"I already told you," Hera spoke, somehow managing to stay calm. She was no doubt afraid but she was also defiant. Thrain didn't take well to that answer as he holsted the Twi'lek right off her feet, holding her up now completely over the shaft. The Krayt Dragon below tried to leap up but couldn't get high to reach Hera.
Ezra knew there was only one way to save Hera if Thrain decided to drop her. He'd use the Force to levitate her safely out of the shaft. Doing so would expose him and the rest of his friends but right now he didn't care. All Ezra cared about was saving Hera's life.
"Captain!" a voice called out. Everyone turned their gaze to a human male coming down the boarding ramp of the Ghost. He was carrying something in his hand but Ezra couldn't tell what it was.
"Jaybo you better have something important to say," Thrain hissed.
Ezra nearly gasped when Jaybo held up his hand, revealing it was Kanan's holocron. Thrain set Hera down and shoved her back towards the other prisoners.
"That's it? You interrupted us for a fancy looking square?" scoffed Xar. The other pirates didn't seem to get what it was either. Everyone except for Thrain. The Captain's face nearly turned pale as he stormed over to Jaybo and grabbed the cube for a closer inspection. He knew exactly what it was.
"Captain? What's wrong?" a pirate asked. Thrain stared at the cube then at the Ghost Crew. Ezra had a sinking feeling he was figuring out who they were.
"Did you find anything else?" demanded Thrain.
Jaybo shook his head. "My droids are still sweeping the ship," he replied.
"Captain what's going on? What is that thing?" asked Xar.
"Jaybo take their droid and download it's memory. The rest of you take our guests back to the brig. I want at least twenty guards outside their cell," ordered Thrain.
"But what about Leandros captain? They broke his jaw," protested one of the pirates.
"I gave you an order!" shouted Thrain. The pirates were still confused but they quickly did as they were told as they grabbed Ezra and the others, dragging them towards the exit.
Orkus staggered back into a wall, clenching his mouth as he slide down to the floor. Thrain stood over him, massaging the fist he used to bash his underling's in the jaw. "You mind explaining why I'm just hearing about this now?" the Captain demanded.
Nearby security footage from one of the cells was playing. It showed the dark haired human female throwing the Mandalorian against the wall without ever touching her. The human could use the Force and the fact that Thrain just found out about this now didn't help temper his bad mood. He was having a meeting in his personal quarters with his XO Xar, his Quartermaster Kintara, and his Chief Engineer Jaybo when Orkus interrupted to show the footage.
"I didn't review the footage after the escape. The Mandalorian and the Twi'lek were the ones who busted the others out so I didn't see the need to," protested Orkus. The Weequay spat blood out of his mouth.
"Maybe someone else should be in charge of the brig," suggested Xar.
"I swear it won't happen again Captain," whimpered Orkus.
"Get back to your post. You screw up this badly again and your next posting will be Tiny's chew toy," growled Thrain. The Weequay nodded and quickly scrambled out of the room.
"I've seen more intelligence from a lobotomized Gamorrean," the Captain grumbled as he sat back down in his seat.
"As I was saying before, I checked the HoloNet over anything regarding a Lasat and a Jedi like you asked and I've managed to ID the prisoners," explained Kintara. She activated a personal hologram projector, showing wanted posters for all six of the prisoners. They weren't cargo freighters and they also weren't spice smugglers, they were rebel insurgents and judging from the bounty the Empire placed on them they were very important ones.
Kintara went through a briefing of the prisoners. "These six are called the Phoenix cell. They started off conducting raids and sabotage of various Imperial installations on Lothal but my sources at the Imperial Security Bureau inform me that they've expanded their area of operations. Captain Hera Syndulla, renowned pilot and daughter of Ryloth terrorist Cham Syndulla. I guess terrorism runs in her blood. Kanan Jarrus, gun slinger and Jedi Knight. Not a combination I ever expected to say. Garazeb Orrelios, war criminal and former captain in the Lasan Honor Guard. I'd join insurgents too if they wiped out my people. Sabine Wren is an Imperial deserter who apparently loves to blow things up. Xar would probably like her. Ezra Bridger was some street hustler that got picked up by these guys and apparently he's a Jedi in training. Personally I think that's child endangerment but what do I know. And last though certainly not least is Second Sister. She's some kind of Imperial Jedi black ops killer who defected to the rebellion. Not someone I'd want to meet in a dark alley," she explained.
Xar burst into laughter. "You've got to be joking. The six most wanted criminals in the Outer Rim just landed in our laps. Their combined bounties would make us the richest pirates in the galaxy," he smiled.
"Just handing one of them over the Empire would get us a fortune Captain not to mention that holocron as well. I suggest you contact Moff Sulla and inform him about our guests," agreed Kintara.
The Captain glanced at Jaybo but the Engineer had nothing to say. He knew the kid didn't like this but he'd go along with whatever Thrain decided. The decision was obvious and yet he said a single word that stunned his crew mates. "No," Thrain said.
Xar, Kintara, and even Jaybo all stared at him confused for a moment. They probably thought they heard him wrong.
"Uhh…Captain is this one of your jokes?" asked a confused Kintara.
"You heard me," replied Thrain. His crew stared at him incredulously. "Sulla's going to betray us. I spoke with him not even an hour ago and the kriffer changed the terms of our agreement. Now he wants pirates of value captured alive for him to public executions or we get no fuel."
"Mother kriffer!" cursed Xar.
"Why don't we just give them the prisoners? That should satisfy him," suggested Kintara.
"For the moment but what happens after he takes them? What are we going to offer him in the future? Even if we somehow took every major pirate captain in the Outer Rim prisoner, he's only going to change the conditions again. Sulla is going to make a move against us. He can't allow us to continue to exist. We're proof that people don't need the Empire and that they can forge their own destinies. It's just a matter of how much he can milk us for before cutting the strings," Thrain spoke.
"Okay I understand that Captain but…what do we do?" asked Jaybo. "We can't keep them locked up in the brig forever and once the crew finds out who they are, they are going to want to set a course to the nearest Imperial outpost to collect the reward money."
"I know," grumbled Thrain.
"Let's hand them over, collect the bounty, and then use the credits to ready ourselves against the Empire. We'll be able to purchase more turbolasers, photon torpedoes, ion cannons, and fighters. We'll ensure the Scimitar has enough firepower to take on a Star Destroyer," suggested Xar.
"You're forgetting one important detail. Where are we going to get fuel?" Thrain inquired. "This ship requires an ungodly amount to keep the lights on and we could never hope to make enough money from raids to buy enough to keep us going. The Imperials giving it to us for free is the only reason we've been able to use the Scimitar at all. Without them, this ship is nothing more than an oversized scrap heap. Sure we could purchase it from the Mining Guild with the bounty we'd collect but when Sulla declares us enemies, they won't risk losing their precious Imperial contracts. They won't sell us a drop after that. Maybe the Hutts might but at exorbitant cost once they realize our situation. Our reserves will run dry quickly and then the Imperials or worse Narel and Grakus will hunt us down at their leisure."
"But you haven't answered my question Captain. What do we do?" reminded Jaybo.
Thrain picked up the Jedi holocron sitting on his desk and stared at it once more. "I'm going to have a word with our guests," he said.
He stood up and took the holocron with him as he headed towards the exit. "Xar you're with me."
"Well we're kriffed," remarked Sister. She was seated on the floor with Ezra and Kanan while the rest were standing around. Their movements were severely limited due to all being shackled together. Add to the fact that everyone was forced to remain so close together for a long time and tempers were bound to flare up.
"Oh shut up," grumbled Sabine. Speaking of tempers flaring.
"You're are in no position to say anything considering the fact that we are far worse off now due to your premature escape attempt," hissed Sister.
"First you complain when I sprung you out of your cell now you're complaining you're back in one. Next chance we get to escape, we should just leave you here," snapped Sabine.
"That's enough!" shouted Hera. "We're going to need to work together if we're going to get out of this and believe me when I say that this is the worst situation we've ever been in. Not only could those pirates sell us to the Imperials, they could sell Chopper as well. If the Empire is able to access his memory banks, they'll be able to hunt down our entire cell including Sato, Ahsoka, and Rex with ease. They'll know all our fallback positions and meeting locations, our supply depots, everything."
"I can't believe everything we've worked for is about to be undone by a bunch of pirates," grumbled Zeb.
"We're not done yet. We just need an opening and then we can get out of here," Kanan said firmly.
"Then we're getting back my droid and taking back my ship," nodded Hera.
"Not to ruin the moment or anything but how exactly are we going to do that?" asked Ezra. "We're shackled together, had no weapons, are being guarded by probably twenty heavily armed guys outside the cell which we can't escape, no hope of anyone coming to help us, and even if we could escape we'd have to get back ray shields and an entire ship filled with probably a lot more pirates to get Chopper and the Ghost. Did I miss anything?"
"No I'm pretty sure you covered everything," sighed Zeb.
"Well I don't plan on staring down an Imperial firing squad so whatever you plan on doing, I suggest we do it quickly," remarked Sister.
The cell door ascended to the ceiling. Everyone still sitting quickly got to their feet as Thrain and Xar stepped inside. Both of them were armed with the Captain carrying Kanan's Holocron. The door slammed down behind them, shutting them in. The two of them were making a pretty bold move. Yeah the Ghost crew might be restrained but that didn't mean they were helpless. Sister consider yanking their weapons away with the Force but that might not be the best idea considering there was a bunch of guards just outside in case that happened.
"I would have brought you all something to eat except you broke the jaw of the last guy to do that," Thrain spoke. "I know who you people are and I know the price on all your heads. I have done a lot of crazy things in my life but even I would have never considering boarding Governor Tarkin's personal Star Destroyer. Not only did you board it, you blew it up. I'd buy the whole lot of you drinks if this was under different circumstances."
"I'll have that drink now if you don't mind," quipped Sister. That got an annoyed look from the others.
"What do you want?" Kanan demanded.
"What any pirate wants. To get rich and waste it all on death sticks, women, and ale. Unfortunately, I found myself at a cross road. One I can't avoid," explained Thrain. He seemed incredibly serious for once. "Aside from me, my XO, and two other people I trust, the rest of my crew doesn't know who you are otherwise we wouldn't be having this conversation. I know you're with a large rebel faction operating out of the Lothal Sector. What I want to know is where your fleet gets its fuel."
Sister was confused. Of all the things this pirate would want to interrogate them over, fuel was the last thing she expected. Shouldn't this guy be dropping them off at the nearest Imperial outpost and collecting the reward?
"We don't know what you're talking about," Hera said defiantly.
"I'm having the memory of your droid downloaded. I'm guessing it'll be quite juicy considering my engineer tells me that astromech hasn't been memory wiped in a long time. However I have to be realistic that it may not have what I want to know in its memory. I know you've got a fleet but there's no way you're getting your fuel from the Mining Guild or the Hutts. They wouldn't risk the Empire's wrath selling to you which means you found another supplier. I want to know who that is. You tell me and have a little room for negotiation," Thrain explained.
"Negotiation? Are you serious? You threaten to kill us and now you want to negotiate?" snapped Kanan. He was still a little mad over the pirate nearly killing his girlfriend.
"Why should we believe you?" demanded Sabine.
"You're a little lite on options at the moment sweetheart. This only ends one of three ways. One, I sell you to the Empire. Two, I kill you all and sell your corpses to the Empire should you prove more trouble then you're worth. The Imperials won't pay as much but I'll still come out ahead. Or the third option we negotiate," Thrain said.
"Negotiate what?" asked Ezra.
"My ship is a real gas guzzler. You might have noticed how big it is. The Scimitar may be the most powerful pirate ship in the Outer Rim but it requires a lot work to keep working and a lot of fuel. My supplier is becoming less reliable by the day and I have too many enemies that would just love to wait until my ship runs out of juice and attack," continued Thrain.
"What does this have to do with us?" demanded Sister.
"You introduce me to your supplier and I'll consider letting you go," Thrain said.
"Captain?!" hissed a stunned Xar. The captain silenced him with a look. The fact that the smaller human could intimidate the larger Fallen spoke volumes of how dangerous Thrain was.
"Right and I'm the queen of Alderaan," mocked Sabine, rolling her eyes.
"Laugh it up princess but once you're done, you might want to think it over," Thrain retorted. "You can either help me get a new supply of fuel or you can make me credits from your bounty. The choice is yours but don't think too long. It's only a matter of time before the crew figures out who you are and once they do, I'm not going to have a choice in the matter. Either I turn you over to the Empire or I get deposed and they'll elect a new captain who will turn you over."
Thrain then approached Kanan and held up the holocron. "I take it this is yours?" he asked.
Kanan didn't answer. Not a word or a subtle nod. "It's been a long time since I've seen a Jedi and an even longer time since I've seen one of these. You look like you're in your thirties which would have made you a kid during Order 66. How'd you survive?" Thrain inquired.
This pirate was starting to confuse Sister more and more. Why'd he care so much about something as irrelevant as Kanan's past?
"By avoiding men like you," Kanan spat.
Thrain smirked in amusement. "Good advice," he chuckled.
The captain then turned his attention to Sister. "And how in the galaxy did you not only survive 66 but worked for the Empire?" he wondered.
"I was very good at killing," Sister smiled.
"I'll bet," Thrain laughed. "I'll give you all an hour to consider my offer. If you say no then Tarkin's going to get a special delivery today."
He headed to the exit with Xar and tapped a button on his wrist com. The cell door opened and the two pirates left before the door slammed shut down behind them.
"He's lying about letting us go isn't he?" asked Ezra.
"Big time," agreed Sabine.
Xar grabbed Thrain by the arm once they were alone in a hallway, stopping him in his tracks. "What are you doing Arden?" the Fallen demanded.
Thrain swatted the large hand off him. "I'm doing what needs to be done," he hissed.
"Costing the crew a fortune?" snapped Xar.
"No. Giving them a future," replied Thrain. "If it turns out these people can lead us to a new supplier of fuel then we don't need Sulla or the kriffing Imperials. We will be able to do whatever we want, take whatever we want from whomever we want. We will truly be free. No more masters or overseers."
Xar shook his head. "The crew won't like it Captain," he said.
"The whole point of being a captain is to see down the road. I don't care about credits, I care about power and this ship is power. What else but an Imperial Star Destroyer has a chance of taking us on? And that's only for now. Imagine once we've gotten enough money to retrofit the Scimitar like you suggested earlier then it'll be us against the whole kriffing galaxy!" laughed Thrain.
"You're assuming the rebels' supplier is willing to give to do business," pointed out Xar.
"I won't give him or her a choice. The only people I share with are my crew and I have no intention of sharing fuel with a bunch of glorified do gooders. The Empire may pay us a fortune if we turn the six in our brig over them but how much do you think they'll pay us for taking down the entire rebel fleet?" smiled Thrain.
The wheels were turning in the XO's mind as he realized the Captain's plan. "You turn in the entire fleet and we'll get paid enough to buy a planet," chuckled Xar.
"With that fleet gone the supplier will have no other customer except us and if they refuse, we'll kill them and take their supply for ourselves," remarked Thrain.
"For a moment there I thought you were going soft," smiled Xar.
"I don't even know the meaning of the word," replied Thrain.
"But what if the prisoners won't cooperate?" inquired Xar.
"I'm a man of my word. Tarkin will have a good day," answered Thrain. The two fist-bumped and the XO walked off. Thrain watched the Fallen leave before his fake smile faded. He then lifted up the holocron and gazed into one more time.
Orkus clenched his jaw. It still stung after the Captain decked him. Thrain wasn't known for getting violent with his men unless they either betray him or really screw up. In Orkus's case, it was one of the two but not the one that the Captain thought. Nearly getting a broken a jaw might be worth it though it had been unnecessary if some people just responded to messages sooner.
A red light at his console caught his attention. It was about time he replied. Orkus opened an audio only channel, ensuring first that it wouldn't be detected by anyone monitoring the long range transmitter.
"What took you so long?" hissed Orkus.
"I was busy old friend," said Narel.
"Thrain nearly broke my jaw because you were busy. I couldn't hold off showing him the footage so I feigned incompetence," snapped Orkus.
"I'm sure that came natural to you," chuckled Narel.
"Well he figured out who they are which means he'll probably announce to the crew about collecting the bounty any minute. You said Grakus would only attack the Scimitar if the fight was worth it well now it is," said Orkus.
"Grakus will never attack that ship as long as its defenses are fully operational," replied Narel.
"Funny you should say that. The defenses can be disabled with a full diagnostic however the moment the bridge picks up a threat, they reactivate everything. It'll take maybe two minutes but if you knew where the Scimitar will head next, you can hit this ship the moment it arrives before they have a chance to get ready," explained Orkus.
"That's a big if," scoffed Narel.
"But worth it. You'll be able to rid yourself of Thrain and get your hands on the six most wanted fugitives in the Outer Rim at the same time," Orkus urged.
Narel was silent, thinking it over. "We'll need the exact coordinates where the Scimitar will arrive next," he said.
"You'll have it," Orkus assured him.
"Then you better get yourself ready. Thrain and the others won't go down without a fight," Narel spoke.
(Thank you GIANTPANDAMAN for pointing out that slight plot hole in the last chapter because after I realized it, I figured out how to integrate it into the story. A little short but only so I can give you guys something while I work on the next chapter which will be the action chapter. Those usually take longer to write so here's something to hold you all over.)