"All hands! The Inquisitor had been spotted in primary engineering. All security teams approach with extreme caution! Get the main power back online," was announced over Ezra's com.
Ezra and Sabine advanced slowly through the darkened corridor, stepping over several of the Inquisitor's unfortunate victims. They couldn't stop to provide aide as the intruder needed to be stopped. The Inquisitor had already sabotaged main power throughout the ship, leaving it completely defenseless. If an Imperial vessel arrives, everyone onboard was as good as dead.
The two entered the engine room which was in complete darkness. Ezra activated his lightsaber, not just in case of an ambush but to also use a light source. Sabine activated a light on her helmet and scanned the room. She motioned for Ezra to go first and he nodded in response. The Padawan moved through a passageway in-between the primary and secondary generators. Pipe works covered the ceiling and walls, creating plenty of places for the intruder to hide in.
As Ezra emerged from the passageway and into the coolant control section, he noticed five people were lying motionless and face down on the floor.
Sabine moved to the main control console and booted it up. "Ok doesn't look too bad. Just a few minutes and I can get primary power back online," she whispered.
"I'll watch your back," nodded Ezra.
Sabine got to work while Ezra's eyes swept the room, looking for any potential threat. Suddenly, he heard a crash off near a set of pipes as if something just dropped down behind them. Ezra moved closer until the light coming from his lightsaber revealed nothing. Either he was hearing things or the intruder had already moved on.
"Guys," a voice whispered from the passageway they just came from.
Ezra and Sabine instantly turned with their weapons to the source of the sound. What little light they could use illuminated a familiar looking figure.
"Zeb. Don't sneak up on us like that," hissed Sabine.
"Sorry. It's so dark in here, I couldn't tell who you were at first," replied Zeb.
"Where's the rest of your squad?" asked Ezra.
"That witch lured us into a trap. I'm all that's left," Zeb grumbled.
"Well keep your eyes open. The Inquisitor's probably close. She's already taken out five people here," Ezra said.
Zeb frowned, "I only see four."
Ezra turned around and realized the Lasat was right. There were now only four bodies on the floor. Sabine screamed and Ezra turned to see her cut down by a lightsaber.
"No!" screamed Ezra as he opened fire along with Zeb as the Mandalorian's attacker. The Inquisitor deactivated her lightsaber, disappearing into the darkness as she avoided every shot.
"Imperial Star Destroyer just dropped out of hyperspace. It's on an intercept course," came through the com.
"Kid get back on that console and get the power back on," Zeb urged him.
Ezra didn't have time to react to what just happened. He needed to finish what Sabine started or they were all dead. He rushed over to the console and started booting up the main generator. Zeb scanned the room, waiting for their attacker's next move.
Ezra then stopped and focused on his senses, stretching out with the Force. He could sense the Inquisitor's presence in the room but couldn't get an exact location. But he could narrow it down. The presence seemed to be coming from above him where there were several pipes the intruder could have climbed up on. Deciding to wait until another attack, Ezra opened fire with stun setting at multiple locations along the pipes. They were all blind shots that didn't hit anything but the ceiling but they did illuminate the upper ceiling just long enough to get a glimpse of a figure.
"There!" shouted Ezra. He opened fire along with Zeb. The Inquisitor leaped from cover and landed on the floor, igniting her lightsaber. Ezra was forced to switch his weapon to its lightsaber mode as the attacker came rushing at him. He deflected one blow which knocked him back a few steps. Zeb switched his bo-rifle to its electro-staff setting and joined Ezra, forcing the Inquisitor to go on the defensive. Ezra moved to the side so that he and the Lasat could attack from different directions.
The Inquisitor leaped away from an incoming slash from Zeb and leaped over Ezra. The Padawan tried to swipe at her as she passed overhead but she parried the blow aside. When she landed on her feet, the Inquisitor thrusted out her hand. Ezra suddenly found himself flying through the air telekinetically right into Zeb. The two collapsed to the floor with Ezra on top of Zeb.
The Inquisitor leaped towards, aiming for them both with a downward slash. Zeb got his bo-rifle above Ezra just in time to block the attack. Ezra, meanwhile, saw a split second opportunity and took it. He deactivated his lightsaber and fired the stun setting of his weapon. With her lightsaber still being held back by Zeb's bo-rifle, the Inquisitor didn't have time to block it and was hit in the ribs. She screamed and collapsed to the floor.
Ezra quickly got off Zeb and the two got to their feet, keeping their weapons trained on their fallen attacker.
"Star Destroyer bearing down on our position!" announced a voice through the com.
"Kid get back on the console!" shouted Zeb. Ezra rushed back to the command console and tried to restart the power as fast as he could.
"It's locking on. Incoming fire!" came a frantic voice through the com.
Ezra was just seconds away from restarting the power when suddenly red lights began flashing on the ceiling. Power instantly was restored across the whole ship as Ezra groaned, knowing he just failed.
"This is Commander Sato. Drill complete. Stand down from action stations. Phoenix Squadron report to the briefing room," came throughthe ships intercom.
Sabine, the Inquisitor, and the rest of the crew who were lying on the floor all got back to their feet. All of their blasters and lightsabers had been set to stun to ensure no serious injuries during the exercise but they still stung.
"We'll do better next time," Sabine said as she passed by Ezra. Zeb followed her out as the Inquisitor tapped her helmet, retracting her face plate and revealing Second Sister underneath.
"That was a good move at the end," admitted Second Sister.
"Yeah but that didn't save the ship," Ezra sighed.
The two of them headed to the briefing room where Hera, Sato, Kanan, and Rex were standing in front of the security personal that took part of the exercise who were all seated. Ezra and Sister sat down next to Sabine and Zeb.
"We have the results from the simulation and it wasn't good," announced Hera. "Second Sister had been loose on the ship for more than seventeen minutes, had sabotaged not only the main engines but also snuck into the coms room and sent a signal alerting the Imperials of the ship's location as well as killing more than twenty crew members before being subdued."
"And that was all while I was holding back the whole time," Sister whispered to Ezra. He rolled his eyes in response.
"This is unacceptable. Had a real Inquisitor had infiltrated the ship, we would all be dead right now," said Sato.
"There were multiple mistakes made during the exercise," said Rex. "Zeb you and your team broke away from your assigned sector which resulted in your teammates being wiped out."
"But we saw her," protested Zeb.
"Because I wanted you to," pointed out Second Sister. "Once I got you into that narrow hallway, you and your team had no room to maneuver around me and had to take me in a frontal assault. Against someone using a lightsaber that's suicide."
Zeb glared at her in response.
"Not to mention you proceeded into the engine room by yourself and didn't alert Ezra or Sabine immediately of your presence. They could have shot you by accident," Hera said.
"I didn't know where the Inquisitor was. If I spoke up, I might as well have held up a sign that says Please Kill Me," grumbled Zeb.
"But you ended up distracting Ezra and Sabine which allowed Second Sister to catch them off guard," Kanan pointed out.
Kanan, Hera, Sato, and Rex continuously pointed more shortcomings to the other security teams and then came Ezra and Sabine's turn.
"Ezra, Sabine. The two of you both should have secured the room first before trying to restore main power," Rex stated.
"But that would have taken too long," protested Sabine. "We needed to restore the power immediately."
"Well you can't restore the power if you're dead," Kanan remarked.
"Ezra you were supposed to watching Sabine's back while she was working on that console. Instead you broke away which left her vulnerable for attack," Hera said.
"Yeah thanks for that," muttered Sabine.
Ezra groaned, not having much of an excuse for that one.
"And finally you stopped working on the power to find Second Sister. While you succeeded, it cost you valuable time to get the ship back online before it was attacked by Imperials," Hera added.
"But what else was I supposed to do?" demanded Ezra. "If she attacked him, Zeb couldn't take her on by himself."
"I know it wasn't a good situation but restoring the power was your priority," said Hera.
"But you also said to secure the room earlier," protested Ezra.
"We did but that was before a Star Destroyer was about to attack the ship. Getting power online mattered more than anything else, even your life at that point. Because if you didn't get it back up, everyone on this ship would be dead," Rex said.
"It wasn't an ideal situation Ezra but we don't always have the luxury of choosing the circumstances of our missions," Hera spoke.
"Then why didn't you assign more people to help me and Sabine?" inquired Ezra.
"Because the whole point of this exercise was to put you and the others in a situation where you have to deal with an Inquisitor with minimal support. We've encountered them enough times to know there's a good possibility we'll see them again and Ahsoka, Second Sister and I may not be around to help all of you. We need to be ready," Kanan explained.
"We'll try this again at a future date. You're all dismissed," Sato said.
"Well today could have gone better but it could have gone worse," Rex remarked as he and Second Sister sat down in the mess hall. Today's lunch was Bantha Porridge with Felucian Garden Spread.
"Which isn't good enough," Second Sister said before taking a sip of her Bantha Porridge. "The Empire knows what kind of ships the rebellion use which means they'll have access to the design plans for them. If a single Inquisitor ever did get onboard one of these ships, they'll know exactly where to sabotage it."
"I've put in a few requests to Sato in changing procedures in security. Hopefully it'll make a difference," stated Rex. He glanced at his own porridge and decided to work on his salad.
"They better for all our sake's," said Sister then taking another sip.
Rex glanced over Sister's shoulder. Curious, she turned to see the rest of the Ghost crew all sitting down a few tables down.
"You know I've never actually seen you sitting with them during meals," remarked Rex.
"Seven's a crowd," shrugged Sister as she turned back.
"But you're a part of the crew," pointed out Rex.
"Only because they need me. Ezra's the only one who likes me. The others just tolerate me," grunted Sister.
"I thought Sabine volunteered to be your roommate," frowned Rex.
"And it's been great," shrugged Sister. "She doesn't say a word to me and I don't say a word to her. We're perfect for each other."
"When I was in basic training, every clone in our squad did everything together. Training, eating, cleaning our weapons, and we all slept in the same room. It was to build cohesion and comradery among us and turn us all into brothers. Once we became family, we fought harder and trained harder. Not just for ourselves but for the men around us as well. And we always knew that no matter what, we had each other's back," explained Rex.
"Except we're not clones," remarked Sister.
"No but all of you are the closest thing each and every one of you has to a family," smirked Rex.
Sister didn't reply to that, instead going back to her soup.
Rex decided to change the subject. "I spoke to General Pitt Onoran of SpecForce. He was hoping you and I would visit the Pathfinder training facility on Delabore V and help train the recruits there how handle force wielders like the Inquisitors or Vader," he said.
SpecForce was the Rebel Alliance's Special Forces wing and the Pathfinders were considered some of their best. They were sent into enemy territory to preform reconnaissance or secure landing zones for reinforcements. They were expected to be self-reliant and survive in harsh environments often for days without any hope of rescue. The washout rate for Pathfinder training is among the highest for any unit in the Alliance.
"If they run into Vader, there's not enough training in the universe that'll save them," scoffed Sister. "They should just run and hope he's got more important things to do then chase after them."
"Even so, they should at least be given some idea of what they'll be dealing with," said Rex.
"So basically you want me to knock around some grunts? Sounds like fun," shrugged Sister. She noticed Rex was still looking at the other Ghost crew.
"I'm not sitting over there," Sister said, assuming he was going to try and change her mind again.
"That's not what I was going to say," Rex remarked. He stood and said, "Excuse me. I need to contact General Onoran again,"
"Can I have your Bantha Porridge?" inquired Sister.
"Can't believe you like that stuff," frowned Rex. Sister took that as a yes and reached across the table to claim her second course.
"Captain could I have a word?" Rex asked as he stepped into the Ghost's cockpit. Hera was in the pilot's chair performing some maintenance on the flight computer.
"What can I do for you Rex?" the Twi'lek captain asked without glancing up from her work.
"Remember when I told you that General Onoran wanted me and Second Sister to consult the Pathfinders in handling Force wielding opponents?" inquired Rex.
"Yes and I told you that as long as Second Sister is okay with it, she can go with you," remarked Hera.
"Well I was thinking that perhaps your entire crew goes as well," said Rex.
Hera stopped what she was doing and turned to face him. "And why is that?" she frowned.
"You and your crew often find themselves on some of the most dangerous missions not just for this cell but almost the entire rebellion as a whole. You've done well so far but you can't just rest on your laurels. There might be a situation when your crew might be over their head and the recent drills we've had proves that. That's why I think some time in the Pathfinder training program might do all of you some good," explained Rex.
"Rex it takes months to complete Pathfinder training. We can't leave Phoenix Squadron that long on its own," argued Hera.
"I'm not saying you go through the whole program. Just for a whole week. Colonel Anna Seertay runs the training course and can set up some challenges for you and your team to complete based on their own experiences. Basically she'll focus on your weaknesses and how to work to improve upon them," said Rex.
Hera considered that for a moment. "Well I suppose that could work," she conceded.
"However, I'm going to need your help with one thing and your crew may not like it," Rex added.
"You can't be serious," scoffed Sabine.
"C'mon Hera," protested Zeb.
"I thought it was just supposed to be me giving some sparing lessons to the recruits. Not getting chewed out from roid raged drill instructors," grumbled Second Sister.
"Alright alright," snapped Hera, shutting everyone up. She had the crew of the Ghost all assembled in the commons room and informed of her decision that they would participate in the Pathfinder training facility. To say that they were annoyed was an understatement.
"Look it's only for a week," argued Hera.
"Some of us already have military training," Zeb pointed out, referring to himself.
"And my family started training me how to use a blaster when I was old enough to walk," protested Sabine.
"That sounds like child abuse," quipped Sister, getting a glare from the Mandalorian.
"And the Jedi teaching their initiates how to use lightsabers when they were toddlers isn't?" Sabine challenged.
Sister turned to Kanan and said, "Death Watch has a good point."
Now it was Kanan's turn to give her the evil eye.
"Hey I had training," argued Ezra.
"A week in a cadet academy doesn't count," Zeb pointed out.
"Well…it's better than nothing," Ezra retorted.
"This isn't about how much training all of us have," Hera spoke up. "The Imperials are learning better ways to fight us and things are only going to get worse. We need to be ready for any possible situation and the recent drills we've had shows we're not."
"Well if Rex thinks this will do us some good then I say we go for it," Kanan remarked.
With Hera and Kanan in agreement, the whole thing was decided at that point and the others knew it. The only thing they could do now was just go along with it.
"Well it's only for week," shrugged Zeb.
"Can't let my skills get rusty," quipped Sabine.
"Maybe it'll be fun," Ezra suggested.
"This is a special force camp kid. You are going to eat those words. Count on it," remarked Sister.
Delabore IV was a temperate world with large open fields of steppe grasslands as well as forests that were centered around rivers and lakes. It was situated far from the various hyperspace routes which prevented any large scale attempt to settle the planet. A few farmers lived on the surface but they were mostly people who wanted to find a place to hide from the rest of the galaxy.
"The facility was built by the Techno Union Army to test out their newest battle droids during the Clone Wars. They built it into a mountain like a bunker not only for protection but also to make it difficult to detect from orbit," explained Rex as Hera brought the ship down into the planet's atmosphere. The rest of the Ghost crew was seated in the cockpit.
"How did the rebellion find out about it? This planet is a little off the beaten path," asked Sabine.
"A few members of the Techno Union went into hiding after the Clone Wars and have supporting the rebellion including providing this facility," answered Rex.
"We're getting Separatist support?" frowned Zeb. Kanan's eyes narrowed at the news. Clearly he wasn't happy about it either.
"We can't afford to be picky about our allies," Hera spoke up.
The Ghost entered the atmosphere and made for a mountain range on the southern continent.
"The facility not only keeps its landing beacons offline but also won't respond to any transmissions until a ship transmits the proper security codes. That way, no one has any idea where they are or that they've even on this planet," said Rex.
"Transmitting now," Hera replied, tapping a few buttons on her console. It didn't take long before her console received a response.
"Incoming vessel identify yourself," came a voice through the com.
"This is Captain Hera Syndulla of the Ghost. Requesting permission to land," replied Hera.
"Permission granted Captain. We've been expecting you. Follow the beacon to hangar bay 3," answered the voice.
"Acknowledged. Ghost out," Hera said before cutting the transmission.
Hera piloted the ship towards a narrow gulley in between two peaks. A set of hidden hydraulic doors opened up, revealing a landing pad underneath. The Ghost landed onto the platform which then began slowly descended into the mountains. The hydraulic doors closed above them, engulfing them for a moment into darkness until the elevator lowered into a large hangar bay. Unlike the ones Ezra was used to, the room was comprised mostly of stone and rock with only the ground plating made of durasteel.
The platform reached the ground and the Ghost found itself moving along a set of magnetic rails deeper to a designated pad to house the ship. There were a couple of other vessels in the hangar bay including six A-Wings but most of the other ships were freighters designed for transport and not combat. Clearly stealth was this facility's main defense.
Once the Ghost was parked, the crew disembarked to find five people waiting for them. A human woman who appeared to be in her mid to late forties stood out from the others as she was in a military uniform while the others were dressed in make-shift plastoid armor. They were comprised of two human males, a female Pantoran, and a male Trandoshan.
"Colonel Sertay," Rex saluted, addressing the woman in uniform.
"Captain Rex," Sertay replied, returning the salute.
"This is Captain Hera Syndulla, Kanan Jarus, Garazeb Orrelios, Sabine Wren, Ezra Bridger, and Second Sister," Rex introduced the Ghost crew.
"Welcome to Pathfinder Training Center. From this moment forward, you are all under my command," Sertay addressed them. "For the next week, you will carry out all instructions given to you without delay or argument. If you people can't handle this then you can leave. I'm trying to train soldiers here, not run a daycare center."
Sertay turned to her escort. "This is Razor Squad. They'll be the ones overseeing your training," she said.
She introduced each member. Sergeant Devrin Cassel was the team leader. A male human in his mid-thirties with dark hair. Corporal Carus Greggs, a male human with dark skin and the team medic. Private First Class Xeldra Rans was a female blue-skinned Pantoran and demolitions expert. Private First Class Vryx was an orange-colored Trandoshan male and the team's tracker.
"Razor Squad will show you to the barracks. You'll be bunking with the rest of the recruits. You have twenty minutes to get situated then you're running the Gauntlet. Dismissed," Sertay explained. She turned and walked away.
"Uh what's the gauntlet?" asked Ezra.
Xeldra smiled, "You'll find out soon enough."
Some of the others were smirking as well as if on some kind of joke. Ezra had a funny feeling the gauntlet wasn't a spa session.
"Definitely not a spa," Ezra muttered to himself as ducked to avoid another blaster bolt.
The Gauntlet was a series of obstacle courses where the contestants had to fight their way through battle droids to get to the end. The first two had been more of a warm up then an actual challenge though Razor Squad explained that it was more of a test to see the Ghost crew in action and then plan the next courses to challenging based on their performances.
The crew easily got through the first two with Kanan and Second Sister taking the lead and deflecting any incoming enemy fire. Zeb, Sabine, Hera came up next and used the two lightsaber wielding comrades to draw fire while they worked their way from cover, blasting any target they could. Ezra covered the rear. Not exactly a glamorous job but more then one droid tried to sneak up on the crew from behind which he was more then capable of handling.
Every weapon of the enemy droids and the Ghost crew were all set to stun which prevented any serious injuries. However, they still hurt if you get hit which was intentional. It was a reminder that if it were the real thing, you'd be dead.
This whole thing somewhat reminded Ezra of his time in the Imperial Cadet Academy of Lothal except here things were in the reverse. The Imperials trained on looking out for yourself and completely the mission at any cost. The Pathfinders trained to work together as a team and to only complete the objective when you were able. Otherwise you'd just get yourself killed and the mission would be a failure. Good thing the Pathfinders weren't training the Imperial Cadets otherwise Stormtroopers might actually be good at their jobs.
"Don't brunch up! Spread out!" ordered Colonel Sertay who was watching the whole exercise with Razor Squad and Captain Rex from a balcony overlooking the course.
As if on cue, a battle droid launched a grenade which would have certainly took out the Ghost crew if Kanan hadn't sent it hurling back via the Force. The grenade emitted a bright flash on it's side to simulate a detonation then went dark.
"Sabine. Take care of the blast doors. We'll cover you," ordered Hera.
"On it," acknowledge the Mandalorian. She rushed up to a console and began hacking open the security doors to exit the course and successful complete this simulation.
Ezra blasted a small mouse droid that tried to sneak up behind Sister and Kanan. It short circuited just as a small blaster barrel extended out of it's frame.
"I told you they were good," said Rex. He watched the Ghost crew open the security doors, completing the course.
"This only proves they're good against conventional tactics Captain," retorted Seertay.
"It's how they handle the unexpected that matters," agreed Vryx.
"Well the next simulation will answer that," remarked Greggs.
Xeldra turned to Cassel and asked, "What do you think Sarge?"
"If they act like Jedi then they'll fail. Jedi weren't trained to think outside the box," Cassel commented.
Rex frowned, "And what makes you say that?"
Cassel didn't answer. Instead he walked down the walkway towards the exit.
"This is a waste of time," grumbled Second Sister as the crew prepared for the next course.
"Can't believe I'm saying this but I agree with the Sith," muttered Zeb.
"That's the best compliment you've ever given me," chuckled Second Sister.
"Alright that's enough of that," grumbled Kanan.
"Well they're not wrong," shrugged Sabine.
"Not you too," sighed Kanan.
"Did all of you suddenly forget we're on course 4 of 10?" Hera asked.
"And what exactly are they going to throw at us that we haven't seen already?" frowned Sister.
A red light blinked overhead. "Simulation 4 ready. Proceed to the designated start point," an automated voice spoke over a loudspeaker.
The Ghost crew moved towards the entrance of the course. Second Sister, Kanan, and Ezra ignited their lightsabers while Hera, Sabine, and Zeb readied their blasters.
The red light changed to green as the blast doors opened to the course.
The crew rushed through and the instant they stepped inside, a purple energy filled the air. The various individuals passed through it unharmed but quickly realized they had a big problem. All the force wielder's lightsabers deactivated and the status lights on their blasters all went dark.
"What the...my blaster's dead," Zeb gasped.
"Mine too," said Hera, smacking her weapon to try to a response from it.
"Not good," gulped Ezra as his lightsaber continuously fizzled out anytime he tried to activate it.
"That was an Ion pulse. It's knocked out all our electronics," Sabine said as he quickly switched out the power cells in her blaster but the replacements were just as dead.
Combat droids took up position on the opposite end of the course and began opening fire.
"You've got to be kriffing me!" shouted Sister as everyone was forced to take cover among the various obstacles scattered around.
"Still think this is too easy?" grumbled Kanan.
"Shouldn't something like this be on the last simulation?" Rex asked as he watched the Ghost crew struggled to move from cover to cover. Kanan and Sister used the Force sent various droids flying but overall, they were slowly getting overwhelmed.
"The whole point of the gauntlet is to see how prepared recruits are when dealing with the unexpected," remarked Seertay.
"And how exactly are they supposed to get through all of this without any weapons?" frowned Rex.
"However they can," answered Seertay.
"How exactly are we supposed to do anything without weapons?" grumbled Ezra. He ducked his head as a blaster bolt hit the metallic crate he was hiding behind.
"We'll just have to get new ones," remarked Kanan. He thrusted out his hands and one of the battle droids was yanked towards him telekinetically. He caught the droid and twisted it's head off, rending it obsolete. The now pile of junk dropped to the floor while Kanan picked up it's blaster rifle.
"Sabine take 'em down," Kanan said. He tossed the blaster over to the Mandalorian who shot two droids that were getting a little too close.
Second Sister summoned the fallen droids' weapons to herself and tossed one to Zeb. They took down three droids which allowed Kanan to summon two blasters from their remains to Ezra and Hera.
"Kanan move up. Everyone else provide covering fire," ordered Hera.
"Using Jedi mysticism is cheating," grumbled Greggs. The Ghost crew were about halfway through the course and while they were struggling, they were pushing forward.
"My training officer always used to joke that only fools fight fairly in war," chuckled Rex.
"Too true Captain," remarked Seertay. "And that's why your team won't complete this course."
The Colonel turned to Sergeant Cassel and said, "Have the droids target Orrelios."
"Hey! What did I do to them?!" shouted Zeb. All the droids were now focusing their fire on him.
"Everyone give Zeb some covering fire," said Hera, hoping to relief some of the attention off of the Lasat.
"How? They're shooting from every direction!" protested Ezra. He hit one droid after another but the machines just wouldn't let up. Sabine and Sister took advantage of the droid's single focus and began firing without even taking cover, allowing them to disable more of the mechs.
But for every one that was shot, another droid would takes it's place. It was only inevitable before Zeb grunted in pain as several stun rounds hit him.
"Orrelios drop to the floor. You are a causality," announced Seertay. The Lasat grudgingly layed down on the floor. The droid then resumed targeting the rest of the team and opened fire, forcing everyone to take cover.
"All of you must reach the end of the course. That includes causalities," Seertay added.
"We have to drag his corpse over the finish line?" grumbled Sister.
"I did the same for you the first time we met. Remember?" protested Zeb.
"Kanan, you and me will carry Zeb. Everyone else move up and cover us," ordered Hera.
"Living up to your name Dead Weight," Sister called out as she rushed forward.
"You can kiss my dead weight," Zeb shot back as Hera and Kanan placed the Lasat's arms over their necks and dragged him to the next cover.
Suddenly a ray shield lite up in the center of the course, cutting it in two and cutting Hera, Kanan, and Zeb off from Sabine, Ezra, and Sister.
"Hera! Kanan!" Ezra shouted as he banged against the shield.
"Ezra get down!" yelled Sabine as she grabbed him and pulled into cover.
Hera and Kanan didn't stand a chance as the droids on their side of the course attacked from every direction and without support, they were quickly hit numerous times.
"Hera! Kanan! You are casualties. Get on the floor. Ezra, Sabine, Sister, disable the ray shield and rescue the rest of your team," Seeray called out.
"Is this a joke?" grumbled Sister.
"Do you see anyone laughing?" retorted Sabine.
"How do we get this ray shield down?" Ezra asked, changing the subject. The shield emitters were situated on opposite walls. Each one housed inside a large square-shaped durasteel blast shields so you couldn't just shoot them from a distance. You'd have to get up close, force open the blast shields by hand to get a shot at the emitters.
The droids now focused their attention on the three survivors, trying to circle around and hit them all from every possible direction.
"Sister you're the most agile among us. Get to the shield emitters and take them out. Ezra and I will cover you," Sabine said, taking charge.
Second Sister shot towards the first shield emitter. The droids instantly turned their attention to the former Inquisitor and focused their fire on her. She ducked, dipped, rolled and leaped out of the various incoming blaster fire, trying to move from cover to cover as fast as she could.
Ezra and Sabine, meanwhile, took advantage of the droid's new focus and broke cover to open fire on as many droids as they could. After taking out a few, the mechs split their focus with half trying to stop Second Sister while the rest tried to pin Ezra and Sabine down.
Sister reached the blast shield and ripped off a panel using the Force. She then held it up telekinetically in front of her, using it as a shield from incoming blasterfire while she blasted the first shield emitter.
"Like I said, Jedi Voodoo is cheating," muttered Greggs. The three remaining members of the Ghost Crew were struggling but still persevering. Second Sister had just destroyed the first emitter and was now on her way towards the second, still using a panel she ripped off the first as a shield.
Ezra and Sabine continued blasting whatever droids they could. Their efforts were beginning to thin the herd and with the ray shield at their backs, they were have to worry about any of the droids behind them.
Second Sister then stopped, saying something back to Sabine and Ezra but couldn't be heard over the sounds of blasterfire that echoed throughout the arena. Sister then began shooting at the droids, focusing on destroying them and not the shield emitter.
"Smart. Taking out the droids on their side of the course first before deactivating the ray shield and dealing with the rest," commented Vryx.
Sabine blasted the last droid on their side of the course. The machine dropped to the floor with it's lights going out.
"Sister hit the last emitter. Ezra get ready," order the Mandalorian. She readied her blaster along with Ezra as their Force wielding comrade ripped off the bast shield off the last emitter via telekinesis and destroyed it with a single shot.
The ray shield dropped and the droid being held back by it immediately opened fire. While Sabine took care of any droids getting too close, Ezra and Sister grabbed Kanan and Hera by the legs and pulled them to cover.
"You forgetting someone?" muttered an annoyed Zeb.
Sister glared at him then with a motion of her hand, telekinetically slide him across the floor right behind cover. The Lasat didn't enjoy the trip, cursing at every bump.
"Ezra, Sister, get the others to the exit," ordered Sabine who fired away as the approaching droids.
Sister could have argued about taking orders from someone who was practically a teenager but the Mandalorian made sense. Ezra and Second Sister could use the Force to help move the others to the exit while Sabine was the best shot of the team.
Ezra pulled Hera while Sister dragged Kanan towards the blast door at the end of the course. Sabine was dropping the droids like Gamorrean flies but yet they only grew in numbers as more emerged from entrances that had opened up on the walls.
"Time for a ride Fluffy," called Sister as she used the Force to leviating Zeb slightly off the floor and pulled him telekinetically towards the exit.
"I think I prefer the old nickname," grumbled Zeb as he came to a halt at Sister's feet.
"Sabine come on!" Ezra called out. The Mandalorian, however, couldn't hear him over the numerous blasterfire coming at her from nearly every direction. Ezra and Sister raised their weapons and opened fire, giving Sabine a chance to fall back.
The droids made a mad dash seeing as their targets were about to complete the exercise. Sabine was forced to take cover as tracer fire soared all around her, unable to rush to the exit without getting hit.
"There's too many of them. I'll draw their fire," said Ezra. He dashed back into the course, firing away.
"Wait kid!" shouted Sister. Before she could chase after him, a ray shield appeared in front of her that cut off Ezra and Sabine from reaching the exit as well as preventing the former Inquisitor from getting to them.
"Enough of the ray shields already!" snapped Sister.
Ezra ducked into cover alongside Sabine, both now trapped and unable to retreat any further.
Sister glanced around to find a projector but couldn't see one to shoot. She did see a control console nearby and decided she didn't have much to lose by checking it out.
"Whatever you're going to do make it fast!" Sabine called out.
Sister accessed the terminal and saw that it did control the ray shields. The problem was the command was password encrypted. Sister considered herself good at many things but slicing a computer wasn't one of them.
"Problem?" asked Hera, laying nearby and noticing Sister wasn't making much progress.
"Not all of us are tech nerds," grumbled Sister.
"Will you hurry up in there?" shouted Ezra as the droids were about to overwhelm them.
"You're telling us that in all the time you've spent with us, you never picked up any slicing tips?" frowned Kanan.
"I had more important things to do," snapped Sister.
"Yeah like skulking," scoffed Zeb.
Sister tried to what she could but wasn't having any success. The droids overwhelmed Ezra and Sabine as the two were surrounded and gunned down.
Red lights lite up around the course as a siren glared from speakerphones, signaling a failure.
"Everyone to the briefing room now," announced Seertay as she, Rex, and Razor squad walked down the catwalks towards the exit.
"Congratulations, you're all dead," said Seertay as she addressed the Ghost crew. Sabine, Ezra, and Sister were fuming while Zeb, Kanan, and Hera were a little calmer albeit not by much.
"Let's start from the beginning. You went rushing inside without properly checking the entrance for traps, losing you entire arsenal to an Ion pulse," continued Seertay.
"Since when does the Empire use Ion grenades?" protested Sabine.
"Well it's a good thing they haven't started yet because clearly none of you are ready for something like that. You're lucky it wasn't an explosive otherwise we'd be scrubbing what's left of you off the walls," Seertay retorted.
Xeldra Rans spoke up, "You should have scanned the room with your frequency sensor to detect any potential alarms or traps."
Sabine pouted as she was the one with such a sensor.
"Now you did a descent job acquiring weapons for yourselves and making about halfway through the course," admitted Seertay.
"Until the ray shields popped up," remarked Carus Greggs.
Sister was getting a little annoyed from the running commentary by the grunts.
"Throw in one unknown variable and you all floundered like a Rokarian Dirtfish," Greggs added.
"That's a little unfair," Rex interjected.
"Unfair?!" snapped Ezra. "The whole thing was unfair!"
"That course was designed for us to fail," Zeb agreed.
"Wrong. It was designed to take advantage of your faults," spoke up Seertay. "First rule for solving a problem is recognizing that you have a problem. We always put new recruits through this as a reality check. To show them they're not as good as they think they are and they're always room for improvement."
That argument shut up the Ghost crew. Sister understood the purpose behind the course now. It shattered your confidence in yourself and made you realize you've got a lot to learn which you'll be much more receptive to. Of course that didn't diminish Sister's anger over the whole thing.
"Now you'll be split up and assigned to different specialized instructors who will handle what we believe are your faults," said Seertay.
Sergeant Cassel stepped forward. "Hera Syndulla you'll report to Sergeant Major Col Franzen, he's our hand to hand specialist. Kanan Jarus you'll be studying combat medicine under Corporal Greggs. Sabine Wren, Specalist Vryx will be overseeing your survival training. Ezra Bridger, you'll be with me on the assault course," he announced.
Sister frowned. She didn't recognized his face but she could have sworn she's heard Cassel's voice before. Maybe she was just imagining things.
"What about me?" Sister asked.
"You get homework," Seertay replied.
The colonel pulled out a datapad and handed it to the former Inquisitor. It was an instruction manual on the basics of computer programming. An intro to slicing.
(This chapter was originally going to be longer but I figured it was already long enough. I'll understand if anyone thinks this chapter was a little bit boring but I promise things will pick up in the next one.)