Fire Across the Galaxy
At an Imperial outpost at night, Sabine entered to make an entrance.
"Miss me, bucketheads?" She asked a couple of Stormtroopers and they turned to see her with some spray paint.
"It's her!" One of them yelled and they fired at her but missed as expected and she climbed up on top of the building next to her and ran, dodging blaster fire.
"Yup, you definitely missed me." Sabine joked, with a double meaning. She then jumped off and ran.
"We have an intruder on the north side, Sector 9. The artist is back. Sound the alarm." One of the troopers said through the comms. Of course, the alarm went off and the troopers were distracted by her because Zeb, Errol and Ezra sneaked in.
"Sabine's distraction is working." Ezra pointed out as the three headed to the Imperial transport and entered inside it without being noticed and they made it into the cockpit. Zeb closed the door and both Ezra and Errol activated the ship and they ascended, giving enough time for Sabine to enter the ship and they flew out of there, but not without exploding the TIE Fighters the troopers had.
They flew it back to the Ghost and attached the two ships with the airlocks as they flew up in space. Everyone was in the common room, looking at a hologram of Mustafar.
"The transport you stole will get us close to the fleet over Mustafar. We know they have Kanan on Tarkin's Star Destroyer." Hera said as the hologram changed to a Destroyer.
"And it's surrounded by other Star Destroyers." Errol added, looking at Hera with seriousness.
"Yeah, lots more. We'll need a distraction to cover our entry. Sabine?" Hera then said.
"Engine room's here, all the power for the ship. If we could get inside the docking bay, I could rig something, black 'em out. But our transport ship's not gonna fit in there." Sabine pointed out.
"We need something small enough to get into that hangar bay. *sighs* Too bad we blew up all the TIEs at that base." Hera said, feeling a bit defeated. Ezra however seemed to know something.
"Well, uh, there is one left. But it's not at the base." Ezra said. Zeb gestured for him to keep his mouth shut, not wanting to get into trouble, as he knew what he's referring to.
"Look, this is serious, Zeb. For Kanan." Ezra reminded him as Sabine sat next to him, she too knew as they did.
"*sighs* Fine." Zeb complied. Both Hera and Errol were in the dark and suspected something off.
"What's going on?" She asked the three, sternly.
"The TIE we stole a while back, we, uh…. We didn't exactly crash it." Ezra revealed.
"And what do you mean by 'didn't exactly'?" Errol asked, frowning.
"We didn't crash it. We kept it. Hid it." Ezra blurted.
"You all knew about this? *sighs*" Hera asked, a bit angry at them. Errol was taking deep breaths.
"You know, usually we'd be angry at you for disobeying, but we'll let this slide." Errol told them all.
"Yeah, let's just be grateful we got it." Hera said in relief. But both Sabine and Ezra looked a bit nervous.
"Uh, there's a slight problem with it." Ezra said.
"Oh, really?" Errol raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, what kind of problem?" Zeb asked, as this was news to him. The two teens shrugged with nervous smiles.
They took them, as well as Chopper and Slick to where they kept the TIE and upon seeing it, Zeb was stunned as it was painted in all kinds of colours and patterns by Sabine.
"Okay. Well, this is awful." Zeb groaned.
"What? It's some of my best work." Sabine replied, offended.
"It'll have to do." Hera said.
"No choice, really." Errol added.
"I thought you were supposed to be the sane ones. This whole plan is as crazy as those colours." Zeb rounded on the couple.
"Maybe you're right. Maybe this mission doesn't make military sense. But Kanan is family. And we've all lost enough family to the Empire. So rescuing him makes sense to me. I-I'm not ordering you, any of you, to come along. But you need to decide now. In or out?" Hera passionately told them all. Errol walked up to her and grabbed her hand, squeezing it tight.
"I'm always in, love." He told her, which made her happy to see that he'll be by her side.
"I'm in." Ezra instantly said.
"I'm in." Sabine repeated.
"Karabast. I'm in. But what about that?" Zeb asked, about the TIE.
"Eh, no time to fix it. Besides, the Imperials will only scan it. By the time the Imperials see it…." Hera stated.
"It'll be too late." Sabine finished off.
"Well, then. Let's do this." Errol finished with determination.
They took the Imperial transport and attached the TIE attached to it and they went through Hyperspace to Mustafar. Once they reached there, Errol suddenly felt pain in his head, just like when he had those visions a while back. But this time, he wasn't seeing visions, he was instead hearing two voices:
I HATE YOU!
You were my brother, Anakin! I loved you.
He then felt pain, anguish and anger. It was all radiating from Mustafar. But then these emotions and pain disappeared.
"Errol, are you alright?" Hera asked, noticing he was holding his head.
"*sighs* This place is bad. Something really bad happened here." He told her,
"Okay, I'll send in our transponder code as soon as we know Kanan is there. Ezra, Errol?" Hera then asked.
"Well, here goes nothin'" Ezra said as the two tuned in to the Force.
"So, anything?" Zeb asked, impatiently.
"Give them a minute." Sabine told him.
"We don't really have a minute." He retorted.
"Guys, is he there?" Hera asked as they flew closer to one of the Destroyers.
They both honed in more until they sensed him, being strapped to a contraption.
"He's in there, alright. Alive and well." Errol gave everyone the good news.
"Sending codes." Hera informed them as she pressed some buttons. And then an Imperial told them that they are cleared for docking.
"They bought it. Chop, send in Sabine's present." Hera ordered her astromech and he beeped before bumping into Slick intentionally and then wheeled away.
"Those two really need to get along." Errol muttered to everyone and nodded in agreement. Chopper then detached the TIE and it flew into the underside docking area of the Destroyer and after a short while, Sabine pressed a button on her wrist computer that caused an electro-bomb within the TIE to ignite, shutting off the power.
With that, they attached onto the Destroyer on the side.
"This shouldn't take long. Keep the engine running." Hera told the two droids.
"And no fighting!" Errol shouted.
They reached a wall and both Errol and Ezra cut through with their lightsabers and entered into the Destroyer with its dimly lit corridors and unconscious Stormtroopers.
"These guys will wake up soon." Sabine said.
"How soon?" Ezra asked.
"Too soon, I reckon." Zeb added.
"Come on, this way." Ezra then said and everyone wielded their weapons, with Errol only using his lightsaber.
They all ran through the corridors when suddenly both Chopper and Slick beeped about more troopers coming.
"Reinforcements already? That was fast." Hera said, somewhat impressed.
"Don't worry. On a ship this big, it'll take 'em a while to find us." Sabine assured them but when they turned a corner, they stopped because a bunch of troopers were facing them.
"Drop your weapons! Hands up!" One of them ordered but Errol used the Force to snatch their blasters out of their hands and the crew fired at all of them.
Their little victory was interrupted because more of them appeared from where they ran from and so they ran past a door and Hera shut it.
"Stand back." Ezra told and then he and Errol used their sabers on the door and lock.
"Pretty clever, kid. So what's next?" Sabine asked.
"Kanan is down that hall. I just cut off our only way to get to him." Ezra stated.
"Might be our only way, but it's not yours." Hera pointed out to him, making him realise he can use the vents. So with the help of Errol and Zeb, he climbed up into the vents and started to make his way to Kanan.
"Alright, let's go, guys." Errol told them and they ran down the corridors again.
The four reached some elevators and when Hera opened one of them, it opened to a bunch of troopers and they fired at them all.
"I hope Ezra's found Kanan by now." Sabine said as they ran, yet again.
"Knowing him, he just might have." Errol replied.
After a while, they were cautious, making turns and both Hera and Errol peeked around the corner and saw some Stormtroopers gaining consciousness.
"They're waking up." Errol whispered to the others.
"That puts twice as many between us and Chopper and Slick." Errol pointed out.
"I think I have an alternate plan." The Mandalorian said.
"Alright." Hera said.
"Here's part one. Errol is part two." Sabine then said, holding up a smoke bomb and then threw it down the corridor and it released smoke, blinding the troopers and then Errol ignited his lightsaber and charged at the troopers, taking them all down like a blur which gave the others a chance to run and then Errol caught up with them.
"Now part three, we go to Bay 5." She then said.
"Huh. Where your masterpiece is." Hera said with a sly smirk.
"That's got nothing to do with it." Sabine argued.
"Keep telling yourself that, Wren." Errol jokes.
"Ezra, we're finding another way out." Hera said through her comlink but didn't get a response.
"Ezra? Can you hear me? Ezra. Can you hear me? Ezra! Ezra, are you out there?" Hera said, over and over not getting a response until….
"I'm here." He replied.
"Do you have Kanan? Is he okay?" Hera asked him, relieved that he was okay.
"Yeah. I think he's better than okay." He told her.
They then ran until the Destroyer violently shook, causing them to stumble, with Errol grabbing Hera, preventing her from falling and pulling her back up and then they continued running until they reached the hangar bay and entered into Sabine's TIE.
Hera, of course, took the pilot seat.
"Ezra, we're in the TIE. Where are you?" She asked through the comms.
"On my way. Go!" He told her.
"There is no way we are leaving you or Kanan behind." Errol fired back.
"Will you two lovebirds just listen to the kid? Don't worry. I've got him." Kanan suddenly said, bringing smiles on everyone's faces. But also blushes for Errol and Hera because it seems that Ezra told Kanan of their recent romance.
"You mean, I've got you." Ezra retorted.
"You take care of Zeb and Sabine. I'll get him out of here. Trust me." Kanan then said. With that, Hera flew them out of there and ended up getting chased by some other TIEs.
"We had to take the TIE that has a bull's eye painted on it!" Zeb groaned.
"Spectre-3, Spectre-8, we're gonna need to get out of here fast. Send a signal so we can link up for Hyperspace. Do you read?" Hera ordered Chopper and Slick but she didn't get a response from either.
"They're not answering." Errol said. All they could do now is just evade the TIEs.
"I can't believe those buckets of bolts abandoned us." Zeb snarled. Suddenly, the Inquisitor's TIE fired on the TIEs chasing them and destroyed some of them. It's Kanan and Ezra.
"We got your back." Ezra told them.
"Thanks. But without Chopper and Slick's transport, we're going nowhere fast." Sabine reminded them.
"Who's Slick?" Kanan asked, not knowing of Errol's droid.
"He's a former Imperial courier droid I took in." Errol informed him.
"Nice." Kanan thought that was cool.
"We got TIEs closing in."
"How many?" Sabine asked the Twi'lek.
"Too many." Errol said for her as a large number of TIEs were on their tails firing their blasters.
"We're in a bit of a tight spot."
"Yeah? Well, these things weren't built for four." Sabine misunderstood what Zeb meant.
"I meant out there, not in here!" He snapped at her.
"Shut up and let our pilot concentrate, please!" Errol shut them up.
"I just want to say it was really nice getting to know all of you." Ezra told everyone.
Then suddenly, the Imperial transport they used came out of Hyperspace. Both Slick and Chopper greeted them.
"Chopper! You came back." Zeb was elated.
"Nice to hear you again, Slick." Errol greeted his droid with a grin. And then to their surprise, the Ghost and some Alderaan Cruisers came out of Hyperspace.
"Who… who is that?" Ezra asked.
"I don't know, but I think they're on our side." Kanan replied. All these ships then fired back at the TIEs giving the crew more room.
"Kanan, Ezra, dock with Chopper and Slick's transport so we can make the jump into Hyperspace." Hera instructed and both TIEs reached the transport and attached right before all the ships entered Hyperspace.
The transport attached to the Ghost while in Hyperspace and the crew exited their TIEs.
Kanan saw both Errol and Hera and walked up to them. He knew that they had something and for them to be together now, he has to come to terms with that. Here is that chance.
"I owe you all a great debt of gratitude. Even if what you did was rash and reckless." He said to the couple.
"You're welcome, Kanan." Hera said and gave him a friendly hug. Errol watched and for the first time, he didn't feel jealousy with them. They parted and both Jedi looked at each other.
"I know that I'm dating your ex, Kanan, I just hope things don't become awkward between us." Errol said, hoping things will be alright for them both. Kanan sighed with acceptance.
"I still care for Hera. But as long as you make her happy, then I am happy. You two deserve to be together." He told the younger Jedi. They and everyone smirked and they shook hands, glad that there won't be any tension. Slick then wheeled up to them and beeped.
"Oh, Kanan, here's Slick, my droid." Errol introduced. Kanan looked at the droid and he patted him.
"Hello, Slick. I'm looking forward to working with you." The older Jedi said.
Chopper then beeped getting everyone's attention. But then Ezra noticed something.
"If Chopper and Slick were in the transport ship, then who was flying the Ghost?" He asked.
Everyone entered the Ghost through the airlock and were surprised to see some troops standing there. Errol then sensed two familiar presences and he inwardly smiled. Chopper then wheeled forward and the troops moved positions.
The crew walked further and Chopper then activated a hologram showing Senator Bail Organa.
"Hello, Errol. It is good to see you again." He greeted.
"Senator? What's going on? What's with the crews of blockade runners?" Errol asked, feeling glad to see him again.
"As you know, they're members of other rebel cells." Bail said.
"There are other cells." Sabine said in realisation.
"We're a cell? Wait, did you know we were a cell?" Ezra asked Zeb in confusion.
"Um, no." He answered honestly.
"We weren't supposed to meet. That way, if captured, we couldn't reveal the other rebels to the Empire. That was the protocol." Hera explained to the crew.
"The protocol has changed." A female voice said as a certain figure climbed down the ladder, a figure that made Errol struggle to not run up and hug her.
"Fulcrum." Hera greeted a certain Togruta.
"Ahsoka. My name is Ahsoka Tano." She introduced herself.
"I too am Fulcrum." A male voice then said, with another figure climbing down the ladder.
"And I am Ahsoka's husband, Dash Flynn." He introduced himself, hugging his wife by the waist. Upon hearing his last name, the whole crew's attention was on Errol who looked embarrassed that he is now the centre of attention.
"Wait, your parents were Fulcrum the whole time?!" Sabine asked, expressing everyone's shock.
"Now you know why I didn't say much about them." Errol told them. They now understood. Especially Hera, remembering the conversation she had with him after the incident with those creatures.
"Why did you come here?" Kanan asked the two as Chopper rolled up to them.
"Because of our son, you and your apprentice many in this system and beyond have heard your message." Ahsoka told them as she patted Chopper.
"You gave them hope in their darkest times. We couldn't have that hope die." Dash finished for his wife.
"So what happens now?" Ezra asked them.
"We don't know. One chapter has closed for you, Ezra Bridger. This is a new day, a new beginning." Ahsoka told them and the crew smirked, feeling more confident than ever.
"Now, I believe our son has just gotten his first girlfriend." Dash smirked in a teasing manner which made Errol blush dark red.
"DAD!" He yelled and everyone laughed in amusement, adding salt to the wound.