Stealth Strike
A couple of months later and Errol had been taught by his dad how to control his anger better after he explained the reason why he gets angry. Dash told him of his own experiences which were similar since they involved Ahsoka and gave him advice and tips to not give in and use the anger in a way that's more acceptable.
Currently, the whole Ghost crew excluding Ezra were hanging out on the ship when suddenly a distress signal got picked up and so they entered the common room and the distress signal played, showing Sato.
"Phoenix Home to Ghost. We've been pulled out of Hyperspace. The Empire-" It played but got cut off.
"The transmission was jammed. But still, that doesn't make any sense. You can't pull a ship out of Hyperspace because you never know exactly where it is. A tractor beam can't get a lock." Hera explained how the idea was absurd.
"That's 'cause this isn't a tractor beam. It's a gravity well. When I was at the Academy, they were developing a new cruiser with gravity well projectors powerful enough to pull a ship out of Hyperspace." Sabine revealed.
"It seems they've finally made it." Errol noted.
"Chances are they're still testing the system. If they follow Imperial procedure, the testing zone for this type of ship wouldn't be that large. You'll probably find it not far from where we lost contact with Commander Sato." Sabine then explained.
"Alright, everybody. Gear up. We're goin' out there." Kanan said, standing up and about to walk out when Hera stopped him and turned him around to face her.
"Not everybody. You and Rex will go to that system. Find that ship, and I bet you find Ezra and the others." Hera told him. At this point the tension between Kanan, Rex and Errol are at their strongest, practically on the edge of exploding.
"Not Rex! I'll take Errol, Sabine or Zeb." Kanan whined. Errol glared hard at the older Jedi, feeling like he'll berate Kanan further if he mocks Rex one more time.
"Rex's military experience will be invaluable and he can also impersonate a Stormtrooper." Hera argued.
"Right. That's because he is a Stormtrooper." Kanan shot back. Errol's fists curled so tight that they're whitening. Zeb noticed and got scared of what Errol was going to do.
"No, he was a Clone Trooper." Hera said.
"Same thing." Kanan said back and that made Errol slam his fists hard on the holotable and had a look on his face that would practically kill if it could. He then charged up to Kanan and punched him in the face so hard that he got a cut on his cheek.
"I HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF YOUR PETTY DISRESPECT, JARRUS! IF YOU CAN'T MOVE ON FROM YOUR PAST LIKE EZRA DID, YOU'RE NOT FIT TO BE A JEDI AND TO TRAIN EZRA!" Errol bellowed so loud that everyone covered their ears to prevent being deaf. Errol then stormed out of the common room into his and Hera's room. Everyone was just terrified by that display of anger. And Errol wasn't even a Sith. They couldn't imagine what he'd be like if he was one.
"Look, Kanan, I sent Ezra. This is the only way. And Errol's right, you have to move on eventually." Hera said, still shaken by Errol's anger. Kanan looked shaken up as well and knew that both Errol and Hera were right.
"Alright. We'll get 'em back. All of them." He promised.
Errol didn't come out of the room ever since he stormed off, he just couldn't be in Kanan's presence after what he just said. It wasn't until Kanan and Rex left to save Sato and Ezra that he exited the room. But as he did, his communicator started beeping and he activated it to reveal his dad.
"Are you alright, Errol?" He asked his son upon seeing the dark look on his face.
"Kanan just compared Rex to Stormtroopers, saying Clone Troopers are the same thing." He answered and even Dash looked furious at his disrespectful jab.
"I'm gonna have a word with him the next time I meet him." He said.
"Either way, why'd you call me?" Errol asked.
"There's a job I have just for you and the Ghost crew. I need to talk with Hera." Dash revealed and Errol nodded, walking out of the ship with Slick following him. They made their way to Hera, who was in the middle of prepping her own A-Wing as the rest of Phoenix Squadron was prepping if Kanan, Rex and Chopper needed help.
"Hera, dad wants to talk to you." Errol told his girlfriend as he reached her. He then placed the communicator in front of her.
"What is it, Dash?" Hera asked immediately.
"We just got contacted from a settlement on the planet Vhanta a few systems away from Garel. Apparently there are Rebel sympathizers and even some pilots who want to join the Rebellion." Dash explained.
"Okay. That sounds good but why is it necessary to inform us?" Hera asked in confusion, Errol himself was confused as well.
"It's because Vhanta has a heavy Imperial presence there, which prevents them from making any move at all. It's really a miracle that they even sent out a signal. I need you and your crew to help them escape the planet and join us since high risk operations are your speciality." Dash stated.
"Dash, as much as I'd like to help, we wouldn't be able to respond to the others when they call for us." Hera expressed her concern.
"Hera, the fleet has been trained and taught by you. They'll be able to handle it." Dash assured her. Hera knew he was right and since they didn't have much to do right now, they might as well spend it by gaining new allies.
"Alright. We'll do it." She replied.
"Thank you, Hera. Good luck and may the Force be with you." He said before cutting off communications.
Now that they had a mission, the Ghost crew entered the ship and flew through Hyperspace to the coordinates that Dash gave them to get them to Vhanta.
In the cockpit, the whole crew sat as they were anxious for the Imperial presence on the planet. But then when they exited Hyperspace, they saw an Imperial blockade over the planet, which looked largely green from orbit. The blockade though didn't seem to be as packed or as fortified as the one the B-Wing took down from before.
Thankfully, luck was on their side as they sneaked past it without getting caught. Everyone let out a collective sigh of relief as they descended the planet's atmosphere, noticing that the sky was a greenish blue.
"The city where the sympathizers are is close." Errol said as he looked at the radar.
"Roger that." Hera said as she got below the clouds and saw the city clearly. It reminded them of Lothal's Capital City, just more urban and instead of being next to the sea, it was next to mountains and a huge forest. Seeing that the forest can provide cover, they land in an open patch of the forest where there was pure green grass.
The crew then entered the common room and Slick activated a hologram showing the city.
"Alright. Here is the Imperial outpost, on the far end of the city. Apparently, we're supposed to meet with these sympathizers in the city square. Since there are Imperials, Errol, Sabine, you'll have to leave your armour behind so that we can blend in better." Hera said, looking over the hologram with Slick highlighting the locations of importance. The two understood and took their armour off and changed into clothing, then they all walked out of the ship to immediately feel a nice cool breeze, which was a norm for the planet.
The forest consisted of really tall and huge trees which would make great cover.
Everyone made their way through the forest and into the city.
"Jeez, this place is huge." Errol remarked as he looked at the skyscrapers, which made Lothal's capital city look like a small village in comparison.
"I know, plenty of places for them to hide as well." Sabine added.
"Let's hope we find them quickly. Don't want the Empire to notice our presence." Hera stated as she noticed some patrols, which they carefully avoided as they walked through the busy streets, blending in a bit.
After a while, they made it to what must be the city square, where there were buildings surrounding an open space where there was a monument in the middle. Everyone walked up to and Zeb was about to say something when a huge explosion from one of the buildings went off, throwing debris and smoke all over. Many civilians screamed and ran all over the place and the Ghost crew stuck to the monument, watching the chaos around them.
Errol looked around and noticed a hooded figure standing in an alleyway, looking towards them. The figure waved them over.
"Guys, come on!" He told the others, grabbing Hera's hand and they all followed him across the square and met up with the figure, who was fully clothed in black.
"Are you one of the sympathizers?" Errol asked the figure. They nodded.
"Follow me." The figure told them, in a female voice. All of them made their way through the tight alleyways until the figure led them to a sewer grate.
"Really? We have to go through the sewers?" Zeb groaned, being sick and tired of the sewers, regardless of the planet.
"It's to ensure the Stormtroopers don't follow us." The figure told him before jumping down into the sewers. Everyone then jumped down and Zeb helped Slick down with Errol grabbing him and placed him on the sewer tunnel floor.
"How are things here with the Empire looming over?" Hera asked the figure as they walked through the dim and cold sewers.
"It's been difficult to say the least. The only thing that gives us hope and keep fighting is you and the Rebellion." The figure answered.
"How many of you are there?" Sabine asked as they rounded a corner.
"There are around 15 of us here. I know it may not be much but we have much to offer for the Rebellion." She told them as she led to the left when they reached a fork.
Eventually, after a few minutes of walking, they stopped at another sewer grate and the figure climbed first and then they all followed after her, with Zeb being last to carry Slick up.
When they reached street level, they found themselves in front of an abandoned building that looked large enough to house the number of people the woman mentioned. They entered and it was some kind of grand hall that looked like it gathered dust and was lit by candlelight.
The woman escorted the crew to a large door and opened it for them to enter and they saw a whole bunch of people looking at them with hopeful expressions on their faces. Some were human, others were Rodian, Duros and Twi'leks.
They then parted as an older human man walked up to the Ghost crew with a huge and welcoming smile.
"Welcome. My name is Tord. We are grateful that you have come to have us be in the Rebellion." He greeted the crew.
"Is this everyone?" Hera asked him.
"There are 15 of us. Four of which are pilots. We have three more out on patrol. And they happen to be the ones responsible for the distraction in the square." Tord explained. Errol and Hera nodded.
"How have you handled the Empire's presence here?" Errol asked.
"Well, we are stocked with weapons and supplies. And most surprisingly, we have someone on the inside, giving us information to help us fight." A Duros stepped up and explained. The crew were a bit surprised to hear this. It's not everyday they hear someone in the Empire is helping those that oppose them.
"Do you have any way of leaving this planet?" Sabine questioned.
"We haven't come up with one yet." Tord said.
"And the Ghost isn't big enough to carry all of you. There must be something we can do." Zeb revealed. Everyone looked deep in thought, trying to come up with an idea when Slick beeped that he may have a solution.
"What is it, bud?" Errol asked. Slick then activated a hologram showing the Imperial outpost and zooming in on the docking bay where the shuttles are.
"Of course, we can sneak in and steal one of the shuttles. Slick, you can be such a genius." Errol said, making his droid beep in pride.
Everyone then formed a plan for the next few hours and decided to immediately kick things off.
After going over the plan again to make sure everyone knows what they're doing, they all split up into their selected groups.
Zeb and Sabine led one of the groups to one of the entrances of the outpost and they fired at the guards and drew their attention away to the point that they left their post and got in the middle of a firefight.
As this happened, Errol, Slick and Hera led the rest, including Tord into the outpost.
"Alright, we need to find a terminal for Slick to hack into and give us directions to the hangar where the shuttles are." Hera informed everyone and so they all made their way through the corridors until they managed to find a terminal for Slick to hack into. As he searched through, he managed to find directions and beeped to everyone to follow him since he knows which way to go.
They made a left turn, and then a right and a right again. But when they made a left turn, they found themselves facing against a squad of Stormtroopers.
Without hesitation, Errol and Hera took their blasters out and started firing at them while everyone started to get into cover. Three troopers fell to the ground, limp while the rest got into cover as well and fired back at Errol, Hera and some of the sympathisers.
They managed to take down most of the troopers, but one of them made a lucky shot at Tord, who was firing back. He was now injured to the point that he can't fire back.
But then, to the surprise of everyone, one of the Stormtroopers fired at the other troopers and when they're down, the trooper walked up to them.
"You're heading for the hangar?" The trooper asked, clearly a woman.
"Yes…." Errol answered hesitantly, considering this is a Stormtrooper.
"Follow me." She jerked her head for them to follow her. They all looked at each and Tord nodded groggily and so everyone followed the Stormtrooper through a door which led into some kind of storage closet. The trooper then locked the door and took her helmet off to reveal a woman with tanned skin and long black hair that was tied up into a bun.
"Who are you?" Errol asked her immediately.
"My name is Jaylah. I'm the mole for the sympathisers and I was the one who got their message to the Rebels." She revealed herself.
"Why are you helping us?" Hera asked her.
"I want to leave the Empire and join the Rebellion." Jaylah replied. Both Errol and Hera looked at each other in shock upon hearing this.
"And why is that?" Errol asked. Jaylah sighed with a sad look on her face.
"After I became a Stormtrooper, my younger brother wanted to follow in my footsteps. However, shortly after becoming a trooper, he saw how the Empire treated civilians, feeling that he can't follow their orders, which led to them killing him for disobeying. It opened my eyes to what the Empire's really like." She explained with a tear trickling down her left cheek. Errol knew she was telling the truth since he can be able to sense whether someone is lying through the Force.
"We'll bring you with us and you'll join us." Errol assured her and she looked grateful.
"Thank you." Jaylah told him. He nodded and looked over to Tord, who was being looked after by a few of the sympathisers.
"How are you holding up?" He asked the older man.
"It isn't fatal. I'll be okay." He said, hissing slightly in pain.
"Are you ready to get moving?" Hera then asked.
"Yes. Time is of the essence." He replied, standing up. Jaylah put her helmet back on.
"Let's go." She told everyone. She opened the door and led everyone through the corridors until she opened a door that led to a hangar. They saw some shuttles and they all made it to the one closest to them. Everyone loaded up and both Errol and Hera got in the pilot seats.
"Let's get the others and get back to the-" Errol was saying but stopped when he looked out to see two AT-DP's blocking their way.
"Just what we need!" Hera groaned in frustration as the Walkers fired at them. And they kept firing to the point that the deflector shields were draining fast.
"Why aren't you firing back?!" Jaylah asked them both, taking off her helmet.
The couple were about to reply when one of the Walkers exploded. One the ground they saw Zeb and Sabine's group appearing and firing their blasters.
"About time you guys popped up!" Errol shouted through the comms.
"We were worried where you guys were." Sabine replied back.
Hera managed to activate the weapons on the shuttle as the deflector shields were fully depleted. She and Errol then fired back at the remaining AT-DP and it exploded before falling to the ground.
"Come onboard, guys!" Hera stated as she activated the ramp to lower down and then they entered the shuttle before they all flew off and towards the forest.
After they landed next to the Ghost, Hera and Errol informed Zeb and Sabine about Jaylah, which surprised them both.
Everyone then gathered up to discuss a particular problem.
"The shuttle's deflector shields are fully depleted. And we still have that blockade to deal with. What do we do?" Sabine asked everyone. Jaylah thought about it and since the Empire doesn't know that she's defected yet, there's an advantage.
"I have an idea!" She proclaimed. She then explained it and the crew thought it was perfect.
With the plan thought out, the crew entered the Ghost and flew out of the planet's atmosphere first and they were followed by the shuttle, piloted by Jaylah and one of the pilots.
Once they reached orbit, they headed towards the blockade.
Jaylah commed the Star Destroyers in the blockade saying that the Ghost was transporting both Rebels and sympathisers and that they're in hot pursuit. And the Imperials reacted by firing at the Ghost, which Errol and Hera piloted to avoid the laser blasts and take some TIE's down with relative ease. The shuttle fires some fake shots to make it seem like they really are in the Empire while sticking close to the Ghost, which would make it harder for the Imperials to take a shot at the crew.
Eventually, they made it past the blockade and with that, the Ghost entered Hyperspace, back to Garel, with the shuttle entering Hyperspace after them.
Once they made it back to Garel, they saw that Kanan and Rex saved Sato and Ezra. They introduced the sympathisers and Jaylah to Sato and he welcomed them into the Rebellion.
Kanan had walked up to Errol with a guilty look on his face and Errol frowned upon seeing him.
"What is it, Kanan?" He asked the older Jedi. Kanan sighed.
"You were right, Errol. I had to move on from my past. And I learned that the most when saving Sato and Ezra. I've accepted what happened and now treat Rex as an equal. Will you ever forgive me for my behaviour?" He asked, seemingly ashamed. Errol noticed Rex walking up to them.
"Is he telling the truth?" He asked his godfather.
"Yes. He's matured and now his grudge has ended." He said. Errol trusted his word without question and so he shook hands with Kanan.
"I forgive you." Errol simply said.
Hera was watching the whole thing as she finished talking with Sato and Tord and smiled to see that things between them are now resolved.