"This helmet doesn't fit," Ezra, dressed as a Cadet, grumbled as he followed Kanan through the spaceport. Ezra was pushing along a grav pallet to give them the pretense of delivering supplies. Stealing the uniforms was easy. A few Jedi mind tricks later and they were inside. So far the worst thing about this whole mission for Ezra was that how uncomfortable his helmet was.
"You think you have it rough? I'm almost starting to lose feeling in my toes," muttered Kanan who was dressed as a Stormtrooper
"This is Spectre 5, I'm all set here," Sabine reported in. So far so good, maybe Zeb was going to be disappointed after all.
Ezra and Kanan arrived at the massive open landing platform. Most shuttles landed inside the spaceport through various holes that led to hangers but for the larger freighters, a large platform was necessary as they were too big to fit inside the hanger. While there were dozens of workers all around, they were scattered so far and wide that they wouldn't think twice of another Stormtrooper and Cadet. The two came to a halt at an empty landing port that their target was scheduled to set down on. No one was around and would probably stay that way until the ship arrived.
"This is Spectre 1, ready for pickup," Kanan reported.
"Standby Spectre 1, we may have a problem," Hera chimed in. Kanan and Ezra both exchanged a look but didn't say anything, waiting for Hera to get back to them. "Stand down Spectre 1. The freighter jettisoned it's cargo during a boarding attempt."
"Figures somebody else would beat us to it," Ezra heard Zeb grumbled on the other end of the transmission.
"Copy Spectre 2, pulling out," Kanan sighed before cutting the transmission.
"Can't we just find the cargo and pick it up?" Ezra asked.
"The Ghost can't handle a haul that big. That's why we wanted the freighter in the first place," Kanan explained. He motioned for Ezra to move and his Padawan reluctantly obeyed. He kept pushing the grav pallet to keep their little facade until after they were clear of the spaceport. The sound of thrusters hummed overhead, growing more distinct as a small speck in the sky as the ship grew larger and larger from its descent.
"If the ship is still landing here, maybe we can still take it and use it to retrieve the cargo," suggested Ezra.
Kanan shook his head. "By now the Imperials will have the cargo surrounded with cruisers and fighters. Even if we hijack the freighter, we'd never get close before the ship would be reported stolen," he answered.
Ezra grumbled, hoping he'd actually pull a mission off today. Looks like he'll have to wait another day to stick it to the Empire. Ezra knew Jedi weren't supposed to enjoy fighting people but he couldn't help it. The Empire took everything from him so any chance he got to deal a little damage to them, he would gladly take it.
Ezra glanced behind him to see the freighter gently landing on the port. He had a strange feeling about it, the same kind of cold that he felt a few hours ago in the Ghost. Ezra told Kanan about it earlier but his Master told him not to worry about it. Until the Inquisitor showed up again, it was best to just worry about the task at hand. Well now that he was feeling it again, it might be time to worry.
"Kanan can you sense that?" Ezra asked.
"Yeah…let's get out of here," Kanan suggested. Clearly he wasn't ready for another round with the Inquisitor, not that Ezra could blame him. The last time they fought the Empire's local Jedi hunter, they barely escaped with their lives. The two Jedi made their way through back through the interiors of the spaceport to exit the area and meet up with Sabine outside. So far everything seemed to be quiet, within a few minutes they'd be out and the Imps would never even know they had been inside.
An alarm went off overhead, klaxons echoing through the hallways as red lights flashed on and off.
"Spectre 1 this is Spectre 5. What just happened? The whole spaceport is on alert," asked Sabine.
"No idea. It wasn't on our end," Kanan replied.
"Get out of there all of you," ordered Hera.
Kanan and Ezra doubled timed it down the hallway, coming to a halt as more than a dozen Stormtroopers were rushing down the corridor towards them.
"Uhh…Kanan?" Ezra asked nervously, his hand ready to reach inside one of the cargo containers they were transporting for cover where they had some blasters hidden.
"Just play it cool," Kanan whispered. The Stormtroopers rushed right by them, completely ignoring them.
"What's going on around here?" asked Ezra.
"No idea and we're not staying long enough to find out," Kanan replied.
"Hey you!" someone shouted behind them. The two turned to see a Stormtrooper approaching, a white pauldron on his shoulder representing his rank as a sergeant.
"Sir," Kanan said, standing at attention. Ezra quickly joined did so as well. More Stormtroopers rushed by as the Sergeant stopped in front of the two Jedi.
"What are you doing? We need all hands at the landing platform!" the Sergeant shouted.
"Sir I was escorting this cadet to a safe area," Kanan answered.
The Sergeant turned his attention to Ezra. "Do you know where the nearest safe room is?" he asked.
"Yes sir," Ezra lied.
"He doesn't need a babysitter then. Now get to the landing platform. We can't let the Inquisitor escape," the Sergeant ordered Kanan.
"In…Inquisitor sir?" Kanan stuttered, just as confused as Ezra was. Why would the Imperials be after the Inquisitor? Did he have some kind of falling out with the Empire?
"There she is…pin her down!...take cover!...we need back up repeat we need-AAAARRRRGGHH!" could be heard on the Sergeant's com. Wait did that com chatter address the Inquisitor as a she?
"Are you deaf? Get to the hangar now!" shouted the Sergeant. Dozens of more troopers were rushing down the corridor. Ezra knew his master only had two choices left. Either play along and go with or fight back and escape with Ezra. With the whole place on lockdown, that might be complicated. And there was the big question what was going on around here? Maybe if Kanan goes with them, he can figure what's happening with the Inquisitor.
"I can find my way sir," Ezra said to Kanan.
"You're sure?" Kanan asked and he wasn't asking about Ezra's sense of direction. He wanted to know his Padawan would be alright.
"Yes sir," Ezra nodded. Kanan gave him a simple nod, trusting the boy to take care of himself. Ezra saluted and pushed the pallet down the hallway. He decided to keep it in case he made it outside and needed a cover story as to where he was going. A simple tale of a Cadet delivering supplies to the nearby outpost shouldn't bat an eye.
Kanan wasn't entirely pleased that Ezra just forced him into separating. But he trusted the kid could handle himself and besides, Kanan wanted to know what was going on. "What's your name soldier?" the Sergeant demanded.
Kanan fell in line with him along with dozens of other troopers rushing towards the landing platforms. "Private Organa sir," he replied.
"Never heard of you. You must one of the new recruits from Hosnian Prime. Now I don't know how they run things there but if I ever had to repeat an order to you again, I'll have you court martialed," the Sergeant warned.
"Yes sir. It won't happen again sir," Kanan said, continuing to play the dumb new recruit.
"The Inquisitor is to be terminated with extreme force. Don't let her get a bead on you or you're dead," Sergeant said to everyone.
"Her? I thought the Inquisitor was male sir," Kanan inquired.
"This is another one Private Organa," Sergeant grunted. If his helmet wasn't covering his face, Kanan couldn't have hidden the shock at what he just heard. There was more than one Inquisitor? Then that begged the question as to who this other one was and why the Empire wanted her dead.
When they arrived at platform, it had turned into a warzone. A few minutes ago it was almost empty and peaceful now dozens of Stormtroopers were firing away at a figure twirling around a circular red double-bladed lightsaber. The Sergeant ordered the new arrivals to spread out and take up firing positions. Kanan hung back, looking for a quick and quiet way to get out of this. The Inquisitor definitely wasn't the same one he fought several times before. Truthfully Kanan couldn't tell if the Inquisitor was a woman but the Sergeant seemed certain so he must have some clue about her identity. She was shorter and slender plus her armor looked slightly different from the other one. Her combat skills, however, were no less deadly.
The Inquisitor was constantly on the move using crates, shuttles, and whatever cover she could find. She rushed from cover to cover, slashing and decapitating any trooper that got in her way. With a single motion of her hand, five Stormtroopers went flying through the air. She summoned a blaster to her hand and began firing away with one hand while using her other to control her lightsaber. The Inquisitor put her pistol through the small ring in the center of her lightsaber, using that small opening to fire through while having the blade emitters spin to form a shield. It allowed her to deflect every shot while able to return fire at the same time.
To say Kanan was impressed was an understatement. This Inquisitor was taking on more than fifty Stormtroopers and coming out on top. She lifted a nearby crate using the Force and hurled it, knocking down four bucket heads in her path. Kanan slowly backed up, letting the fighting distract the others while he made an escape. The Inquisitor cut through two more troopers and rushed towards a shuttle on the platform.
"She's heading towards one of the shuttles. Stop her!" shouted the Sergeant.
Several troopers tossed thermal detonators at her but with a motion of her hand, the Inquisitor sent them right back. Everyone quickly took cover as explosions lite up the area. Kanan watched as the Inquisitor rushed up the ramp of the shuttle and it retracted behind her. The engines activated and the ship slowly began to ascend. The bucket heads continued firing away despite the futility of it. Kanan decided now was the time to make himself scarce and rushed back inside the spaceport.
"Spectre 1 to Spectre 2, I'm heading to the rendezvous point," Kanan transmitted.
"Glad to hear it Spectre 1. What happened out there?" asked Hera.
"For once I don't think we're the Empire's biggest problem on this planet," replied Kanan.
(This was originally going to be longer but I needed to reedit some scenes after this. Don't worry the crew will meet the new Inquisitor soon enough.)