Rance couldn't believe how much hassle he had with this latest job. First it was a delay with docking with the station then problems with unloading his salvage and now his fence, a Dressellian named Brice, was late to their meeting. The last thing Rance wanted to do was sit around especially with his latest catch. Salvaging was a difficult job with most finds nothing more than junk that barely keeps your ship able to fly. Rance's luck had been down for a while but now it was finally turning around.
Getting a tip about a wreck within Arkanis sector, Rance managed to find the remains of a Republic military transport. It had clearly been in a battle with heavy damage and probably just managed to jump to hyperspace in time to escape. An inspection of the ship revealed a destroyed communications array and the engines themselves were also beyond repairs. It was a miracle it managed to make a hyperspace when it did. The inside of the vessel was a tomb as the corpses of the crew along with scrap metal of the Separatist droids who invaded the ship. There were no survivors and that meant no one would come looking for them.
Rance was pleasantly surprised when he analyzed the ship's logs and found out the crew was transporting important cargo to a military research outpost. That meant valuable supplies that would be worth a fortune on the black market. His old clunker of a ship could transport all the cargo so he planned on making a return trip after he unloaded the supplies he could fit. That was if Brice would actually show up.
"Rance! You better not be wasting my time again!" snapped Brice as the old Dressellian stormed inside the cargo bay with his astromech P4-D8.
"Oh I guarantee you will be paying top dollar for what I've got," smiled Rance. He led them back to his ship where a large cargo droid was unloading some of the salvage from Rance's find. Several crates containing portable power generators, military food rations, and a few sets of DC-15 blaster rifles.
"See? Now this has got to be worth something," Rance said proudly.
"Depends if this stuff actually works," muttered Bric. He walked up to the power generators and tested them one by one. To Rance's pleasure…and relief….the machines all lite up one by one with any problem. Normally most machines he salvages break down or blow up when he turns them.
"These generators are a little outdated but they're still worth a good deal of credits to the right buyer," Bric commented. That was music to Rance's ears.
Brice glanced at the food rations and shrugged, "There's always some desperate idiot willing to buy that disgusting crap."
He then grabbed one of the blaster rifles and removed its power cell to examine it. "Still in good condition. These kind of military rifles are always in demand somewhere in the galaxy," Brice commented.
Things were getting better and better and now it was time to top it all off. Rance pointed to a small crate at the end. "That crate right there contains a Republic mobile data storage drive. From what I hear, the Republic Navy used them to store the backups to all their files of their primary ship computers. No telling what kind of interesting classified secrets might be inside," he said.
"Rance I can't believe I'm saying this but you might have brought in the best haul I've ever seen," laughed Brice. The Republic might no longer exist but classified information was still worth its weight in credit chips to the right buyer.
Brice turned to his astromech droid. "P4, access that drive and see what's inside," he ordered.
The droid beeped in response as it rolled up to the crate. Using its maintenance arms, it opened the crate and pulled out the box-shaped drive. It plugged in its data probe into the drive's access port. Brice and Rance waited as the droid shifted through the electronic contents. Suddenly, P4 went dark as its systems shut down.
"What the?!" Brice shouted as he stormed over the droid and hit the unit's reset button. P4 reactivated, its lights giving off a strange green glow before returning to their normal colors. "This is no time for a nap you sorry excuse for a light switch. Now tell me what's on that drive," demanded Brice.
Whatever P4 said, it was clear that Brice was not happy. "Empty?! You have got to be kidding me," he grumbled.
Rance groaned wordlessly. That drive would have brought in a lot of credits if it still had anything useful on it. The officers onboard must have purged it to prevent the Separatists from accessing anything useful.
"Whatever. Have the loading droids prep that for transport to my cargo bay. I'll take all of this…even the drive," Brice muttered.
The blue waves of hyperspace morphed into total darkness as the Ghost dropped out into normal space. A massive flower-shaped station loomed in the distance orbiting an orange gas giant. Ezra knew the station would be large but reading about it and seeing it were too different things. Just one of the pedal-shaped portions of the structure easily dwarfed an Imperial Star Destroyer. Hundreds of ships of various makes, models, and sizes originating from every corner of the galaxy exited and entered the countless hangar bays.
Artanis Station wasn't just the largest space station in the Corporate Sector but also one of the largest in the Outer Rim. It was the most important trading hub in the region, being situated on the primary hyperspace route that included all the major planets in the sector. Artanis wasn't just a massive manufacturing center, it was also where every nearby major manufacturing planet sent their products to be shipped to the greater galaxy. This is why there was more traffic going in and out of the station than in any other space station in the Outer Rim.
After uploading a Hera received landing clearance into a massive hanger bay. The large room had numerous slots fitted along the walls to land along with yellow landing marks on the floor so it could be utilized as well. It was a good thing too because virtually every space and slot were occupied. Hundreds of individuals and droids scurried throughout the room, unloading and loading cargo. Fuel lines longer than most ships were stretched all over the hanger, refueling almost each ship parked inside.
After Hera brought the Ghost down on an empty landing spot, the crew disembarked. A utility droid on wheels rolled up to their ship, directing fuel lines into the Ghost's engines. Hera had purchased not only a landing ticket just before they landed but also to refuel the ship.
The crew waited until they were out of earshot from any droid or personal before talking. "Now remember this is a stealth mission. We're here to pick up that droid and leave as quickly and quietly as possible. Don't do anything to draw attention," Hera reminded the crew.
"Wow. I never thought they'd make anything in space this big," remarked Ezra, glancing around the hangar bay which was only one of many.
"If you ever make it to Coruscant, you might be surprised to see there are several buildings that would dwarf this station," Ahsoka smiled. The Jedi volunteering to join them was unexpected but welcome.
"So how do we find this droid?" asked Sabine.
"We'll get Chopper to plug into an access terminal and find out what we need to know," explained Kanan.
"That Inquisitor better give us one heck of a thank you for this," grumbled Zeb.
"Having second thoughts Zeb?" frowned Kanan.
"No. She saved our necks so I'll gladly return the favor but for something this, she better at least drop the attitude," replied Zeb.
"Yeah I don't see that happening," chuckled Ezra.
They reached an access point into a corridor and made sure no one was paying attention as Chopper plugged into a terminal. He displayed a 3D holographic layout of the entire station as he explained to Hera all the necessary information. Since not everyone could speak droid, she acted as the translator. Ezra could understand the astromech just fine but allowed the Captain to explain everything.
"The droid we're after is manufactured in the Medical Consumer sector of the station," Hera explained. A red dot appeared on one of the station's pedals.
"Security will be tight but we may be able to bypass them by hitting this instead. Chopper discovered that one of those droids is being shipped out today to an Imperial outpost and is currently awaiting pickup in a storage bay here," Hera continued. A smaller yellow dot appeared close to the larger red one.
"Perfect. All ready and waiting for us to come and get," smiled Zeb.
"It may not be as well guarded as the manufacturing plant but I doubt we can just walk in," commented Ahsoka.
"That's why Chopper suggests we alter the shipping records and have the station personal deliver the droid directly to us. By the time they realize what's happening, we'll be long gone," smiled Hera.
"Okay but what's the catch because there always is," Sabine inquired.
"Chopper can access the shipping records here but can't modify them. He'll need to find a console in one of the stations primary processing hubs to do that and those will be guarded," answered Hera.
"Then we'll split up and scout out different hubs. Check out their security but nothing else. Once we figure out which one has the most lax security then we'll figure out how to get inside it," suggested Kanan.
Rance was celebrating his good fortune by downing another shot at his favorite bar on Artanis. The Sarlac Pit was named after a legendary beast on Tatooine and clearly the owner wanted everyone to know it was based on that. A large hole filled with teeth and tentacles decorated the ceiling. The tendrils extended to the bar stools were they were used as tubes to fill up customers drinks. It seemed a little over the top for Rance's taste but the beverages here were second to none. A Bith band played music in the background while a wide array of humans, Twi'leks, Trandoshans, Gamorreans, and various other species all drank and shouted at holo screens of the latest gravball game.
Rance was cheering as the Alderaan Thrantas were in the lead over Corellia Ground-Pounders. The Corellians were always the odds on favorite to win almost every game so seeing them lose brought a smile to Rance's face. Looks like the universe swapped away the Ground-Pounders' luck and gave it all to Rance. He'd already made a good fortune and he still had one more delivery to make with that wreckage.
Rance tried to ignore his com unit which had been beeping non-stop for the past minute but whoever was calling wasn't taking the hint. Irritated at missing the game, Rance finally tapped the response button. "What?" he snapped.
"Rance! Where are my droids?" demanded Brice over the com.
"What are you talking about?" frowned Rance.
"I sent my cargo droids to pick up your crap but now they've overdue and aren't responding to my transmissions," answered an irritated Brice.
"I haven't seen 'em," shrugged Rance.
"Well get back to the loading bay and help me find them. Until that stuff is in my cargo bay, I'm not transferring a single credit into your account," threatened Brice.
Grumbling, Rance got to his feet and made his way down to the loading bay. It took him half an hour to get back to his ship and to his surprise, all of his cargo was still was waiting for pickup. Brice wasn't kidding when he said something was wrong with his droids. It wasn't a large load, the stupid machines should have already delivered this stuff by now.
"Brice? You down here?" Rance called out as he searched around the loading bay. His ship wasn't the only one parked in the large room but it was strangely quiet. In fact he hadn't seen a single other person since he got back. He's never seen this place so quiet.
"Brice?" Rance shouted. He was starting to get a really bad feeling.
He came to a turn to bypass a large stack of cargo containers and instantly stopped. Around the corner, a loading droid was forcibly grabbing an R5 astromech as it tried to flee. It then lifted the smaller droid off its wheels and injected a data probe. The R5 unit's lights flashed green then the loading droid set the astromech droid down, allowing it to leave. Rance couldn't help but be reminded of what happened when P4 accessed that empty data drive.
The loader droid lumbered off and Rance almost screamed when he saw what had been lying on the ground, obscured by the struggle between the two droids. Brice's bloody body was slumped on the floor with a large hole in his chest as if something just punched right through it.
Rance backed away and then turned right into a metal face with green eyes. The loader droid emitted some kind of screech and swung out its arms. Rance screamed as the metallic arms grasped him by the head.
Never in Ezra's life had he seen so many people of so many different species. Humans, Twi'leks, Rodians, Weequay, Kel Dor, Iridonians, and those were just the ones that Ezra could recognize. Some were completely different from any other humanoids. For example, a squid like creature with one large eye seemed to swim through the air. The fact that no one paid it even a secondary glance at it passed by indicated everyone around here was used to the sight of it. Another being that stood out was a large yellowish orange bipedal with tusks on its chin. It easily towered over everyone around it but no one seemed to mind him any more than any other strange looking aliens.
Ezra was assigned to check a processing hub near the Concourse Sector and was starting to think that maybe that was a mistake. The Concourse was a massive open spaced market that covered a room larger than the hangar bay of an Imperial Star Destroyer. Hundreds of stalls and vendors were littered across the vast expanse selling everything from food, weapons, droids, speeders, and even slaves. Ezra was revolted when he passed by a slave auction and wanted so badly to pull out his lightsaber and cut everyone free. But that would only cause ruckus that could jeopardize the entire mission as well as Varra's life. If they didn't get that droid back to the fleet, the former Inquisitor was as good as dead.
The processing hub was just outside the Concourse and while foot traffic near it would be extensive, that could work to Ezra's advantage. He easily slip in and out without drawing too much attention. After all, security won't be looking at a sixteen year old as a threat. Numerous security droids patrolled in groups of three through the sector. Using droids with combat capabilities was frowned upon ever since the end of the Clone Wars but there were still plenty of colonies and corporations that used them to make up for lack of manpower.
Artanis Station used the same model for their security bots. Metallic chrome-colored bipedals with a single yellow glowing eye and carried E-11 blaster rifles, the same standard weapon as an Imperial Stormtrooper. They didn't look that tough but they lacked in strength, they more than made up in numbers. The droids easily numbered in the hundreds just in the Concourse Sector and no telling how many more were all over Artanis. All the more reason not to cause any trouble. Fighting through a station filled with thousands of battle droids after you was suicide even for a Jedi.
Ezra exited the massive market and entered a corridor, keeping his head down as several security droids marched by him. He glanced at his side as he passed by the hub entrance. There was no guards standing outside but that didn't mean there weren't hidden cameras watching it. He came to a halt at a junction intersection and hide around a corner. Ezra waited until a human male approached the security door and inserted a data cylinder into a nearby small terminal on the wall. A green light flashed on the terminal and the security door swung open, allowing the man to enter.
So they used the standard data cylinder security protocols that the Imperials use. That meant in order to get inside, you needed the right cylinder with the proper clearance. Fortunately, that wouldn't be a problem as Ezra could simply wait until someone leaves from there and pick pocket their cylinder. Then the Ghost crew could simply waltz right inside. It was a solid plan so Ezra waited…and waited. Minutes ticked by and Ezra realized someone may not be coming out for a while. Kanan's lessons about patience were starting to seem a lot more relevant.
Ezra lost track of time as he waited impatiently for anyone to emerge from the hub.
"Spectre 6 report," Hera's voice came over the comlink.
"The hub near the Concourse Sector doesn't seem heavily guarded," replied Ezra.
"Keep an eye out on it then Spectre 6. Not everyone's reported in yet so we'll wait to be certain there's not an easier target first before doing anything else," said Hera. The hub entrance opened as a human male stepped outside. He wasn't the same man as before but he did have a code cylinder hanging out of the side of his pocket. This was going to be too easy.
"Understood. Spectre 6 out," Ezra said. He neglected to mention that he was about to snatch a code cylinder to Hera because she'd tell him not to but Ezra wanted this mission to be over as fast as possible. Even in a coma, Varra's condition was deteriorating and wouldn't last much longer. They needed to get that droid as fast as possible.
Ezra followed the human down the corridor, closing the distance. The employee was heading away from the Concourse Sector, meaning foot traffic would diminish. That would make pick-pocketing the cylinder a little more difficult but it's nothing Ezra couldn't handle. Once he was within arm's reach, his hand slowly moved closer to employee's pocket. The man was completely unaware as Ezra slowly removed the cylinder. Then all of a sudden, the employee came to a halt causing Ezra to walk right into him. A Trandoshan passed by as Ezra realized the human had stopped to avoid a collision unlike the Jedi Padawan.
The employee turned and glared at Ezra. "Watch it kid," he growled.
"So sorry," Ezra smiled innocently, breathing a sigh of relief that he managed to snatch the cylinder and hide it behind his back before his little accident. He thought he was in the clear until he noticed the employee wasn't walking away. The human's eyes narrowed, giving Ezra a second glance.
"Wait a second I've seen your face on the HoloNet…you're one of those terrorists on Lothal," the man realized.
Realizing he was busted, Ezra quickly grabbed his lightsaber to stun the man but he was too quick. Before Ezra could do anything, his lightsaber was swatted away and he was tackled to the floor. The employee pinned him down, keeping Ezra restrained as he activated his wrist com. "Security to Level Blue. Concourse Sector Corridor A-5. We have a wanted terrorist onboard this station," he reported.
Ezra focused his mind and imagined the Force gathering around him. He sent out a burst of telekinesis that knocked the employee off of him. Stretching out his hands, Ezra summoned his lightsaber to him and turned quick enough to blast his opponent with a stun shot before he retaliate. Breathing a sigh of relief, Ezra started to walk away when suddenly a klaxon went off overhead.
"SECURITY ALERT! SECURITY ALERT! LEVEL BLUE NOW ON HIGH ALERT!" an electronic voice announced as red lights began flashing along the corridors.
"Way to go Bridger," Ezra muttered to himself. He took off running, hoping to get back to the Concourse and get lost in the crowd. That plan hit a snag when he saw a blast door ahead of him closing, cutting off his escape. Ezra checked a nearby wall terminal but the controls were locked out. There's no way he was getting through here except with a lightsaber.
"Spectre 6 a security alert is now in effect in your area," Hera reported.
"Yeah I noticed," Ezra replied with a gulp.
"What happened?" sighed Hera, probably able to figure out Ezra's guilt from the tone in his voice.
"Someone recognized me and called security before I could get away," Ezra explained.
"Get out of there. Spectre 5 is the closest to you but it'll take her time to reach your location," spoke Hera.
"I'll manage. Spectre 6 out," Ezra said before cutting the transmission. He ignited his lightsaber and started cutting through the door. It would be obvious to security where he was going if he did this but better to be on the move then staying here. He pulled out his lightsaber, causing the circular portion of the blast door he cut to collapse to the floor. He ducked through the newly cut open hole into an access hallway.
Ezra could hear shouting as he made his way back to the Concourse. He turned a corner and stopped in his tracks. A squad of four security officers was directly in his path. They froze, eyes locked onto Ezra. "That's him!" one of them shouted.
Ezra turned and bolted. The sound of footsteps followed him as the officials gave chase. He turned corner after corner, hoping to lose them but he could still hear his pursuers right behind him. Ezra thought his luck was holding until turned another corner and came to a halt. Nothing but a dead end hallway with a few cargo crates set off to the sides. Hiding wasn't an option as the guards saw him running down here. Running back wasn't an option so Ezra quickly took cover behind a crate to hold his ground.
"Uhh…I might need you to hurry Spectre 5," whispered Ezra into his com.
"I'm still a few minutes away from your position Spectre 6," replied Sabine.
"Come on out kid! You've got nowhere to go!" a voice shouted into the hallway.
Ezra pulled out his lightsaber, knowing he was going to have to stand his ground. He took a quick peek around cover to see the guards slowly approaching. Ezra activated the stun setting and stood up, firing several stun bolts. One guard was hit, dropping him to the floor immediately. The remaining three quickly took cover and returned fire with their own weapons, forcing Ezra to duck back down. He hadn't planned on using his lightsaber on this mission as it would draw too much attention but it seemed that was inevitable at this point.
A series of clanking caught his attention. It sounded like metallic footsteps marching in unison and they were getting closer. "Last chance kid. You can do this the easy way or the hard way," one of the guards warned.
Ezra glanced briefly around cover to see at least seven security droids had arrived and one of the guards had managed to grab the unconscious one to safety. If Ezra wasn't in trouble before, he was now. Fighting his way out of here wasn't an option as he was too heavily outnumbered but Ezra didn't relish the idea of getting captured either. Having Kanan and the others rescue him would only make getting that droid they needed to save Varra even harder. Maybe Ezra couldn't beat them but he could hold them off long enough for Sabine to arrive.
"Up yours schutta," Ezra called out his answer.
"Droids set for stun and take him alive," the head security officer ordered. The droids made no move, ignoring his commands.
"Are you deaf you worthless scrapheaps? I said take him down!" the officer shouted.
The droids suddenly turned their weapons on the security officers, catching them and Ezra completely by surprise. None of them had a chance to reply before the droids opened fire, killing the three conscious guards and executing the unconscious one with a head shot. What in the Force just happened? Those droids just murdered people they were supposed to be taking orders from and Ezra doubted they did it to help him.
Sure enough, the droids were turning their weapons to the Jedi Padawan. Well if that's how it's going to be, Ezra's not going down without a fight. The droids were probably going to rush him anyways so staying in cover was pointless. He ignited his lightsaber and stood up, ready to fight his way out or going down swinging. Ezra expected blaster fire the second the droids spotted him but instead they did something even more shocking then executing the guards. The droids simply lowered their weapons, turned, and marched away.
Ezra stood in the hallway alone and completely baffled. The droids just left him alone? None of this made any sense. He activated his com, connecting to Hera. "Spectre 2, did Spectre 3 managed to modify any security droids?" he asked.
"Negative Spectre 6. You had us all worried there for a minute. What's your situation?" replied Hera.
"Honestly I have no idea," admitted Ezra as he made his way down the hallway, past the corpses and back towards the Concourse.
"What is that supposed to mean?" asked Hera.
Ezra breathed a sigh of relief as he found the entrance to the Concourse. Hopefully now he could find a good place to hide until Sabine showed up. He hit a button on a nearby console, causing the metallic door to ascend into the ceiling.
Immediately, Ezra was nearly overwhelmed by the screams and sounds of blaster fire. Pavilion stands burned and corpses lay on the ground with blaster wounds on their chests. It wasn't just the sights and sounds of death but also the fear and pain that emanated through the Force. Ezra could feel death all around him so strong that he nearly vomited. He stepped into the massive room, horrified by what he was witnessing.
Ezra heard a scream and turned his head to see a female blue-skinned Pantoran rushing for her life before being shot in the back by blaster bolts. Her killers, a group of security droids, turned and marched away. What happened in the hallway Ezra had been trapped in wasn't an isolated incident. Now the droids were killing everyone and everything in their path. This wasn't a hostile takeover of some foreign invaders trying to take the station by force, it was just mass slaughter. Judging from the corpses, the droids had spared no one. They killed everyone regardless of species, age, or sex. Even the corpses of a human child was seen clenching onto a human woman, probably his mother, in a death grip as they were probably gun down
"Kanan…Hera…they…" gasped a horrified Ezra.
"Spectre 6 what's going on?" demanded a worried Hera, probably knowing something was bad just from Ezra not using their codenames.
"They're killing…everyone. The droids are killing everyone," whispered Ezra.
(I wanted this chapter to be longer but I'm having trouble with the second half of this arc and I figured people would want half of something now rather than wait any longer. You might have noticed the droids didn't kill Ezra and there's a reason for this.)