It seems like every moment of Ezra's life was one arduous task to another. If he wasn't doing something for Kanan, he was doing something for Hera or doing something for Rex. Hand to hand training, fix the Phantom, meditate, blaster training, meditate, lightsaber training, meditate, studying holocron teachings, and just to top it off a little more meditation. And that was all just yesterday.
Today Ezra had more blaster training and was about to get yanked out of that into Jedi training. He felt like he was getting yanked around from one thing to another. Entire days were planned out for him without his input or his approval. He felt more and more like a soulless droid then some great hero in training. Ezra couldn't remember the last time he really had fun. They used to have it on the Ghost before they became part of the larger rebellion but now it seemed like everyone was too busy for personal time.
It was beyond depressing and it was starting to affect his performance. Ezra knew he should have been able to score several hits during blaster training with Rex but he missed all of his shots. Kanan showed up and informed Ezra that he was late Jedi training. Rex and Kanan then proceeded to argue once again as Ezra was starting to lose his patience. He was burnt out and wasn't sure if he even had the motivation to become a Jedi at this point.
Sabine interrupted and told everyone to head to the commons area for a meeting. Ezra quickly handed his blaster to Rex and bolted into the Ghost, grateful for a reprieve. Rex and Sabine were already seated when he arrived while Hera was standing near the holochess board. It displayed a rendering of Commander June Sato. Second Sister was leaning against the wall nearby. She glanced at Ezra as he stepped inside but he quickly turned away. He hadn't spoken with her ever since the incident on the abandoned space station. To say that things were awkward at the moment was an understatement.
The meeting was already underway as Ezra took a seat. Kanan and Rex came in shortly after.
"As we speak the frozen planet of Rinn is facing an energy crisis. When their supply of fuel cells is gone, the settlements will not be able to power the heaters they need to survive," explained Sato.
"They'll freeze down there," remarked Sabine.
"Sounds like it's time for them to start packing," commented Sister. Everyone glared at her but she was probably used to that by now.
"Rinn was settled generations ago. Most of the inhabitants have lived their entire lives there trying to build a sustainable colony. They can't just pick up and move," said Sabine.
"Put 'em on another planet with a warm sandy beach and they'll get over it very quickly," chuckled Sister.
"Really and where exactly are we supposed to put them?" asked Kanan. "Moving the entire settlement would take weeks not to mention large freighters to transport everything. Time they don't have."
"And how about the next time their generators go dark? We might not be around the next time that happens," pointed out Sister.
"One problem at a time. First we need the generators," Hera said, ending the argument.
"Since we're on Garel, we should check the black market," suggested Ezra.
Kanan nodded. "Bound to be generators or something we can get our hands on," he said.
"See what you can find without delay," Sato spoke before ending the transmission.
Hera and Sabine got to their feet. "Gear up everyone. Time to go make friends with the locals," Hera announced.
Everyone moved towards the exit but the Twi'lek Captain stopped Ezra and Sister. "Not you two," she stated.
Hera pointed at Ezra. "I asked you to clean the ion scoring off the exhaust ports twice," she accused.
"But I had Jedi practice and blaster practice," protested Ezra.
"Well now you had scrubbing practice," jested Hera. Chopper nearby chuckled as he tried to roll by. "What are you laughing at? You're gonna help him," Hera told the droid.
Chopper protested in binary but Hera ignored him, focusing on Sister. "I'm not scrubbing anything," she said firmly.
"You're not. You've got another assignment. I want you to search the planetary databases for any potential new home for the people on Rinn," Hera said.
"Are you serious?! There are billions of planets in the galaxy. How am I supposed to narrow that down?" protested Sister.
"How about one with a sandy beach," chuckled Kanan. If looks could kill right now, Sister would have killed everyone in the room.
"Just find a suitable planet that can sustain human life without any potential wildlife, geological, or spatial anomalies that could threaten anyone on the planet's surface. Don't just look for some random planet either. This had to be one that the people of Rinn will agree to leave their homes for should they choose that option," explained Hera.
"Do you have any idea how long that'll take?" grumbled Sister.
"Then start by finding any of those potential planets in the sectors closest to Rinn. Make a list of suitable candidates and narrow them down from there," suggested Hera before heading to the exit.
Kanan eyed Ezra. "We'll discuss this later?"
"Can't wait for that," moaned Ezra.
Ezra swore he could hear Second Sister swearing even while he was standing on the Ghost's outer hull plating. She was about as happy with new assignment as Ezra was with his. He watched the rest of the crew walk off towards the exit of the hangar bay.
"It's clean the Ghost, lightsaber training, and blaster training. I kinda miss the old days when everything was simple," Ezra muttered.
Chopper inquired whether his recent mood slump had anything to do with what happened recently on that old medical station with the Inquisitors.
"No it's not that. It's just that I feel like some emotionless droid going from one assigned task to the next. I want to fight the Empire but I want to actually enjoy my life too," Ezra answered.
Chopper then stopped his repairs on the Ghost and said he was picking up a distress signal.
"From whom?" asked a curious Ezra.
Chopper played out a message that constantly looped the same words over and over. "This is the Broken Horn. We require assistance," it played.
"That's Vizago's ship," Ezra realized. A thought popped into his head and he smiled. "Sounds like someone's in distress and if there's one thing I learned from Kanan it's that we help people in distress."
He quickly dashed to the entrance hatch and climbed back down into the ship, making his way towards the Phantom. Chopper asked him what they were going to tell the others. "Let's see what's going with Vizago and then tell them once we have a better idea of what's going on. I mean they're on an important mission after all," Ezra said, barely able to keep the sarcasm out of his voice.
They entered the shuttle and Ezra quickly took a seat in the pilot's chair. Chopper asked what about Sister.
"She's got other things to do," Ezra remarked. He initiated the startup sequence and was about to unlock the docking clamps when he heard the shuttle entrance door opening up behind him.
Ezra groaned and turned around to see Second Sister standing inside the Phantom with her arms crossed. "Picking up a Jogan Pizza?" she asked dryly.
"Chopper's picked up a distress signal. It's coming from Vizago's ship," Ezra explained, trying to come up with a way to explain this all away.
"Is he under attack?" inquired Sister.
"Well…we don't know. The message was light on details," answered Ezra.
"So you decided to run off to investigate a crime lord's distress signal? A crime lord that I'm sure has made a lot of enemies over the years including the Empire and you want to go rushing into a potential Bantha poo doo storm with just Chopper as backup?" Sister frowned.
"Well everyone else is busy. The others are on a time sensitive mission," shrugged Ezra.
Sister wasn't amused by his horrible excuse. "Move," she ordered.
Ezra groaned as he got up from the seat, knowing he was going to have a hard time explaining this to Kanan and Hera. Sister passed him and took the pilot's chair. To Ezra's surprise, she was preparing the Phantom for takeoff.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"You're not the only one looking for an excuse to skip chores around here," remarked Sister.
Ezra could feel the shuttle detach from the Ghost and looked out the view screen to see they were slowly ascending out of the hangar bay. A few minutes later, they were soaring up through the upper atmosphere of Gorel towards the source of the distress signal. Ezra had hoped to avoid Second Sister and handle this whole thing himself but it seemed that decision was out of his hands.
"You didn't answer my question before," Sister said. "Why are you running off with only Chopper to handle this?"
"Nothing," Ezra answered, not wanting to be honest with Sister at the moment.
"Suit yourself," she grunted. They didn't say another word to each until they reach Vizago's ship.
"That's the Broken Horn alright," Ezra commented once the vessel was visible through the view screen.
"Don't see any weapons damage but sensors show main power is offline. Looks like your friend is having mechanical issues," remarked Sister.
"Well he wouldn't have sent a distress signal until it was bad," said Ezra.
Sister just rolled her eyes before activating the com. "Broken Horn we've received your distress signal. Do you require assistance?"
Her only answer was silence.
"Vizago has to be in trouble. Why else wouldn't he answer?" Ezra pointed out.
"He's a crime lord. I'm sure he can handle himself," scoffed Sister.
"Or he might be in over his head. Besides it's either help him or you go back to planet searching on the holo charts," Ezra quipped.
Sister glared at him then guided the shuttle to link up with Vizago's ship. Main power might have been off but the Gozanti class vessel did have back up power on which allowed them to enter via the airlock. The lights were dimmed once the two stepped aboard but gravity was still working and the air was normal, meaning the life support systems were still functional.
"The ship must be on emergency power," surmised Sister.
Ezra rounded a corner and bumped into something, nearly jumping out of his skin as he tripped backwards and pulled his lightsaber. He walked right into a large security droid but it was dormant. Almost a dozen others were nearby as well, all deactivated.
"They're shut off," Ezra said as he got back to his feet.
"Why would Vizago shut off his own droids? Shouldn't they be fixing the ship?" asked Sister.
"I told you something was wrong," Ezra stated.
Sister tapped one of the droids on the head but nothing happened. Ezra followed her as she moved through the assembly of clankers towards the bridge. They entered the cockpit to find more disabled droids and some kind of annoying cantina music could be heard blaring from the stereo system. Someone was working underneath the control panel but Ezra couldn't tell who it was.
"Vizago?" Ezra called out.
The figure pulled himself out from underneath the panel, revealing a somewhat older Weequay. "Not exactly," he spoke with a cheerful voice.
Ezra and Sister pulled their blasters. The former Inquisitor did have her lightsaber on her belt separated in two pieces to avoid suspicion but she also carried around a blaster now to deal with dangerous situations without drawing undue attention.
"Well hello there," the Weequay said, showing no concern having weapons trained on him. He tapped a button, disabling the stereo system.
"Allow me to introduce myself," the Weequay continued. "I am Hondo Onaka. Proud owner of this fine but currently inoperative vessel."
"Where's Vizago? This is his ship," questioned a suspicious Ezra.
"Oh you know Vizago. Well then we have a mutual friend," smiled Hondo. "It was his ship but we were enjoying a friendly game of Sabacc and well know it's my ship."
"He gave up a Gozanti class freighter to cover a gambling debt?" scoffed Sister. "That must have been one high stakes game."
"Well I fear our friend Vizago may be suffering from a gambling addiction," Hondo spoke, feigning concern. "Hopefully now that he's hit rock bottom, he will rethink his life and reform his ways."
"He gave up his droids too?" asked Ezra.
"Like I said, he hit rock bottom," replied Hondo. "If you don't believe me then I'll prove it to you."
The Weequay reach for his belt. "Don't even think about it!" snapped Sister, aiming her blaster at his head.
"Relax," Hondo said, revealing he was reaching for a controller. "I was just going to turn my new mechanical friends on."
"So you can have them try and kill us the second they boot up? No way," said Sister.
"Very well. Allow me to prove my intentions. I'll just turn on one of them for only a second then turn it off…" suggested Hondo.
Sister suddenly rushed forward and snatched the controller off the Weequay. "…or you could do that," Hondo finished.
"Who are you really and this time the truth," demanded Sister.
"You lack of faith in my honesty wounds me my dear. I told you my name is Hondo Onaka," answered Hondo.
"What's that noise?" asked Ezra, hearing some kind of beeping from the control console.
"Oh that would be the proximity alarm," said Hondo.
Ezra glanced out the view screen to see an Imperial Light Cruiser approaching. "We've got company," he said.
A new sound then started beeping on the coms. "I believe the Imperials want to talk to someone," Hondo spoke.
"Time to make a run for it," Sister told Ezra.
"Uh…that would be ill advised my friends," Hondo said, pointing to at least two other cruisers with at least two squadrons of Tie Fighters on an intercept course. The Phantom was a good shuttle but Ezra didn't have much hope it could handle an attack force of that size and running wasn't a good idea either. The Ties would easily run them down.
"Does the hyperdrive work on this thing?" Ezra asked.
"Yes but I'm afraid without main power it won't do us any good," admitted Hondo.
"Very encouraging," grumbled Sister.
"Then delay the Imps for a little while I get it the power back up," Ezra said, quickly crawling underneath the control console and getting to work.
Hondo activated the coms. "Hello. How can we help you?" he asked.
"Attention transport. You have breached an Imperial checkpoint. Identify yourself," demanded a stern voice from the com.
"This is Captain Gandalf Tarkinless. We are currently experiencing minor technical difficulties. Give us a few moments to get the ship back in working order and we'll be on our way," Hondo answered. Ezra swore he could hear Sister face palming herself.
"Captain Tarkinless prepare to be boarded," the voice replied without a hint of catching Hondo's obvious sarcasm.
"I appreciate the offer but my crew and I are more than capable of handling our current predicament ourselves. Thank you," Hondo said.
"That wasn't a request. Any kind of resistance will be met with extreme force," warned the voice.
"Hyperspace would be good right about now," A nervous Hondo told Ezra.
"I think I've got it," Ezra said as he twisted the final set of wires together. He climbed back to his feet to find Chopper come flying into the cockpit. The astromech quickly plugged himself into a control socket and activated the hyperdrive.
"You will always remember this day as the day you almost…" Hondo mockingly spoke in the com before the black void of space was replaced by the blue hume of hyperspace.
"…oh well maybe I'll be able to finish that line next time," Hondo sighed.
"Where are we going?" demanded Sister.
Chopper answered with a series of binary chimes.
"Nixus? Never heard of it," muttered Sister.
"That's the point my dear. A perfect place to conduct business without Imperial scrutiny," smiled Hondo. "I was on my way there before our unlikely meeting."
"Well change of plans. We're heading back to Gorel," Sister said.
"But…" protested Ezra.
"No buts," warned Sister. "We've already gotten ourselves into enough trouble."
"We can head back once we pick up few crates," suggested Hondo.
"I don't care about your…" Sister started to say.
"What crates?" Ezra interrupted her.
"Just a few portable generators," smiled Hondo.
Both Sister and Ezra exchanged glances.
"I see I have your interest," Hondo commented, observing their reactions. "I have a large shipment of rhydonium that'll be used as payment for…"
"Rydonium?!" Sister and Ezra both shouted.
"Yes an excellent alternate for currency in our current transaction," nodded Hondo, not fazed at all by his new friends' shock.
"Isn't that stuff highly explosive?" gulped Ezra.
"Only if exposed to high temperatures," shrugged Hondo. "What's the problem? It's just fuel and fuel my associates are willing to trade the generators for."
Ezra and Sister headed off to a corner, making sure to stay quiet enough that Hondo couldn't hear.
"I don't like this," whispered Sister.
"That makes two of us but the people on Rinn don't have the time," Ezra pointed out.
"And you're okay with this guy selling explosives?" frowned Sister.
"Like he said, it's technically just fuel. Besides Hondo's buyers will probably just buy it from someone else anyways," Ezra spoke.
"Nice to see Kanan's Jedi training hasn't removed your pragmatism," quipped Sister.
"It's not just pragmatism. It can't just be a coincidence we happened to come upon this ship just before Hondo makes a deal for generators we need. Sounds the will of the Force," Ezra surmised.
"The Force has a sick sense of humor," grumbled Sister.
"So we're in?" asked Ezra.
Sister smiled, "Absolutely. I can't wait to see Kanan and Hera's faces once they realized we've saved the day right under their noses."
They turned back to Hondo. "Alright we're in," said Ezra.
"Splendid!" shouted a cheerful Hondo. "Now that's we're partners. I believe introductions are in order. You know my name but I don't know yours'."
"I'm…Lando Calrission and this is my partner...Bastila Shan," Ezra said, making up names as he went.
Sister glared at him, not pleased with his choice of aliases.
"At last I meet the semi-famous Lando Calrission," smiled Hondo. "A tad younger then I pictured but to be so young and flying to my rescue proves you must be the scoundrel I heard of."
"Uh yeah. I am pretty good," smirked Ezra. Sister rolled her eyes.
"I can't say I'm familiar with your partner but I'm certain we're be as thick as thieves," Hondo quipped.
"Funny because that's exactly what I was going to call you. A thief," retorted Sister.
Ezra glared at her, wanting her to shut up but she wouldn't budge.
"You can drop the charade. We weren't born yesterday. You stole this ship and the droids from Vizago," accused Sister.
"I preferred to think of it as an unorthodox method of redistributing wealth," Hondo shrugged. He wasn't bothering lying at this point, knowing his new teammates wouldn't fall for it. "Is that going to be a problem?"
"No not really," admitted Sister. "Just don't try it on us."
"Have no fear my dear. Hondo Onaka is always a man of his word. So we'll make the exchange for the generators and then sell them for a fair mark up. Five hundred percent," said Hondo.
"How many generators are we talking about?" asked Ezra.
"Six," answered Hondo.
"All right. We help you and you give us our cut in power generators. Three crates," Ezra spoke.
"Two crates and you have deal," countered Hondo.
"Two crates and we split the profits of the third," Ezra suggested.
"Deal," smiled Hondo before shaking hands with the Padawan. Hondo tried to shake Sister's hand but quickly retracted that thought when he noticed the glare she was giving him.
"Lando you remind me of a great pirate I know. Me," quipped Hondo. "But I'm afraid I have one more request to add to our unwritten contract."
"And what's that?" asked Ezra.
"I would like my controller back for my droids. Think of it as an act of goodwill on your part to know that I can trust the two of you," explained Hondo.
"And what's to stop you from ordering them to shoot us the moment I give it back," frowned Sister.
"I promise I will leave them off and not even take them to our meeting just to prove you can trust me but I still need to know if I can trust you," Hondo said.
Sister looked at Ezra who gave her a nod. She tossed the controller to the Weequay who snatched it out of the air. "Wonderful. I love making new friends. Now let's get the rhydonium ready," Hondo cheered.
Ezra and Sister followed him out of the cockpit. "Why'd you agree to give him back his droid controller?" asked Sister.
"Because I don't think he can actually control them. Otherwise why wouldn't he have them fixing up his ship or at least stopping any intruders from coming onboard," Ezra pointed out.
"Good point," conceded Sister.
The ship dropped of hyperspace above an arctic planet. They descended through the atmosphere and landed on a facility on top of a glacial plateau. According to Hondo, this place was built by a group called the Exchange who wanted to supply a meeting hub for any criminal who wanted to conduct illegal business away from prying eyes. The Exchange allowed anyone to conduct business there as long as they were willing to pay a large fee. Hondo also said that wouldn't be a problem as they were going to offer a portion of the rhydonium to the Exchange as payment.
Ezra knew that Hondo was probably a liar and a scoundrel but there was just something about him that he liked. Maybe it was how cheerful he was and how he actually seemed like he enjoyed having fun.
"We're not interested," Sister told Hondo.
"Well should you reconsider, there will always be a place for the two of you on my ship," Hondo replied as they rode a cargo lift out of the ship and onto the hangar deck with the barrels of rhydonium on three separate grav pallets. Hondo had one, Ezra another, and Chopper the third. Sister was considered the security for the group.
Hondo pushed his pallet off the lift and came to a halt, suspicious.
"What's wrong?" asked Ezra.
"There should be a security detail waiting for us," Hondo said.
"Maybe they're on lunch break," shrugged Ezra.
"Chopper stay here and make sure the Exchange gets their cut once the guards stop slacking off. Last thing we need is a bunch of realtor goons sabotaging our deal for a late fee," Sister said.
"Keep your com open too," Ezra suggested. Chopper wasn't happy about being left alone but he usually wasn't happy about anything.
Ezra, Sister, and Hondo made their way into a hallway were numerous individuals of various species were going about on their business. Strangely enough, Ezra saw no armed patrols or security droids. You'd think an illegal black market hub would have better security.
"Our buyer should be in this landing bay," Hondo said as he came to a halt in front of a blast door. He was about to tape the door controls but Sister stepped forward and stopped him.
"I'll check it out first," she insisted.
"Your concern for me warms my heart," Hondo smiled.
Sister looked like she wanted to remove his heart but instead she turned around and tapped a button on the wall terminal. The blast door opened up, leading to a small hallway that lead into an open hangar. Sister led the others inside and was about to pass around a stack of crates when suddenly she leaped back and hugged the crates to avoid being seen. Whatever she saw had her scrambling for cover which meant it had to be bad.
"What is it?" whispered Ezra. Sister put a finger to her lips, wanting him to be quiet.
"Where are they?" a familiar voice shouted.
"I told you I don't know," pleaded another familiar voice.
Ezra glanced through a crack in the crates to see what was going on and saw the last people he'd thought to ever see here. The obese red Jablogian named Azmorrigan was the floor with a boot on his head, hyperventilating as he glanced up at a blaster that could shoot him any second. It was his interrogator that made Ezra gasped.
Captain Arden Thrain of the Scimitar. A former Jedi turned pirate and had an axe to grind with the Ghost crew. Several other people were on their knees with hands on top of their hands, guns trained on them by several individuals who looked just like Thrain's crew. Look like the pirates had taken Azmorrigan and his hired goons prisoner.
"Why don't I believe you?" sneered Thrain, putting a little more pressure on Azmorrigan's head.
"Why would I lie to you?" squealed Azmorrigan.
"Maybe you're stupid. Maybe you're suicidal. Maybe you're both but regardless I don't care," warned Thrain.
"Look man some of us don't know what you're talking about. We're just hired help," pleaded one of Azmorrigan's goons.
Thrain glanced at the goon. "Was I talking to you?" he asked.
"Well…no," the goon stuttered.
"Then shut up!" snapped Thrain before shooting the goon in the head, killing him instantly.
"Those uncivilized brutes are certainly not the customers," remarked Hondo, peering through the same crack as Ezra.
"Will you be quiet?" hissed Sister.
Thrain pulled out a handheld holo-projector and activated it, displaying a set of wanted posters who each had familiar faces. Ezra realized it was everyone on the Ghost. Hera, Kanan, Zeb, Sabine, even Ezra and Second Sister. This was beyond really bad.
"I want to know where they are. You tried cashing in tips on them to the Empire but they didn't listen to you. I am and I better like what I hear," Thrain demanded.
"Look I get you want the bounties on them but I…" Azmorrigan said nervously.
"This isn't about money you slug! This is personal!" snapped Thrain.
"We're leaving," whispered Sister. They turned and were about to head back through the exit hallway when the blast door at the other end opened up. Four more of Thrain's pirates entering the hangar bay. They instantly recognized Sister and Ezra.
"There they are!" one of the pirates shouted. Sister shoved one of the pallets right down the hallway, blocking the pirates from taking a shot at them. Sure enough, the thugs didn't fire their blasters at all before trying to get around it. They probably read the explosive warning label on the crates and decided not to risk it.
Ditching the rest of their rhydonium barrels, Sister, Hondo, and Ezra were forced to run deeper inside the hangar bay. Ezra glanced behind him to see Thrain and the rest of his thugs had seen them and quickly took off after them.
"You're mine now!" Thrain shouted at them.
Major Risar Velken hated the sound the air pump in his helmet continuously made as it cycle air in and out of his lungs. It was a constant reminder of his failure and his disfigurement but at the same time, the sound meant that he was still alive and able to exact retribution on those who caused this. The injuries he sustained on Tarkin's Star Destroyer nearly killed him but the best doctors and cybernetic experts came together to save his life and bring him back not just to life but even deadlier than ever. He was more machine now then man with cybernetic implants and limbs covering his entire body. Some said it reminded them of Darth Vader and Velken liked that. He enjoyed the fear it inspired.
Speaking of fear, the pathetic technician that Velken had taken prisoner was finally get the security cameras working. The man had resisted as well as the security personal onboard this hub but Velken quickly took care of them, making sure the technician saw every minute of it. That fear inspired the man to double his efforts in fixing the security systems that were temporarily disabled after Velken's recent firefight.
"There. It's back up," the technician quivered.
Velken loomed over his shoulder, his cybernetic eyes analyzing the various camera feeds.
"Bring up hangar bay 12," he ordered.
The technician obeyed, bringing up multiple camera angles of the hangar bay. Inside several people had been taken hostage including their leader, a fat red disgusting alien. Their captor was not in a good mood and shot one of alien's henchmen proved that.
Suddenly a commotion caught everyone's attention. Three individuals came running out of cover behind several cargo crates. One was an alien, a Weequay but it was the other two that caught Velken's attention. It was the traitorous Second Sister and Ezra Bridger. Finally Velken had found them and they were going to pay for what they did to Velken and his deceased teammates.
"What's going on?" asked the technician. Velken gave him an answer by grabbing his head and slamming it onto the console so hard it nearly caved in his skull. The man was dead before he slumped to the floor.
"You're all mine," Velken laughed as he headed towards the exit of the security office, stepping over the corpses of the dozen or so security personal who tried to stop him.
(I was originally going to skip Brothers of the Broken Horn until I came up with the idea of Thrain crashing the party and then I had realized that I had hinted Velken was going to return a long time ago but nothing ever came of it. So I decided to just throw them, Ezra, Second Sister, and Hondo all into a blender to create this chapter. Hope you like it and please review)