(Apologies for the long delay. I have no excuse but I hope I can make it up to you all by making this a very long chapter.)
"Wait Spectre 6 can you say that again?" Hera spoke into her com, certain she heard wrong. Ezra sounded distraught saying that droids were killing everyone but she just asked Chopper if anything seemed wrong. The little droid was hooked into a data line monitoring the station and while he couldn't access security systems, he would be able to tell if a general alarm had been issued. According to Chopper, there wasn't a single security alert on the entire station.
"The security droids are gunning everyone down. They're massacring everyone!" Ezra shouted.
"Get out of there Spectre 6," Hera ordered. She wasn't sure what was going on but didn't intend on letting Ezra getting caught in the middle of it.
"I can't stand by and let this happen," Ezra protested.
"Ezra there are thousands of security droids on this station. If something's wrong with some of them, all of them could be dangerous. There's too many of them to fight. Just keep your head down and get to safety," Hera insisted.
"Holy…!" Sabine's voice shouted through the coms along with the sound of blaster fire.
"Spectre 5 what's going on?!" Hera shouted.
"I'm in the Concourse Sector Tram Station trying to get to Spectre 6. The security droids are shooting everything that moves!" Sabine shouted.
"Do you need backup?" asked Hera.
"Well it certainly wouldn't hurt," muttered Sabine.
"I'm not far from the tram station. I'll be there soon," radioed Ezra.
"Spectre 2 this is Fulcrum. I'm at the Medical Sector and it's under attack by the station's own security droids," reported Ahsoka.
"This is Spectre 4! The clankers on the Industrial Sector have gone nuts! They're attacking everything that moves!" shouted Zeb.
"This is Spectre 1. The droids in the Residential Sector are massacring security personal and civilians. What's going on?" Kanan's voice was nearly drowned out by the sound of screams and blaster fire on his end.
Hera was stunned. The sudden chaos that struck the station happened so fast that she almost couldn't believe it was happening. What in the galaxy was going on here? "Everyone fall back to the Ghost," she ordered.
"But what about the droid we need? If we don't get, Varra will die!" Ezra protested.
"It's too dangerous Spectre 6. We need to get out of here," sighed Hera. She didn't want to run but she couldn't just risk the lives of her crew to be in this disaster.
Chopper screamed out a digitized warning. Hera turned to see two security droids approaching them. She reached for her blaster on her belt but one of the droids rushed her. It managed to swat the blaster out of Hera's hand before she could fire and knocked her to the ground. The other droid grabbed Chopper but the astromech droid ignited his thrusters, launching both droids into the air. The taller security droids' head was slammed into the ceiling, crushing it. Chopper directed his fall to land directly on top of the other security droid before he attacked Hera further. Chopper then used his pincers to grasp a power line on the back of the other droid's neck and ripped it out, shutting it down.
"What would I do without you?" smirked Hera.
Chopper implied that such a thought would have made him shutter if he could actually feel chills.
Ahsoka ducked as energy bolts passed over her head. She pushed and shoved her way through a crowd that was rushing against, struggling to get away from the mass murder taking place before them. A few minutes ago, everything was fine in the Medical Sector then suddenly dozens of security droids turned their weapons on the live security guards. Ahsoka couldn't help but feel it was methodical, killing the one group of people with the best set of weapons. Normal civilians were allowed to carry blasters but not the rifles that security carried. With them out of the way, the droid then began shooting everybody else.
Panic ensued as everyone scrambled towards whatever exit they could to get away from the carnage. Ahsoka was the only rushing towards it. She pulled out her lightsabers and ignited them. She had hoped not to use them but she couldn't allow such slaughter to continue. She leaped over the crowd who didn't even seem to notice her. Ahsoka held up her blades, deflecting blaster fire away from the crowd and catching the droid's attention.
Then something happened she wasn't expecting, the droid's red optic eyes flashed green and they all lowered their weapons.
Kanan shoved a female Duros to cover as he fired his DL-18 blaster. The madness just happened so fast that it caught him completely by surprise. One minute he was simply strolling through the Residential Sector when the security droids starting shooting people. There was no reason for it, no signs the machines were malfunctioning. They just raised their weapons and opened fire. Kanan managed to blast several droids them, saving what people he could but it was a drop in the bucket. Dozens were being slaughtered by the second and the droids showed no mercy to anyone regardless of age or species.
The bucket heads then turned their attention to Kanan, obviously deciding he was the biggest threat and needed to be eliminated first. Jarus decided to throw caution to the wind and pulled out his lightsaber. The droids' optics changed to green and then they all stopped firing.
Ezra was rushing towards the Tram Station, hoping to aide Sabine who under fire, when his com went off.
"This is Fulcrum. The droids just stopped attacking me," Ahsoka reported.
"Yeah same here," replied Kanan.
"Well they're still trying to kill me!" shouted Zeb accompanied by the sounds of blaster fire.
"Any idea why?" inquired Hera.
"They stopped shooting the second I pulled out my lightsaber," answered Kanan. That was surprising then Ezra remembered that the droids didn't attack him after they saw his lightsaber. He had no clue why exactly they wouldn't attack a Jedi but hopefully the crew could take advantage of that.
"Same thing happened to me," added Ahsoka.
"Well that's not going to help me!" snapped Zeb.
"Hang on buddy. I'm on my way," Kanan radioed.
Ezra reached the Tram Station where dozens of security droids were all converging fire on a single metallic crate. It didn't take a Jedi Master to know that's where Sabine was. Now Ezra knew he wouldn't stand a chance blocking all of these droid's shot, he was still a Padawan after all. But if these things won't shoot a Jedi then maybe he won't have to. Ezra dashed in front of the crate and ignited his lightsaber.
"Ezra what are you…?!" shouted Sabine.
Instantly, the droids lowered their weapons with their optics flashing green. The machines dispersed, moving on.
Sabine stood up from cover, completely baffled. "What in the…" she whispered.
"The droids don't attack anyone they think is a Jedi. Weren't you listening to the com?" asked Ezra.
"Hard to hear with all the droids blasting at me," grumbled Sabine.
"C'mon let's get out of here and stay close. Hopefully the droids won't attack you if they think you're with me," suggested Ezra.
Sabine nodded. She started to head towards the tram line that went to the hangar bay where the Ghost was but stopped when she saw that Ezra wasn't following her. "Ezra where are you going?" she demanded.
"To the Medical Sector. We still need to get that droid," Ezra said firmly.
Klaxons went off overhead. "Attention! This is a station wide emergency! A mandatory evacuation order is now in effect! Please proceed to the nearest life pod station!" a digital voice played over loudspeakers.
"Something tells me this is happening all over the station," Sabine sighed. "Ezra are you sure that's a good idea? Look I want to save Sister too. She helped save my life back on that Star Destroyer but we can't help her if we end up dead."
"But the droids won't attack us…well hopefully," Ezra said uncertainly. "If we don't get that droid, Varra's as good as dead."
"The cargo bay will be sealed up and getting inside will take the latest encryption software," protested Sabine.
Ezra held up the data cylinder he stole from an employee earlier. "Hopefully this will get us inside. It can get inside a data hub so hopefully it has security access to the cargo bay as well. And if that doesn't work, my lightsaber should be able to cut through."
Cutting through with a lightsaber hadn't been an option beforehand because it would set off an alarm but with all the chaos going on inside the station, it was doubtful any kind of security would respond.
"I'm guessing Hera and Kanan won't agree with this," remarked Sabine. Ezra shook his head.
"Well then we won't ask for permission," smiled Sabine. Ezra smiled back and the two headed toward the tram line that ran to the Medical Sector. The tram system was on an automatic schedule which hopefully was still running. Ezra was relieved to find the tram still awaiting passengers before it's allotted departure time. His relief turned to horror as he stepped inside and saw dozens of corpses littering the floor. The passengers must have been like womp rats in a bucket for the security droids.
"I don't know if I can do this Ezra," Sabine admitted, glancing at the bodies.
"We escaped from a Star Destroyer, we can do this," Ezra assured her.
"No I mean I don't know if I can just stand around and let more people get killed," Sabine clarified.
"We'll help who we can but we need that droid," Ezra nodded. The doors closed and the tram began to move, picking up speed.
"So her name is Varra?" asked Sabine.
"Huh?" wondered Ezra.
"You called Second Sister Varra," Sabine pointed out.
"Oh I did," Ezra realized.
When the whole chaos on Artanis started, Kanan at first had trouble moving through the crowds of panicking pedestrians. Now only the evacuation alarms blared, nothing else making a sound creating a haunting eeriness as Kanan headed towards Zeb's position. The situation must be really bad if they were evacuating. Kanan kept his lightsaber out in case he ran across any droids which oddly allowed him to pass by unharmed. Entering the Industrial Sector, he was greeted only by patrolling groups of security droids and the corpses of civilians and security personal.
"Alright here's an obvious question. Why are the droids not attacking anyone with a lightsaber?" Kanan spoke in his com. Seeing all the corpses made him uneasy and he needed someone to distract from all the death he saw and felt within the Force.
"I think I might know what's going on," Ahsoka replied. "During the Clone Wars, my master and I were assigned to guard a transport of military scientists. One of them was a computer programmer who had been working on a virus that was designed to spread itself throughout an entire droid army. Once infected, the virus would lay dormant until battle when the droids would turn on the Separatist field commanders and assist the Jedi and Clone Troopers. The reason why I think this virus is behind this is because infected droids display green colors on their lights to identify themselves to Republic forces as friendly. It was also programmed not to attack Jedi or Clones."
"Did the programming including massacring civilians?" asked Hera.
"Absolutely not. The virus must have been altered from its original version," Ahsoka answered.
"Whatever it is, we need to get out of here while we can. Kanan once you get Zeb, get to the nearest airlock. I'll get the Ghost and pick you up. Sabine, Ezra, I want you to do the same. Find an airlock and await pickup," Hera ordered.
"Uhh…yeah sure we'll get to the nearest airlock," replied Ezra.
"Ezra what did you do?" demanded Kanan, knowing something was up.
"Who says I did anything?" protested Ezra.
"You stuttered. You always stutter before you lie," accused Kanan. Technically the kid was a descent liar, just not when it came to Kanan and Hera.
"No I don't!" snapped Ezra.
"We're heading towards the Medical Sector to pick up the very droid we were going to steal anyways," Sabine interrupted. "The droids aren't attacking us so we should be able to reach the storage bay it's in and drag it to the nearest airlock with ease."
"I'm already in the Medical Sector. I'll link up with them," chimed in Ahsoka.
"Alright fine but if those droids get violent, you get out of there," conceded Hera.
Finally another sound broke through the endless cycling alarm but it was probably worse. Up ahead, he could hear panicked shouts along with the sound of blaster fire probably from survivors fighting for their lives. Well Kanan wasn't going to just stand back and let them get slaughtered. He drew his lightsaber and charged forward.
He turned a corner to find several humans, Twi'leks, and a big angry Lasat retreating from a group of advancing security droids. Without saying a word, Kanan leaped over all of them and held up his lightsaber. The droid's lights turned green and they lowered their weapons.
"What the…?" one of the survivors gasped. While most of them were confused by the sudden cease of hostilities among the droids, at least one was stunned at the sight of a lightsaber.
"Took you long enough," Zeb grumbled.
"You're taking lessons about manners from Second Sister," chuckled Kanan. He was quite amused by the Lasat's annoyed growl.
"They killed my wife!" one of the humans shouted, holding up his blaster.
"No wait!" Kanan shouted. It was too late as the grieving man started opening fire on the droids. Two of them were dropped by blaster fire before the rest of them responded. The green colors vanished and the droids raised their weapons, returning fire. They weren't aiming for Kanan but he jumped in their way, blocking all their shots. Unfortunately, one of the bolts of energy ricocheted off his lightsaber and hit one of the droids in the chest disabling it. It wasn't intentional but the droids didn't seem to care as they now were firing primarily at Kanan. Guess they didn't take too kindly to being shot at and now the droids obviously didn't consider Kanan to be friendly anymore. He was forced to deflect blaster fire as the group fell back.
"Guys the droids don't take kindly to being shot at. Someone I saved blasted a few of them and now they're trying to kill all of us," Kanan's voice came through the com as Ezra and Sabine reached the cargo bay. They had passed by a series of droid patrols but none of them attacked so far. They hadn't seen Ahsoka either but as long as the droids were passive, they wouldn't need the help. Ezra's hunch about the data cylinder paid off as it disabled the security lock to the entrance.
"Get to the nearest life pod and get off the station. The rest of you only attack the droids as a last resort," Hera's voice replied.
"That shouldn't be a problem for us," Sabine remarked as the two entered the cargo bay. It was large open room covered in stacks of cargo crates of various sizes. Some were small enough to be carried in the palm of your hand and some were larger than the Ghost. The red evacuation alarm lights flashed on and off throughout the room, creating an unnerving light show. One thing that had Ezra feeling a bit relieved was he didn't see any droids in the area. That could also be a bad thing though as the medical droid might be gone as well.
"We shouldn't split it up. Just in case there are more droids in here," Ezra stated. Sabine nodded and they headed deeper inside. As if the whole room wasn't eerie enough, aside from the alarms there wasn't another sound in the room. This reminded Ezra of a horror flick he once watched on the HoloNet and as a result didn't get any sleep that night. Some of the crates were open with their contents either stolen or possibly they got up and walked out. They looked like they could have contained droids which probably made this whole place a death trap to any looter.
Ezra and Sabine passed by a large open crate that probably contained a large speeder and it was empty. Judging from the markings on the crate, it contained military hardware bound for the Empire but no specifics. Hopefully they wouldn't run into whatever was inside that.
"Ezra there," Sabine whispered. She pointed to a familiar looking droid that was using its various appendages to open crates. Ezra recognized it as A-1D, the medical droid they came for. If that wasn't good enough, there wasn't another droid in sight. Finally some good news.
"Alright let's switch him off and get him to the nearest airlock," said Ezra.
"We'll need to memory wipe him after we get out of here," Sabine commented. Ezra couldn't argue that. Whatever was wrong with the droids, they couldn't let this spread to the rebel fleet assuming it was some kind of computer virus or worm.
The two approached the droid who instantly spun its head around and raised various medical appendages containing drills, saws, and other sharpened objects. Ezra lifted up his lightsaber and ignited it. The droid's lights changed to green and then it went back to its original business. Sabine simply walked up to the droid and after a quick examination, found the power switch and shut the droid off.
"I guess we didn't really need Ahsoka's help after all," remarked Ezra. He grabbed a nearby grav pallet and pushed it close enough for the two Ghost crew members to pick up the deactivated droid and set it onto it.
Before they could start to push the droid towards the exit, Ezra could hear and feel a loud thud behind him. He turned to see a massive two-legged droid that looked like something out of the Clone Wars. It had a single glowing eye similar to other security droids but that was where the similarities ended. It was much larger than the other droids and was armed to the teeth with a large cannon on its right hand and a globe shaped pod on the other, a missile launcher on it's right shoulder, and a silver metallic frame that looked like it withstand the firepower of an entire Stormtrooper battalion.
"Uhh…hi," Ezra whimpered, holding up his lightsaber. The massive droid's eye was glowing green but then shifted to red.
"I take it back. We need Ahsoka," gulped Ezra.
Hera hung on for dear life as she rode Chopper across the hanger bay to the Ghost. She had hoped she could reach the ship on foot but that thought vanished the instant she stepped inside the massive room. It was chaos everywhere with people rushing to their ships, knocking each other over and fighting to escape the station as well as droids inside the hangar shooting anything that moved. Those who managed to get to their ships were scrambling to get away they risked crashing into each other. One ship tried to leave too quickly and ended up colliding with another ship with both of them exploding and showering debris all over.
Chopper managed to avoid the explosion and land the two of them next to the Ghost. Thankfully it was untouched and hadn't sustained any damage but there were fueling pipes still connected to the ship.
"Chopper boot up the Ghost now!" Hera shouted before rushing towards the pipes and quickly disconnected them one by one. Several maintenance droids noticed her and quickly rolled towards her, their lights glowing bright red. Hera drew her blaster and shot them down in rapid succession. She had no idea what happened to the droids but Hera and the rest of her crew weren't staying to figure it out.
Hera rushed up the entrance ramp as the Ghost's engines started booting up. Within the blink of an eye, she was in the cockpit and speed checking through her pre-flight. The Ghost lifted off the platform, nearly getting hit by another ship blowing right by it. Hera quickly checked the escape route to see there was now another problem. A docking crane with a claw attachment caught the ship that just past Hera and flung it to the side of the hanger, creating a massive chain reaction explosion among other ships and equipment. The droids must have taken control of it which presented a slight problem. The chain reaction was spreading from ship to ship, threatening to engulf the entire hangar within a matter of moments.
Another ship blew by and once again, the crane caught it and threatened to fling it aside. Hera sprang into action, firing the Ghost's laser cannons at the claw attachment. The blaster fire cut through the crane at its weak point, freeing the ship from its grasp. The chain reaction was expanding throughout the entire hangar so Hera decided to sacrifice the Ghost's paint job by going full throttle right into the freed ship, propelling both of them out of the hangar and into space.
"Whoever you are, you just saved our lives," a transmission came in through the com. Hera turned the ship around to see the hangar they just escaped completely destroyed. So many people were dying on this station and Hera couldn't save almost any of them. But at least she managed to save these people.
"Glad to have helped," Hera replied.
Ezra and Sabine dashed behind a stack of cargo containers for cover. The war droid was going homicidal and didn't seem to care that Ezra had been holding a lightsaber. Clearly they did something for the droid to consider them no longer friendly. Probably because they shut A-1D off. Now Ezra understood why there wasn't any security droids guarding the hangar as that metallic behemoth was capable of doing the job by itself. He also realized that killer robot was probably the thing that had been inside that empty cargo container. The two had been forced to leave the deactivated medical droid behind and run for cover under a barrage of blaster fire.
Ezra activated his com, "Ahsoka we could some help here."
A creaking noised caught Sabine and Ezra's attention. They glanced up to see the containers stacks they were hiding behind were starting to tip over. That blasted war droid was pushing the stack right on top of them. The two quickly dashed for safety as the containers came crashing down behind them. The war droid knocked a fallen container aside as it came charging after the rebels.
Ezra tried his best to block incoming blaster fire but the kinetic force behind them was so strong that deflecting one shot away knocked him off his feet. Sabine drew her blasters and fired back. Her blaster bolts bounced harmlessly off the war droid's armor. The droid aimed his blaster cannon for another barrage as Sabine grabbed Ezra and hauled him to his feet. Before the droid could get off a shot, a cargo container went flying past the two humans and hit the droid, knocking it off balance.
Ezra turned to see Ahsoka rushing to their aid. A year ago he would have thought flinging a container that large was impossible by yourself but that was before Ezra learned about the Force. "Get to the nearest airlock. I'll keep him busy," Ahsoka said, drawing her lightsabers.
The war droid knocked the container aside and was aiming with his missile launcher. Ezra saw his life flashing before his eyes as a missile came streaking towards them. With a motion of her hand, Ahsoka sent the projectile back. Ezra thought at first the droid was finished until it held up the pod on its left hand which emitted a bright flash and formed into an energy riot shield. The missile impacted the shield, detonating but causing no damage.
"Ezra Sabine move now!" Ahsoka ordered. She took off running as the war droid turned its attention towards her.
"C'mon we need to grab that droid," Ezra told Sabine. The two scrambled to A-1D as Ahsoka leaped onto a series of stacked containers, not stopping for a second as blaster fire followed in her wake. The war droid fired a missile at the container the Jedi was about to land on. The explosion caused the metal container to buckle. Ahsoka landed on it and was barely able to maintain her balance. The droid fired another missile, this time at the base of the stacks. The container the Togruta was standing on tipped over, causing Ahsoka to lose her balance and fall.
"Ahsoka!" Ezra shouted as the Jedi disappeared from view. The stacks collapsed, hopefully not on top of her.
Sabine finished loading A-1D onto a grav pallet as the war droid turned its attention back to them. "Run!" Sabine shouted.
It was probably only a few minutes but it felt like hours as Kanan, Zeb, and the others made their way to the nearest airlock. They had been forced to move in a tactical retreat rather than a straight dash to safety. The amount of security droids only seemed to increase the longer the firefight went on. Every time one dropped, three or more would join the fray. They were coming in from almost seemingly every direction, trying to cut off their targets' escape.
"There's too many of them!" one of the survivors shouted.
"We're almost there," Zeb assured as he blasted one droid in the head. He then turned and whispered to Kanan, "We are almost there right?"
Then a new alarm went off. "Attention. Catastrophic reactor coolant failure detected. Reactor breach is imminent. All personal evacuate immediately. This is not a drill," a digitized voice announced.
"A reactor breach?!" Zeb screamed.
"Looks like the droids found an easier and quicker way to kill everyone onboard," remarked Kanan. It had to be the droids responsible. Who else would be causing this especially now of all times?
"Along with themselves," Zeb pointed out. Somehow Kanan doubted the droids cared about their own survival. If they did, they wouldn't attack in waves that focused on overwhelming enemies instead of using more effective basic military assault tactics.
"Spectre 2 you better be waiting for us," Kanan said into his com.
"Already here Spectre 1. This bus is waiting on you," replied Hera.
The droids were starting to swarm in, marching in massive numbers that reminded Kanan of battles he fought in the Clone Wars. His hands almost started shaking at the realization. Flashbacks ran through his mind, threatening to break his concentration and possibly miss any incoming blaster bolts with his lightsaber. This was the first time he's been in a large battle since he was a child and he couldn't help but think he was back in Mygeeto with Master Depa Billapa, Commander Grey, and Captain Styles.
A hand suddenly gasped him and yanked him around a corner. Kanan turned and was relieved to see it was Zeb. "Are you crazy? You can't take them all on by yourself!" the Lasat snapped.
Kanan realized got a little too focused fighting the droids that he wasn't retreating as fast as the rest of the group. His mind was too caught in the past and that could have gotten him killed.
"C'mon. The airlock's just up ahead," Zeb urged.
The two rushed down the corridor where the other survivors were already bolting through the airlock and onto the Ghost. They probably had no idea whose ship they were boarding but they also probably didn't care. The clanking of the marching droids grew louder as Kanan and Zeb jumped inside.
"We're clear. Go!" Kanan shouted into his com.
Sabine and Ezra were forced to take cover behind a cargo crate. The war droid wasn't letting them get close to the exit, firing away with its blaster cannon anytime they tried to make a run for it. This was turning into a game of krayt dragon and womp-rat and that never ended well for the womp-rat. As if that wasn't bad enough, they just heard an announcement about an imminent reactor breach. This day just keeps getting better and better.
"Take the droid and get it to the Ghost. I'll distract that oversized rust bucket," Ezra said. He knew Sabine would never agree with that plan but he didn't give her a choice. Just like when she stunned him and had Chopper ferry him to safety back on Lothal, Ezra wasn't going to ask permission to save her life or Varra's. He owed them both and now was the time to pay them back.
"Ezra!" Sabine shouted but he was already gone. The war droids trained its eye on the padawan as he rushed past it.
"C'mon you sorry excuse for a toaster," Ezra mocked it. The droid turned and lumbered after him.
"This was a bad idea," Ezra muttered to himself as he ducked to avoid an energy bolt. Trying to deflect that thing's blaster fire probably wouldn't end well. That cannon arm looked similar to something mounted on a Tie Fighter rather than a simple blaster. Something that size would have so much kinetic force behind that it would probably send Ezra through the wall if he tried to block it.
Movement up ahead caught his eye as he realized something was scaling the cargo stacks. It didn't take long to recognize Ahsoka who was alive and uninjured judging from how fast she was moving. Ezra watched as she dashed along the stacks heading straight towards the war droid. The machine trained its eye on her and raised its energy shield. Ahsoka landed directly on it, bouncing off it behind the droid. The upper half of the war droid's body completely twisted one hundred eighty degrees, preventing Ahsoka from being able to attack it from behind.
That's when Ezra saw decided to act. With the droid's attention on Ahsoka, he could make his move. The Togruta tried to get around the droid but the machine was smart enough not to give Ahsoka an opening which gave Ezra one. He rushed forward as fast as he could, using Kanan's lessons to submerge himself in the Force. Truthfully Ezra wasn't really good at it. Connecting with the Force was actually a lot harder than it sounds. Jedi spent their entire lives training for it. Ezra only had a few months of training but he did have his instincts and they were telling him to strike.
Ezra lifted his lightsaber and leaped forward, bringing his lightsaber down on the blaster cannon arm. The energy blade cut through the weak point at the elbow, serving the cannon and causing it to drop to the floor. The war droid sent out a digitized screech and spun around, nearly hitting Ezra with its now cannon-less hand. It was smart enough to keep its shield directed towards Ahsoka while aiming its missile launcher at close range at the young human that cut off its hand.
Ezra did the only thing he could do, right in-between the droid's legs. The war droid staggered, trying to crush Ezra with its feet but constantly missing as it couldn't get a good look at him. The Jedi Padawan meanwhile was doing his best to avoid becoming a flat cake. He couldn't just run away as he risked getting a missile shot through his chest. Right now he really wished he borrowed some explosives from Sabine. She would just plant a few of them on the legs and take off running before the droid would turn into scrap metal. Ahsoka and Kanan would have turned the legs into Gizka chowder with their lightsabers but Ezra wasn't them. Right now the only thing he was worried about was surviving another second.
While avoiding getting stomped, Ezra noticed several explosive charges landing on the energy shield. They detonated but cause no damage to the droid. Sabine clearly hadn't run and was trying to draw the droid's attention away from Ezra. Then he realized he wasn't the only person who was benefiting from the distraction. Ahsoka dropped from the air few yards away. The war droid twisted to place its shield in front of her as it had been doing already but the Togruta sprinted towards it at an inhuman speed. She dropped to the floor, sliding underneath the shield as it came down to stop her. Then she flipped to her feet, stretching out both her hands with her lightsabers. Ezra quickly ducked as Ahsoka rushed over him, slashing both of the droid's legs as she passed underneath it.
With a motion of her hand, Ahsoka used the Force to send Ezra flying through the air and to safety. The droid staggered, dropping to its knees. It spun around to hit Ahsoka with its shield but she easily leapt over it and landed right on top of the droid. With a quickly motion, she slashed the missile launcher off and stabbed both her lightsabers into the droid's head. It let loose a digitized screech before it fall face first to the floor. Ahsoka rode the droid the ground and then calmly stepped off it.
Ezra couldn't help but be amazed. If Ahsoka was any indication of how powerful the Jedi were then they must have been quite a force to be reckoned with. If Ezra were to only become half that powerful then he'd still become a great Jedi.
"Are you alright?" Ahsoka asked.
"Oh yeah. This stuff happens all the time," Ezra jested.
The Togruta grabbed him by the arm and said, "We need to get out of here now."
The two of them headed towards the exit where Sabine was waiting for them with the medical droid.
"I thought I told you…" Ezra started to say before the Mandalorian punched him square in the jaw.
"Don't you ever scare me like that again Ezra Bridger!" snapped Sabine.
"You two can finish this later. We have to get out of here!" shouted Ahsoka.
"Warning. Reactor overload in progress. All hands evacuate immediately. This is not a drill," an announcement over the PA system spoke.
Ezra grabbed the pallet A-1D was sitting and pushed it through the door with Ahsoka and Sabine right beside him.
"Spectre 5, Spectre 6, the two of you better be on your way out. Sensors are picking up massive energy fluctuations in the core. The station will blow any second!" Hera spoke through the com with an urgent tone. Lights began to flicker and explode from power surges along with the floor beginning to shake.
Up ahead, several security droids blocked their paths. Before they could get off a shot, Ahsoka thrusted out her hands and knocked all of them down with a powerful wave of telekinesis. She then ignited her lightsabers and with a quick series of swipes, several of their heads while they were on the ground and without slowing down.
The shaking was getting worse as they got to the airlock. Thankfully Hera knew ahead of time were the closest airlock to the cargo bay was. The blast doors opened and Kanan stood inside. "C'mon move!" he yelled.
Sabine was in first followed by Ezra with the droid then Ahsoka. The millisecond the Togruta stepped inside, Kanan shut the blast door and shouted, "Hera go!"
Ezra quickly activated the grav pallet's magnetic lock, securing it to the floor and held on as the ship detached from the station and sped off. He rushed out into the cargo bay where several people were strapped in on the bottom level. Clearly Hera picked up a few stragglers before leaving the station but Ezra couldn't fault her for saving a few people. He climbed up the ladder to the upper level and headed to the cockpit.
"Everybody strap in! The station's about to blow!" Hera announced into the com. Ezra quickly leapt into a chair and buckled himself in. Kanan and Sabine quickly them and secured themselves to their chairs. Zeb and Ahsoka were probably in the cargo bay securing themselves there.
The ship suddenly shook violently, signaling Artanis Station's destruction. The shockwave from the explosion was knocking the Ghost around like a Mynock getting blown away from Hurricane-level winds. This felt like the time when the crew just barely escaped the Star Destroyer Sovereign after rescuing Kanan, Sabine, and Zeb only this time Ezra was actually seated in a larger ship and not that cramped Tie Fighter.
The shaking subsided as Hera breathed a sigh of relief. "We're clear," she announced.
After dropping off the survivors on a safe neutral world, the Ghost crew returned to Commander Sato's flagship Phoenix Home. After memory wiping A-1D, the medical staff uploaded every bit of data they had in their medical computers into it and got Varra prepped for surgery. While the rest of Phoenix squadron decided to pass the time doing other things, Ezra decided to wait outside the med bay. It was probably an hour before one of the doctors exited the room. The surgery was a success and Varra would need a week of bed rest and Bacta treatments before making a full recovery.
The chemicals used to keep Varra in a coma still needed time to break down in her system so she would probably be out for another few hours. So Ezra decided to pass the time by practicing meditation. It was really the only thing he could do in the med bay that the physicians and their new medical droid wouldn't object to. A-1D was already starting to take over the med bay by reorganizing the room, ordering the older med droids around, and requesting Commander Sato order dozens of new medical supplies.
"If you insist on staying, you will remain quiet. Minimal sound disturbances lead to creating a tranquil environment for patients," A-1D explained. That floating can opener could give Chopper a run for his money on being the most annoying droid ever. So Ezra sat down on the floor and cleared him his mind for meditation.
Ezra found himself inside a near pitch black room with nothing but a spot light shining down above him. He could see nothing in the darkness but he could hear something. The sound of a respirator taking in air and then expelling it, almost as if it was the sound of something breathing. The darkness was shattered as a crimson blade of energy ignited. Ezra could recognize a lightsaber and though he could see it the weapon itself, he couldn't see who was wielding it. The blade was raised into the air and swung down right at Ezra's head.
Ezra's eyes snapped open, realizing it was only a vision though nightmare was probably a better description of it. Sweat dripped down his forehead and he was gasping to catch his breath. That dream or vision felt like it was only a few seconds but it was incredibly vivid.
"If you have difficulty maintaining sleep patterns, might I recommend you sleep on an actual bed," A-1D commented as it floated by.
"I wasn't asleep. I was…" Ezra grumbled but decided against explaining what the Force was. To that annoying rust bucket, teaching the Force to it would be like teaching hyperspace physics to a loth cat.
"Pretty sure you don't snore when you're meditating," commented a familiar voice. Ezra's eyes snapped open as he jumped to his feet. He turned to see Varra awake. She was still in bed in a hospital gown along with bandages wrapped around her chest. Thankfully the former Inquisitor wasn't on her feet though it's possible A-1D annoyed her enough into staying put. Then again, if he was really annoying Second Sister then the medical droid would be scrap.
"You're awake!" Ezra said excitedly.
"So I've noticed. I have to say I'm surprised. I figured when they put me under, that was it for me. What happened?" frowned Varra.
"We managed to retrieve him," Ezra explained, pointing to A-1D. "He had the necessary sensors to remove that bomb out of you. After that, they filtered the last of that chemical out of your system."
To say that Varra was surprised was an understatement. She looked like she was in shock, almost speechless. "A droid…there's no way you could simply bought a model like that even on the black market," she commented.
"We stole it before the Imperials could pick him up. Almost got killed in the process but we made it back in one piece," smiled Ezra.
Varra didn't say anything to that. Ezra was a little surprised to see that she looked upset, maybe even angry. Was she embarrassed for needing help? The Ghost Crew already helped before when they got her off Lothal.
"Figured you'd be ecstatic. You don't have to worry about dying anymore and with the Grand Inquisitor gone…" Ezra stated.
"You think that'll stop the Empire from coming after me? There are plenty of other Inquisitors who will jump at the chance to kill me, the Empire will send hunting parties and bounty hunters as well and fighting all of them is the best case scenario," Varra muttered.
"And what's the worst case scenario?" asked Ezra.
"Him," Varra shuttered. Ezra didn't think it was possible for Second Sister to actually look terrified but he could see it in her eyes.
"Well I'm sure we can handle it Varra," Ezra spoke. Varra's eyes widened and her lips curled into a snarl. Ezra quickly realized saying that name was a mistake.
"Don't call me that!" Varra hissed, her words pure venom. "That is not my name. I don't care what that Togruta told you. She doesn't know a thing about me and neither do you. Now get out!"
"Please maintain a quiet environment," A-1D chimed in.
Ezra could tell he really stepped into Bantha poo doo and figured it was best to let Varra cool off. She already seemed wound up after finding out what the others did for her and hearing that name just made things worse. Varra was incredibly hard to understand at times. Was she embarrassed or something else?
Those weren't Ezra's only questions as he left the sick bay. He still didn't understand what happened to the droids on Artanis. It was probably a virus of some kind but there was no clue as to where it originated or why there's been no sign of any infected droids since the destruction of Artanis. It was quite the news story with numerous planets all over the galaxy removing battle droids from their planetary defense forces. The question was what happened on the station an accident or deliberate?
Wilhuff Tarkin followed Dr. Emerod into his medical laboratory. The Grand Moff had been so busy as of late that he didn't have time to view the scientist's work. Emerod specialized in mechanical enhancements and was considered to be one of the Empire's foremost experts on cybernetics. The doctor had conceived of a new super soldier program that been in the planning stages for years and now it was time to unveil its first real prototype.
Ever since the destruction of the Sovereign over Lothal, Tarkin had stepped up his campaign to expand the Empire's influence in the Outer Rim. He needed to make sure the Emperor knew that he was the right man for the job, especially if he hoped to take control of the Death Star upon its completion. So Tarkin decided to use more extreme measures to ensure his success. He discovered an old droid virus dating back to the Clone Wars. It hadn't been completed until the end of the war, rendering it useless but Tarkin found a way to change that.
During the Clone Wars, a military transport was attacked by a Separatist ship and managed to jump away only to later suffer complete life support failure. The ship had been discovered near the end of the Clone Wars but had remained untouched due to some wanting it to becoming a memorial. It fell into a legal limbo for years even after the formation of the Empire. Salvaging it wasn't a high priority as most of its equipment was considered obsolete by Imperial standards. Still a salvager would just at the chance to claim its contents and that gave Tarkin an idea. He had trusted agents deposited a data core with the virus installed onto the ship and tipped of a local salvager. Sure enough, the fool took the bait and took the ship's contents to Artanis Station.
Tarkin couldn't be sure how quickly the virus spread but the program completed its mission. It had been modified so that any infected droid would kill any many people as possible along with destroying the entire station. Some aspects of its programming couldn't be altered such as its friendly fire system that prevented it from shooting clones or Jedi but the Jedi were nearly extinct and what few remaining clones that were still alive were in retirement. The program also ensured that no infected droid escaped the station to ensure the infection ended there and the results were better than Tarkin had ever hoped for.
Planetary governments all over the galaxy were decommissioning their droid forces after seeing footage of the horrors that had been committed onboard Artanis. Virtually every planetary militia would now be comprised of organic beings. Such armies would be far easier to destroy and conquer rather than thousands of manufactured battle droids.
Emerod showed Tarkin the end results of his project resting on a surgical table. After several failures over the years, they finally had someone who survived the procedure to draft the cybernetic replacements over his body. Tarkin wasn't surprised he survived, the man was a soldier. Though he had been human, he was now a metallic monstrosity in the same vein as Darth Vader though without the Force the Jedi wielded. However he wouldn't need the Force. He was comprised of the most advanced robotics and weapon systems in the entire Empire.
"There may be complications, particularly mental," Emerod warned.
"As long as he does his job, it is a small consolation," remarked Tarkin.
The Grand Moff observed the soldier and asked, "Can you hear me?"
The cyborg turned it's skull shaped mask. "Yes…sir," it spoke with a mechanical voice.
"The rebels who destroyed my ship have gone underground but they will reveal themselves eventually. When they do, I need good soldiers ready to deal with them. I trust you will be one of those soldiers Major Velken," said Tarkin.
(The hardest part of the chapter was writing the dialogue between Ezra and Varra. If anyone was expecting Varra to say thank you, that's not really her character. Next chapter I will go more into detail of how she feels about all of this along with finally getting to Season 2.)