"Absolutely not!" Kanan shouted. Ezra winced, having hoped to hear a different answer and for it to not be so loud. He had just finished explaining how he helped the Inquisitor escape into hiding at his old home and that she was willing to reveal classified information in exchange for transport off the planet. Not only did Kanan and Hera both refused the offer, they were equally livid that Ezra was the one who came up with the deal.
"But Kanan…" Ezra protested.
"No buts Ezra. I want you out of there and as far away from that Inquisitor now," Kanan ordered.
"I'm sorry could you repeat that? You're breaking up," Ezra said before making some static noise and then deactivating his com. He was in a world of trouble the second the others get here and they would come. What Ezra needed to do was make sure they didn't try to kill Second Sister the second they stepped inside. That would only end badly for everyone. Why couldn't the others see that this was a great opportunity for them? Sure it was a risk but it could pay off big. This was all falling apart and he needed to fix it fast.
Ezra headed towards the opening to the basement. He wasn't naïve enough to climb back down and give the Inquisitor the bad news face to face. "My friends are on the way but they want to know you're sincere," he called out.
It was a lie but he wasn't about to say that they were probably coming to kill her. At first Ezra was answered by only silence. Was Second Sister asleep or passed out? Or was she merely waiting for him to climb down to investigate and attack? A round metallic device slowly levitated up the opening and into the air. Ezra was concerned it might be a bomb but it wasn't flashing and it didn't look like any explosive he'd seen before. He snatched it out of the air and took a closer look. It had a computer plug in so that meant it was probably a data storage device but Ezra's never seen one like this.
"Have you ever heard of Enigma?" Second Sister called out.
"I'm going to kill him," Kanan grumbled as he made his way through the alleyways in the capital city with Sabine, and Zeb. No one was happy when the youngest member of the crew revealed that he was with the very Inquisitor whose face was plastered on virtually every corner and was the subject of a manhunt the likes of which Lothal had never seen before. Stormtroopers and walkers were deployed all over the city and didn't seem like they were going away anytime soon.
"Get in line. What was he thinking?" muttered Sabine. Kanan shared her frustration. Ezra just put them into a dangerous situation they shouldn't have any part of. The Empire was trying to hunt down this Inquisitor and Kanan's padawan in his infinite wisdom decided to help her. It wasn't the fact that they were helping a fugitive that angered Kanan but it was helping a practitioner of the dark side. He felt the cold when he saw that Inquisitor cut down the Stormtroopers, the same feeling he got from the Pau'an Inquisitor. The last thing they need is to get involved with someone like that.
"He wasn't," scoffed Zeb.
As if Ezra's insane action was frustrating enough, the three of them had to sneak their way through a city under martial law. They may not have been the subject of the massive manhunt but that didn't mean a trooper couldn't recognize them so they had to move carefully. The longer they took to get to Ezra's old home, the more Kanan was worried the Inquisitor had turned on the boy and killed him. How in the galaxy could Ezra not realize the danger he was in? This was like trying to take in a wild Rancor as a pet.
They finally arrived at the Bridger estate which didn't have any signs of a battle. At least the Imperials hadn't stormed the place. But that didn't put Kanan at ease. He could sense the darkness and cold emanating from the building. The Inquisitor was definitely inside. If she did anything to Ezra, Kanan was going to make her pay. He drew his lightsaber and Zeb readied their blaster all while Sabine tampered with the door lock. The second the door slide open, Kanan activated his lightsaber and rushed inside with the others right behind him.
"Whoa. Hey guys," said Ezra who was a little surprised by his friends' sudden entrance. Thankfully he seemed completely fine. He didn't seem frightened or scared at all, not the behavior of someone who was being held hostage or threatened. Ezra was actually working on an old com unit that his parents used to broadcast anti-Imperial messages.
"Where's the Inquisitor?" demanded Kanan.
"She's in the basement. Look Kanan…" Ezra tried to say.
Kanan headed towards the opening in the floor and leaped down into the basement. There he got his first glimpse of her. The Inquisitor was resting against a wall, bandages wrapped around her left knee, chest, and right forearm. Her description matched the picture the Empire had released to the public. Probably to make sure she didn't remove her armor and try blend in with the crowd. Her bruised head was slumped, dark lined eyes closed. If she was on the run from the Empire then this must be the first time she actually managed to get some sleep.
The Inquisitor's eyes suddenly shot open and she lifted her hand up. Kanan didn't have a chance to react before he was sent flying backwards, crashing into a nearby wall and landing on top of a tool bin before rolling onto the floor. The Inquisitor pulled out her lightsaber, igniting it as she got to her feet. Kanan got back to his fee albeit with a backache but still ready for a fight. That was until he noticed the Inquisitor was having trouble standing on one leg. That injury to her must have been worse than a simple blaster wound.
"Killing me isn't going to be so easy," the Inquisitor said, activating the automated spinning function on her lightsaber.
"Wait Kanan stop!" Ezra shouted as he came sliding down the ladder, quickly running into between the two of them.
"Ezra move!" Kanan ordered. Zeb slide down with his blaster rifle raised the second his feet touched the ground. Sabine soon followed with her twin blasters ready to fire and probably would have if Ezra hadn't jumped in between everyone.
"Everyone just calm down!" shouted Ezra.
"I take it the deal's off," the Inquisitor said to Ezra. She was incredibly calm considering the circumstances.
"As if we'd ever make one with someone like you," Zeb spat at the Inquisitor.
"You don't even know me and you've already judged me. I'm offended," she chuckled.
"Move Ezra," Sabine ordered.
"Not until you listen," Ezra protested, standing his ground. "She gave me a device that decrypts Imperial transmissions. Specifically one officers use to communicate with other."
"Enigma?" asked Sabine, knowing what he was referring to. The Empire uses an incredibly complex encryption program to pass along information named Enigma. According to Hera, other rebel cells all over the Outer Rim have been trying to decipher it for years with no success. Ezra had gone undercover into the Imperial Academy on Lothal to steal a decoder but it was only good for low level information at best. Enigma was the Empire encryption program not just to pass along sensitive information but also real time transmissions used by Star Destroyers, military outposts, etc.
"I was trying to hook it into the com upstairs when you three barged in," Ezra nodded.
"Are we going to kill each other or not? I haven't had an hour of sleep in the past three days and I'll like to get some," the Inquisitor chimed in.
Kanan glared at her then at Ezra. "Everyone back up top," he said. He then pointed to the Inquisitor and said, "You stay here."
"Yes sir general sir," she said mockingly saluting him but kept her lightsaber active. Kanan sighed in annoyance as the team climbed up one by one. He was the last one up and could only do it with one arm as he slowly climbed up the ladder while keeping his lightsaber up and ready should the Inquisitor decide to suddenly strike. It was only once he was above ground that Kanan deactivated his weapon and he could hear the Inquisitor's lightsaber deactivating as well. Just for good measure, he closed the lid over the opening and put a box on top of it. That wouldn't stop her but at least it would slow her down should she try to get out.
"What were you thinking Ezra?" Kanan demanded.
"Like I said before. He wasn't," muttered Zeb.
"I was thinking about actually doing something that could help us fight the Empire instead of just stealing for thugs and blowing up Tie Fighters the Empire can replace in a day," snapped Ezra.
"Wow where did this come from?" asked Sabine, a little put off by Ezra's sudden hostility along with everyone else.
"Maybe I'm getting sick of being ignored every time I have an idea just because you think I'm a kid," stated Ezra.
Zeb rolled his eyes. "You are a kid."
"How come whenever Hera and Kanan come up with some plan that risks our lives, no one questions them but when I come up with an idea none of you trust me enough to listen," protested Ezra.
"This isn't about trust Ezra," said Kanan. "We do trust you but we don't trust her and we can't afford to make deals with someone as dangerous as her."
"I'm not saying we should trust her. I'm saying we should use her," countered Ezra. "At least check if the device works. What's the harm in that?"
Kanan didn't protest that. There had nothing to lose by verifying if that device was genuine. He did however have other problems with Ezra's idea. He turned to Sabine and asked, "Can you finish it?"
"No problem," Sabine answered and headed over the com.
Kanan turned his attention back to his Padawan. "Ezra can you sense the Inquisitor below us?" he asked.
"Yeah…she comes off as…" Ezra said, closing his eyes to concentrate.
"Cold. That's because she's embraced the dark side and the dark side feeds on anger, lies, betrayal and death," Kanan interrupted him.
"I hate it when they start talking Jedi mumbo jumbo," Zeb groaned.
"Say this pans out and she's telling the truth then what? We take her onboard the Ghost and that's when she decides to kill us. Or maybe she's a spy waiting to get as close to as many rebels as possible so she can report back their identities to the Empire. And even if she isn't, she's very dangerous and who knows how many people she'll kill if we simply let her go," Kanan said.
"First off if I wanted to kill all of you, you'd already be dead," the Inquisitor called out from the basement. "Second your little friend already made it clear that I was to be dropped off on another planet once our deal is concluded, not join your little band of misfits. Third and this is the most important one, could you quiet down up there? I'm trying to sleep and I'm sure the neighbors don't appreciate the noise either."
Kanan groaned, feeling stupid the Inquisitor just heard everything they said. The rest all exchanged awkward looks before the com unit Sabine worked on activated.
"Almost got it," she called out.
Everyone quickly gathered around her as the Mandalorian finished hooking everything up. All the com produced was static and Kanan thought this was proof the Inquisitor was just screwing with them until he heard something. "Can you hear that?" he asked.
"Yeah. Let me see if I can fix the audio…" Sabine said. "…there."
"…the Iron Victory is to take up sector 17 while the Enforcer is move to sector 25. You are ordered to maintain a full search detail until further notice," a voice came through.
"Understood. Joris out," another voice replied.
"Joris. I know that name. He's the commanding officer aboard the Star Destroyer Enforcer," stated Kanan.
"You think this might be the real thing?" asked Sabine. Ezra threw Kanan an 'I told you so' look.
"Maybe," Kanan said, still not convinced. Maybe he didn't want to be convinced. He wanted the Inquisitor to be an evil spy just waiting to stab them all in the back. But something like this was too good to pass up. Even Zeebo, an old friend of Ezra's family, managed to steal thousands of classified files about the Empire not too long ago couldn't find anything about Enigma. If this was real then it wasn't just the rebels on Lothal who might benefit from what else the Inquisitor had but every other resistance movement in the galaxy.
"I want to talk to her alone," Kanan said.
"You sure?" Zeb asked with concern and rightly so. The last several times Kanan's gone up against an Inquisitor, they all ended badly for him.
"I need to do this," Kanan told him.
"Well just in case she tries anything, I've got a grenade ready to throw down there," Zeb said quite loudly and on purpose.
"I heard that," the Inquisitor called out.
"Good," he replied, making sure that was loud enough for her to hear too.
"By the way her name is Second Sister," Ezra added.
"What kind of name is that?" asked Sabine. Ezra replied with a shrug.
Kanan reopened the opening to the basement and climbed down. The Inquisitor was resting against the wall again. Maybe she wasn't lying about being tired though Kanan didn't doubt she was doing it with one eye open.
"Who does a girl have to kill around here to get some sleep," muttered Second Sister.
"None of us," replied Kanan. "You're the second Inquisitor we've seen. How many of there are you?"
Sister held up a finger and waved it back and forth. "Tsk tsk tsk. I've already given you your free sample with that device. Whatever else I know comes with a price tag," she said.
"Ezra told me us what you want. You need a ride off planet," Kanan stated.
"Well buying a ticket at the spaceport isn't really an option anymore after my little entrance," remarked Sister.
"Yeah I was there. You came in on an Imperial Cargo Freighter didn't you," Kanan insinuated.
"I didn't have a lot of travel options. The Empire was closing in on me and it was the first ship I could find," Sister shrugged.
"So why not hijack the freighter in flight instead of waiting for it to land?" asked Kanan.
"I was trying to keep a low profile and jump ship the first chance I got without being seen. But the inventory droid onboard spotted me and I was forced to deal with the crew," Sister said. By deal with, she meant kill.
"Then why abandon ship after you took control?" wondered Kanan. He was suspicious why she seemingly had a chance to escape but chose to land and steal another ship. The more she told her story, the more suspicious he became. Kanan was still certain Sister might be a spy of some sort.
"The ship's controls were locked in autopilot. I guess the helmsmen did that after I started killing the crew and I'm not very good at slicing. I didn't have a choice but wait until the ship landed and find another," Sister answered.
"You'll excuse me if I find this a little convenient. You just happen to be carrying an Enigma decrypter around and end up meeting one of my people," Kanan stated.
"I stole that device because I figured it would come in handy and Jedi Junior found me, not the other way around. He was the one who wanted help me," Sister pointed out.
Kanan stared at her, trying to get a read on her. He could feel her presence in the Force, a maelstrom of darkness converged into one spot and yet he felt something else. He could put his finger on it. Maybe she was lying about something but Kanan doubted it would cause a feeling like this. There was something buried inside of her, multiple emotions bubbling on the surface and yet it was if they were also shielding something.
"You done trying to slice into my brain?" Sister asked, knowing what he was trying to do. It wasn't as if Kanan was strong enough to do so and the fact was that Sister was far too powerful for something like that even if he was.
"You know I can't do that. You're too powerful…in the dark side," Kanan said.
Sister rolled her eyes. "Oh here we go," she muttered with contempt. "If you're going to start to lecture me on the whole dark side is evil routine then save your breath. The only difference between the Jedi and the Sith are that the Sith are at least honest about what they are. Jedi are the real liars. The Sith will stab you in the heart but the Jedi will stab you in the back."
The way she spoke, it had to have come from personal experience. You don't hate someone that much from being told to. Now that Kanan thought about it, she could have been old enough to have been a Jedi youngling or a Padawan before Order 66. But that didn't mean that Kanan was going to establish a bond with her. She was too deep in the dark side to come back.
"Why does the Empire want you dead?" Kanan changed the topic.
"It's the Inquisitor retirement package. Turns out the Empire doesn't like it when one of their Force Wielders becomes too powerful," Sister answered.
Kanan supposed that made sense. The Sith Lords who ruled the Empire would want their servants to be strong enough to be useful but not powerful enough to challenge them. That was of course assuming the Inquisitor was telling the truth and not just flattering herself. Kanan considered his next response, mulling over the dangers of his next decision. He wasn't happy about it but he had to consider not just the benefit to the resistance on this planet but others as well. If they ever wanted to beat the Empire then they needed to take chances.
"Alright you have a deal," Kanan finally said. "We'll get you off planet in exchange for more information. Until then, we'll get you to another safe house outside the city."
"Another safe house?" moaned Sister.
"Well I'm not keeping you on our ship and once you we do take you onboard, you get off the second we land at wherever you want to and then we go our separate ways," Kanan explained, the terms being nonnegotiable.
"Agreed," Sister replied.
"Get some rest. We leave at dark," Kanan said. He turned to head back up the ladder.
"By the way when you first arrived here, were you planning on killing me?" Sister asked.
Kanan stopped and turned around. "I would have done what was necessary," he said.
"Like I said before. At least the Sith are honest," Sister remarked.
"You're not a Sith," commented Kanan.
"And you're not a Jedi," retorted Sister. Kanan wasn't sure if that was an insult or a compliment.
"Hey it's almost time. Turn it to HoloNet News. He always broadcasts around now," Ezra said quite loudly one floor above.
"He enjoys Imperial propaganda? He'd be the first," Sister snorted.
"He wants to see Senator Gall Travis's transmission. You know the one person in the Imperial Senate who has the guts to speak out against the Empire. I'm sure you've been assigned to hunt him down," Kanan scoffed. He turned to climb up the ladder.
"Oh I did hunt down traitors for the Empire but I assure, Senator Travis is no traitor," Sister said. Kanan turned to see a smirk on her face. His first thought was that she was lying and trying to turn him against Travis. Infiltrate the rebels and destroy them from within. But Kanan had to consider the idea that maybe she wasn't lying at all.
Kanan filed that thought away as he climbed up the ladder.
His rage burned as Sixth Brother waited for his shuttle to land on Lothal. That Second Sister managed to evade him on Corulag was infuriating enough but she also managed to escape unnoticed on a freighter to the Outer Rim. The Sixth Brother had always prided himself on being a hunter and that no prey could ever escape him. Such passion for violence was in his blood as a Zygerrian. His people had conquered and enslaved dozens of species before being subdued by the Jedi. During the Clone Wars, they brought back their old ways until they were brutally conquered by the Empire.
Sixth was identified as a young age as being Force Sensitive. He had no memory prior to his training in the dark side though he could guess his real parents were dead. Few ever gave up their children willingly. But they meant nothing to him anymore than even the rest of the Inquisitors meant anything to him. All that mattered to him was the hunt and the Second Sister was now his prey. Unfortunately, she had proven to be far more elusive then he predicted. Sixth Brother always seemed to be one step behind her but not anymore. He would find Second Sister and deliver her head to Lord Vader.
His shuttle came to a landing at the Imperial Complex, the headquarters of Imperial officials overseeing Lothal. The large building dwarfed everything within the capital city. Sixth could help but feel it was appropriate. He initiated the landing sequence and touched down inside the main hangar. Only two people were waiting for him but he didn't need an honor guard like a Moff or the Emperor, he just needed to speak to those that had information he needed.
Sixth exited the shuttle and approached his welcoming party. One was a human dressed in Imperial armor, the rank insignia on his right breast indicating that he was a member of the Imperial Security Bureau. But it was the Pau'an that had Sixth Brother's full attention. The Grand Inquisitor was the first Inquisitor with their order and as such was granted authority over the others. Sixth could remember the Grand Inquisitor in some of his earliest memories, torturing him and training him to become the warrior and hunter he was today.
Sixth Brother came to a halt and knelt down on one knee. "My lord," he said.
"You may rise," the Grand Inquisitor spoke. Sixth rose and stood at attention. The Pau'an then gestured towards his companion. "This is Agent Kallus of the Imperial Security Bureau. He will be our liaison with Imperial forces on Lothal," he said.
Sixth didn't greet the human or acknowledge him in any way. "Has there been any further sightings?" he asked.
"Several troopers were incapacitated and killed after the fugitive crashed landed the stolen shuttle. She had assistance from a young boy holding a lightsaber," Kallus answered.
That caught Sixth's interest. "The Rebel cell on Lothal is aiding her?"
"I wouldn't have believed it either but it seems desperation breeds unlikely collusions," said the Grand Inquisitor.
"We've locked down the entire city and are searching every building but so far no sign of her," added Kallus.
"Show me her last location and I will track her down," Sixth stated. He was an expert tracker, being able to read disturbances on the ground in a way few could. He once hunted a fugitive down for days by following his tracks through a dense jungle. Sixth's patience paid off and he brought back a head to show for it.
"You will track her and I will follow," the Grand Inquisitor spoke. "If the Second Sister is still on this planet and being sheltered by the Jedi then one of us will not be enough."
"I understand," Sixth said, disappointed the kill wouldn't his alone.
"I will have a squad ready to deploy the second you have her location. Meanwhile Senator Trayvis is about to make his speech. If the Rebels figure out his message and locate him, he might be able to expedite your search provided it does not ruin his cover," Kallus informed them.
"We'll make due without him," Sixth said firmly then turned to his overseer. "Come my lord. The hunt awaits."