up a train." Octavia retorted darkly, catching the two, and Blake and Sun off guard.
"That's right, you're the so-called rebels who blew up that SDC train." Nebula said to them, "Then you guys snuck into an Atlas research facility and blew that up. I must say, I'm impressed."
"We do what we do." Ezra muttered
Nebula understood their uneasiness, "Alright look, we get it. We're not the most…trusting people, no one in Vacuo is. But I am willing to work with you, I respect what you do."
"Well I don't." Dew stated firmly, "Huntsmen exist for a reason: to protect. You are not huntsmen, you're outlaws and outsiders. I refuse to work with them."
Nebula glared at her teammate, "Dew!"
"Our home was destroyed by outsiders, and you know that." Gwen added before staring off into the sun dunes surrounding the Feldspar, "Look around you, what do you see?"
Blake raised an eyebrow, "Sand."
"Nothing but sand." Sabine added, "Its course, its rough, and it gets everywhere."
"To an outsider, yes." Nebula continued, a little ticked off by the Mando's last comment, "It's the local spice of the kingdom. Long ago, these lands were filled with dust. An oasis of trade and prosperity. And then one day, the SDC and the Mistral Trading Company showed up. They set up factories and mines to strip the dunes of its resources. They took everything from us, raped up of our land. Now we fight for ourselves, the only way you can be accepted into Vacuo is if you survive. I respect you both for fighting."
"I understand your worry." Ezra assured her, "My home, there are people who take what they want. My folks live in fear, others stand up to them. I stand up against those who oppress everyone, we both do."
He then held his hand out to her, "We've got your back, if you got ours."
Nebula looked at his hand before taking it, "Deal."
BLAM!
BLAM!
Everyone immediately ran behind cover as several blaster shots flew past them. Sabine peaked to see B1 battle droids approaching them. Unlike the one they encountered on Vytal, these droid were colored sand red to match Vacuo's environment.
'Blast them!'
'Roger Roger.'
"Who's Roger?"
"What is it?" Ezra asked her a she sat back down
"Battle droids, B1 variant." Sabine said, "I count 20, at most."
Nebula then took the opportunity to look herself and noticed a figure watching from afar. The figure then started to flee.
"There's someone watching us!" she shouted before pointing, "Look!"
Ezra then peaked out, "Omega!?"
"Can't tell." she replied, "We should go after her."
"I agree." Blake added her two cents in
"Ok, Nebula, Blake, with me!" Ezra announced, "The rest of you defend Chopper while finishes fixing the tower!"
Ezra then ignited his lightsaber and jumped out from behind cover. He deflected several blaster shots as he, Nebula, and Blake ran off after the figure.
"Where'd he get that sword from!?" Dew shouted in a rather demanding tone
"Long story, tell you later!" Sabine said back to her, "We have a plan, any ideas!?"
"One." Gwen announced, "Stay here, we'll try and sneak around. When we attack, you attack."
"Sounds good." Sabine agreed with them, "Good luck."
Gwen nodded before the rest of Team NDGO ran off to flank the droids. Sabine turned back to Chopper, "Chop, how's the repairs coming along!?"
Chopper then grumbled loudly in response, claiming that 'it would help if there was no blaster fire bombarding him'.
"We're on it!"
The figure rounded a corner quickly followed by Ezra, Blake, and Nebula. The cat faunus then managed to grab him by the leg with her weapon, causing the figure to trip. Nebula then jumped in the air and delivered a spin kick to the figure's face, sending him a few feet across the ground.
The figure managed to stop himself and stood back up as the rebels approached them. It was then they got a good look at who it was. It was a young woman with long back length wavy auburn hair with a single silver streak. She had golden eyes, freckles and a black stylish tattoo on the right side of torso running down to her upper leg. She wore a dark navy cropped long-sleeved shirt with a metal chain-like top attached, a silver shoulder cape with crimson trimmed and her emblem on it, crimson torn off booty shorts that match her tatter scarf and thigh-high black leather boots with folded over tops and small lace-up detailing.
In addition were a pair of goggles on the top of her head, a black belt with sheaths for her Sai weapons, a single belt on the right sleeve and her left leg, bandages wrapped around her wrists. Her weapon, as stated, was a Sai of some kind.
"Who are you?" Ezra asked
The woman smirked before unsheathing her weapon, which turned into a bladed staff. Electricity emitted from both, presumably with lightning dust. She twirled the weapon around before attempting to strike the young jedi. But Ezra was quick enough to block the attack with his weapon. She in return delivered several powerful strikes with her weapon, that Ezra blocked as well.
Nebula then jumped in and took out her sword, she managed to hit the woman's aura, blowing off several chunks of it before the woman jumped onto the roof of a demolished building overlooking the trio.
"I must say you fight well." she muttered, "Can't say much about your outfits though."
"Who are you?" Blake demanded
The woman put a hand on her chest, "Me? I'm merely a rattlesnake in the sands. But I must me going now."
Suddenly, the sand on the ground floated up in the air and was flung in the trio's direction.
"Look out!" Ezra shouted as they covered their faces from the oncoming sand. Once it passed them, they noticed that the woman was gone.
"Where'd she go!?" said Nebula as they looked around until something caught their eye: Three girl running out of Feldspar's remains.
It was Nebula's team.
"Where are they going?" Blake muttered as Ezra quickly contacted Sabine
"Spectre 5, where's NDGO going?"
"What do you mean?" Sabine asked oddly, "They said they were sneaking past the droids to flank them."
"Oh really?" Blake muttered sarcastically, "Cause we just saw them running out of town."
"What!?" Sun shouted on the other end
"Those nerf herders!" Sabine added, "They abandoned us!"
"Why would they do that!?" Nebula shouted
"They're gonna try and take the Gauntlet, come on!"
Sabine returned fire with her blasters, taking out two droids before returning to cover.
"Argh!" she growled, "Those little slemos are gonna pay for running!"
From beyond cover, one of the droids said 'roger roger', a line that was starting to get on Sun's nerves.
"Ok, they've way too much." he muttered, "Is their feedback stuck or something?"
That got Sabine's attention, "Feedback? That's it!"
"What's it?" Sun asked
"Feedback." she explained, "We can overload their sensors with sound or data."
"But how?"
Sabine then looked at Chopper, "Chop, see if you can link up with the com tower. Send a data flow to the droids."
The droid grumbled a 'yes sir' before getting to work. However as he modified the tower, when he linked up to it, he was electrocuted before it stopped abrupt.
"Whoa!" Sun muttered as he watched, "Is he good?"
"Chopper, are you alright!?" Sabine asked
Chopper then grumbled an 'I'm fine!' before resuming his job. The tower then emitted a small pulse that hit the oncoming battle droids. They stopped abruptly as they looked around frantically.
'Sensor overload!' one of them shouted before they all fell to the ground deactivated. Sabine and Sun them emerged from their cover.
"I don't believe it, it worked!" Sun cried as he pumped a fist in the air
"No time to celebrate!" Sabine stated before running back towards the Gauntlet's location, with both Sun and Chopper in tow. Unknown to them, the woman from before was watching from afar. She took out a scroll before contacting someone.
"Queenie, its Carmine." she said, "I looked into those robots. We managed to recover a few until huntsmen showed up. The others should be heading back to base. I'll be meeting up with Bertilak in Vacuo…"
She then smiled at whatever the response she got, "Aw, don't be feisty with me Queenie. For Crown and Kingdom."
Gwen, Dew, and Octavia ran back towards the Gauntlet's location. Why? Well, they didn't care about all this. Ezra, Sabine, Blake, they were outsiders. It wasn't their problem. So they decided to pull out and leave them.
"What about Nebula?" Dew asked her teammates as they approached the ship
Dew scoffed, "Please, Nebula will understand. This ain't our fight. Besides, they're loss is our gain. We got their ship all to ourselves."
The minute arrived at the ship, its doors opened and the ramp lowered, revealing a woman in red and black clone armor. She held an energy bow at them.
"Going somewhere?" Omega asked half-heartedly
NDGO readied they're weapons, they all gave her inferior looks.
Gwen then scoffed, "Please three of us, and one of you. What can you possibly do to us?"
Just then, Sabine and Sun jumped in between them, Darksaber and staff out and ready. Team NDGO looked baffled to see them. Then Ezra, Sun, and Nebula arrived right behind them, weapon out as well.
"Omega!" Ezra said out loud, "Are you ok?"
"I'm fine." she answered before, "That woman you fought ambushed me with the droids before. I was going to help you when I noticed these three running back towards the ship. Friends of yours?"
Sabine glared at the members of NDGO, "Not exactly…"
"I see you stopped the droids, well done." Dew muttered
"Yeah, nice try." Sun quipped
"We trusted you and you abandoned us." Sabine sneered, "How could you?"
"Pff, because you're nothing but a lost cause." Octavia retorted, "You lay down at our mercy for our help. That's a weakness in itself. We learned to never trust an outsider ever again, not since the SDC took our land."
"And yet we're fighting the SDC." Ezra stated calmly, "You're just boasting how better you are and criticizing who you aren't you, yet you're no better than Atlas."
Octavia growled at him, "How dare you!?"
Nebula then intervened and punched her teammate in the face, knocking her to the ground. Dew and Gwen were about to retaliate when Ezra stunned them with his blaster. They fell to the ground unconscious. Octavia then regained her senses, only to come face-to-face with one of Sabine's blasters. The Mandalorian then stunned her as well.
Ezra then looked at Nebula as she looked down at her unconscious team, "You gotta problem with what we just did?"
Nebula shook her head, "No, no I don't. I'll let Theodore handle the rest."
A little while later, a bullhead had landed beside the Gauntlet, as the sun began to set. Rumpole and Theodore stepped out and watched as the rebels and Nebula escorted Dew, Gwen, and Octavia, who were restrained with cuffs.
"We got your report, Ezra." Theodore said to the young Jedi, "Well done, a shame to hear about the villagers though."
His sight then fixed onto the three members of NDGO, "Was it worth it?"
None of them answered as they looked down quietly.
"Let me make it clear that you will not be competing in the Vytal Festival." he stated firmly, making them look up at them in shock
"Wha!? But Theodore-!?"
"And you will address me as Headmaster for the time being." he added
They all looked down glumly, "Yes Headmaster…"
He then gestured toward the bullhead, "Off you go. Be happy you don't have to suffer Rumpole's wrath."
The three then made their way towards the bullhead, but not before they could glare at the rebels one last time. Nebula then approached Theodore.
"Theodore-erm-Headmaster." she began, "I'm sorry, this was my fault. I should've kept them-"
"That's enough, Nebula." he cut her off calmly, "You can still call me by my name. You did nothing wrong."
The huntress looked surprised, "But-"
"You managed to put aside your grudge and looked past your beliefs, in order to do the right thing." he continued, "That is what a huntsmen represents. As good faith, you will be permitted to compete in the Vytal Festival's solo matches."
Nebula's face lit up in excitement, "Thank you! I won't let you down!"
Theodore chuckled, "I know you won't. Now, you best say your goodbyes."
Theodore then went back towards the bullhead as Nebula turned back to them, "Well, I guess I should be going."
"Hey, you did good." Sabine assured her, "Sorry about your team though."
"It's alright." she replied, "Part of me understands why they did it. But they abandoned me as well, and we don't do that in Vacuo. I hope you guys find what you're after."
Nebula then started making her way towards the bullhead, when Ezra called her.
"Hey Nebula." he said to her, "...May the Force be with you."
Nebula looked at him strangely before smiling. She then boarded the bullhead before it departed back for Shade. Balke and Sun then joined the two as they watch the craft fly away.
"Well, there's one thing accomplished." Blake muttered, "I can't believe you befriended someone like her."
"Hey, like I said: I'm a people person." Ezra stated, "Come on, there's a Separatist base nearby, and we've gotta find it."
In Atlas, General Ironwood stood in his office as assessing all the intel regarding the Separatist both Atlas and the SDC managed to recover. Winter then entered the room and joined him.
"I don't exactly understand the punishment you put upon my father, sir." she stated firmly
"I understand your worry." he assured her, "But not to worry, he and I are…cooperating more closely now. If he steps out of line, there will be consequences."
Just then, an officer then entered Ironwood's office holding a datapad, "General, sir, one of our long-range communication towers in Vacuo has experienced a disturbance."
"If it's Vacuo, it's likely nothing but a sandstorm." Ironwood suggested
"But it wasn't sir." the officer continued as he showed Ironwood and Winter the datapad, "The tower went offline, then it reactivated and we detected a foreign presence within the systems. We managed to hack it and copy what data it had before it disconnected."
The officer then transferred what files he had over to Ironwood. The General began looking through them before stopping and looked up at Winter and the officer.
"Send me whatever you have." Ironwood ordered him, "If necessary, you're free to use the new splicing technology salvaged from the droid units we acquired."
The officer saluted him before leaving, "Yes sir!"
Ironwood then turned to Winter, "Schnee, prepare a team to send to Vacuo."
Winter looked confused before saluting nonetheless, "Over course General."
She then left, but could not help but feel worried. Ironwood remained in his office and placed his scroll on his desk. Various holograms and files were displayed in front of him, including that of the two rebels that have been causing him and the SDC trouble. He began to read through the files.
"Rebels…" he muttered, "Galactic…Empire…
Next on the Jedi and the Mandalorian...
Chapter 13 - The Separatist