The Forgotten Droid
Three weeks later, in a hangar in the Carrier, the Ghost crew with Rex, Alaara, Sato and Ketsu gathered around a holomap projected by Chopper.
"Thanks to Rex's Old Republic map and the map Zeb's Lasat friends made, I believe we finally have a suitable location for our base." Hera said, two different coloured holomaps coming together.
"The Yawst System. There's no sign of the Empire, but there's a small habitable moon, one that I think will provide everything you need." Ketsu explained.
"Promising, but Yawst is several parsecs away, and our Carrier does not have enough fuel to complete the journey." Sato pointed out a crucial piece of info.
"We can't afford to leave it unguarded and immobile." Rex added.
"Well, I've been tracking Imperial fuel shipments. There's one scheduled to arrive at the Horizon Base soon." Sabine brought up.
"Eh, it's risky. The Empire's tightened security at all its depots in the sector." Kanan said, not liking the fact that they'd be at risk.
"But considering our current situation, we really have no choice, Kanan." Errol said, needing to remind him of the fuel needed to get to the moon for their base.
After settling a plan to get the fuel for the Carrier and the Rebel Fleet, the Ghost crew made it to the planet where Horizon Base is located and approached a landing pad to dock the ship high above the blue landscape.
The ramp opened up and the crew all started to exit the ship.
"Alright. After we grab the fuel, we'll have to blast our way out of here fast. Chopper, you and Slick be ready." Kanan explained as he and Sabine (who just put her helmet on) walked out. Sabine patted the droid, who beeped, saying he will. But that was before he saw something. A stand that had a new astromech leg, something that he has been wanting for a while now. Seeing Ezra next to him, he grabbed onto his leg and chattered crazily about his leg and the one at the stand.
"Oh yeah. That droid leg kinda does look like yours." Ezra shrugged off, walking off the ramp. Hera, Errol (in his Mandalorian armour) and Zeb walked down the ramp and Chopper showed Hera a hologram of the leg, which annoyed her, knowing what he's implying.
"Chopper, we're not here to shop." She told him. Both Errol and Zeb realised something funny in that sentence.
"Uh, shop… Shopper!" Zeb laughed, along with Errol, which got Chopper angry.
"This mission is important and dangerous." Hera reminded him, only to make him complain and whine like a little spoiled child.
"Not now. We need you with Slick on the Ghost to monitor Imperial transmissions." She told him, seeing that his attention was shifting back to the droid leg.
"Hey! Let us know the Empire suspects anything." She told him, forcing him to face her. He beeped begrudgingly. She then caught up with Errol and Zeb.
"Yeah, Shop. Stay at your post and get a leg up on the Empire, okay?" Errol joked.
"Yeah, Shopper. *chuckles*" Zeb joined in on the joke.
"Did you have to do that?" Hera asked her boyfriend.
"Hey, it's not my fault he's a whiny brat." Errol told her.
They all went their way through the base until they hid behind a large crate to see an AT-DP Walker and various Stormtroopers on patrol.
"Kanan was right. There's more security than ever." Sabine said.
"We can't afford to leave without getting what we came for." Hera reminded her as she used her antennae to get a closer look.
"There's the fuel." She said.
"Let's get it." Zeb said, pumping himself up.
"Okay, but we do it quietly this time. No complications." Kanan told him, shooting down the action packed ideas in the Lasat's head.
"Sure." Zeb muttered as they all split up to grab the fuel.
They managed to grab the fuel and load it onboard the Ghost, though not knowing that they were spotted by an Imperial Officer, who commed to some TIE Fighter pilots to go after them as they lifted off and left the planet's atmosphere.
They were about to enter Hyperspace when suddenly some TIE Fighters showed up and fired upon them.
"You gotta be kidding me!" Hera groaned as she tried to keep the ship stable. Kanan got on the top turret and Ezra in the Nose Gun. Everyone was so busy that they didn't notice that Chopper wasn't with them.
Even though Kanan and Ezra fired at the TIEs, the pilots were clearly better trained than most because they maneuvered and dodged their cannon bolts. And they were able to inflict more damage on the Ghost.
"Aah! We won't make the jump to Hyperspace at this rate!" Hera told everyone.
"What do we do?!" Ezra asked.
Errol was in the common room and there was one idea that popped into his head, one so crazy that Hera, Rex. his grandmother and parents would kill him. He climbed up the ladder to the Phantom and then he got in the pilot seat and disengaged the shuttle from the Ghost. He then flew around and he took down one of the TIEs, which didn't notice he was behind them.
"Errol, what are you doing?!" Hera asked over the comms.
"What do you think?" He asked back.
"Well, I order you to return to the Ghost." She ordered him, sounding stern. The TIEs were now focused on him instead of the Ghost.
"I can't, Hera. The fleet needs that fuel and with the Phantom, I can keep the TIEs busy while you get back the fleet. Now go!" He reasoned with her. While she doesn't like this at all, he was right, the fleet is top priority.
"Alright. But we will come back here for you, so stay alive until then." Hera told her before the Ghost disappeared into Hyperspace.
"Alright, guys, time to play." Errol then muttered to himself, ready to deal with the remaining three TIEs.
Thanks to his training from his parents, he had an edge over the TIEs, evading their attacks, though getting hit around the engines. And even though he whittled down their numbers down to just one left, this one TIE Fighter was better than the rest, giving Errol a run for his money.
"Blast it." He cursed, realising that he was now being chased from this TIE Fighter. Errol knew he had to land somewhere and seeing a moon nearby, he had to take his chance and fly towards it.
The TIE followed after him, not giving up and kept up its barrage of cannon fire, though Errol was able to evade the shots as they entered the moon's atmosphere, Errol saw that the landscape consisted of nothing but lush purple jungle and cliffs.
His awe was cut off when the Phantom shook as the TIE made a shot that hit one of the dorsal turrets, which would make Errol unable to fire back.
"Alright, you want to play it like that. Time for you to not mess with a master." He said, seeing a rocky cliff, knowing he can maneuver with ease through it.
He made a sharp dive and flew through the cliffs, the TIE being able to catch up. But because Errol was a superior pilot, he saw a cliff branching off and so he got above and behind the TIE and went down the other cliff. He weaved all over the narrow cliff walls and saw a stone arch at the edge of a cliff. Errol heard the TIE behind him and smirked.
"Let's hope you're stupid enough to fall for this!" Errol declared, able to fire at the arch, causing it to crumble apart. He was able to fly under it before the rubble fell down. Unfortunately for the TIE, it was underneath as it all fell down.
However, as the TIE begins to crash, its pilot made a very lucky shot at the Phantom's engines and Errol knew he was screwed so he braced himself as the shuttle was about to crash into the jungle until he got knocked out from being thrown around.
Errol awakens inside the Phantom and he was happy to see that it wasn't as damaged as he feared, though it was still damaged as the console was sparkling with smoke coming out of it, too damaged for the shuttle to take off. He groaned as he sat up and opened the hatch to find that he crashed into the jungle floor, glad that he wasn't stuck in the trees.
"*sighs* Alright, get supplies, check on the TIE, fix the Phantom and fly out of here." Errol instructed himself, calming his nerves, knowing that his training from his parents will help him out in the wilderness.
He went back into the shuttle and pulled out a backpack from a compartment. He then opened it up to reveal a bottle, shaking it to hear water swish around and saw some food inside, enough to last a couple days.
"Okay. Now to start finding that TIE." Errol said to himself again as he walked back out and saw the closest tree to him, looking up to see that it was tall. Thankfully, there were branches so Errol Force Jumped up to one of the taller branches and then he did it again to a branch near the top of the tree, deciding to climb the rest of the way up, peeking out from above the treeline. He looked around the canopy until he spotted a pillar of smoke nearby.
Errol climbed back down the tree and headed his way to where the TIE crashed, which was by a rock face near where the stone arch once was.
Errol managed to get close enough to glimpse the crashed Imperial Fighter and so he went behind a rock for cover. He then heard glass shattering and falling on the ground, which made him take a peek and saw the TIE pilot crawl their way out from the wreckage, coughing from the smoke, sounding like a woman.
The pilot then stood up once they were far enough from the TIE. She then had the body language of knowing they're being watched, making Errol take cover behind the rock, accidentally hitting his helmet on the rock, loud enough for the pilot to hear.
"Who's there?!" She asked with hostility, a blaster sounding like it was activated. Then Errol heard slow footsteps, heading right towards him. He knew he had to take action so he quietly pulled out his blasters and after taking a deep breath he popped out and fired a whole bunch of shots towards the pilot, making her fire back, blindly as she ran back to cover behind another rock. She peeked back out to make a few shots but Errol ducked back down. This was going to be too long to his liking and he might as well have this blaster flight over as soon as possible.
"Here I go." He whispered and then he came out and charged towards the pilot, who fired some shots at his helmet and chest, but because they're Beskar, he didn't flinch and then he tackled her on the ground and shot her blaster out of her hand, making her gasp and then he got back up on his feet and aimed both blasters at her, stepping back a bit.
The pilot, now seeing that is at his mercy, wanted it over and done with.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Shoot me!" She shouted at him, on her knees. Errol narrowed his eyes underneath the helmet. He kept his blasters on her as he moved to her blaster and grabbed it.
"No. I'm nothing like you Imperials." He told her. He then looked over at the TIE, seeing that it was beyond repair, though some of its parts can be used to repair the Phantom. And he isn't going to leave this pilot by herself on this moon.
"Here's the deal, my shuttle is damaged, but it can be repaired. You and I are going to work together to repair it if we both want to leave this moon. But I warn you, any funny business, I might actually leave you here to fend for yourself, understood?" Errol reasoned with her, weighing the good and bad of their situation. And seeing that she's at his mercy still, she really had no choice, especially as it's the only way to escape this moon.
"Fine." She grumbled and then the two silently scavaged all the parts that would help with the repairs.
Once they got all the parts that would be needed, they made their way to the Phantom, Errol behind the pilot, just to keep an eye on her.
Upon arriving back at the shuttle, the two started to work on the repairs. While they're working on repairs, the tension and hostility was so thick, Errol felt it through the Force, he didn't blame the pilot as she works for the Empire. The pilot herself was starting to think of ways to ensure the Empire were the ones to find them first, and there was one idea, might as well try it out.
"Why don't we activate the transponder?" She suggested. Errol stopped and looked at her. A blank helmet staring back at her. He knew what she was thinking.
"Do you really think I'm that stupid to fall for that?" He asked, feeling insulted. She really thought he'd activate it, letting the Empire know where they are first since they're closest.
"We're gonna fix the Phantom, drop you off somewhere and then I'll wait for my crew to show up and pick me up." He then told her, leaving no room for debate, especially since he has all the blasters. The two then realised that it was approaching nightfall.
"There's no way we're gonna finish repairs until it gets dark. We'll have to finish in the morning." Errol told the pilot. Then a loud roar can be heard in the distance, echoing throughout the jungle.
"That may be more difficult than expected." The pilot muttered, not wanting to deal with whatever that roar came from.
Errol decided to make a fire, which the two sat around, not wanting to sleep, tension still thick in the air, so thick that it's impossible to sleep. Errol was sick of this tension and had to loosen it up somehow.
"My name's Errol." He properly introduced himself to the pilot. She looked over at him.
"Verra." She introduced herself in a curtly manner.
"You can take your helmet off, you know." He told her.
"Why, so you can look me in the eyes when you kill me?" Verra asked in a hostile manner, making Errol roll his eyes underneath his helmet.
"For crying out loud, I'm not going to kill you." He stated, though since he's still holding onto her blaster, it suggests otherwise to her.
Errol then considered a choice in his head. Whether or not to hand Verra her blaster back. One the one hand, she'd immediately use it on him and the cycle would repeat again. But on the other hand, she could see it as a sign of trust between them and also so that she could protect herself if something attacks them. After thinking it over and over, he came to his decision.
"Here. Just in case something attacks us. But don't try anything." Errol said, handing Verra's blaster back to her. While hesitant, she takes it from his hand, surprised he's trusting her enough to have her only weapon armed by her side.
"Thanks." She quietly said to him. He nodded to her and the two then sat in silence for a short while.
"Now can you take your helmet off?" Errol suddenly asked. Verra sighed, knowing he isn't going to let this go, so she moved her hands to her helmet and lifted it off to reveal a young woman in her mid twenties with dark skin and short, curly black hair.
"Again, I'm Errol. Errol Flynn." He properly introduced himself this time.
"And I'm Verra Solmar." She said her full name.
"Will you take your helmet off as well?" She then asked Errol. He felt that it would seem fair for him to take his off since hers is off. He took his off to reveal his face and Verra frowned, realising how young he is and noticing the mark on his forehead.
"The Rebellion must be desperate if they're allowing kids into their ranks." She sneered, which got on Errol's nerves.
"I'm a year under 18, thank you very much. I'm not a kid. And don't the Empire recruit young?" He shot back, making her realise that he was right.
"How you can stomach being with the Empire is beyond me. The amount of oppression and persecution you enforce is sickening." He then said, looking away from her.
"We provide order, security and peace to the galaxy. You Rebels bring chaos and fear." Verra told Errol with the utmost conviction in her beliefs.
"Are you kidding me? If you just stopped looking at the galaxy from an Imperial perspective, you'll see that many live in fear, feel like prisoners and they're sick and tired of that. The Rebellion is all people have in hope for freedom." Errol argued back. He did point out one thing to Verra, that everything she saw and was taught was mainly from the Empire. If she wasn't a part of the Empire, she could see how things really are in the galaxy.
"How did you live before you got in the fight?" She asked him.
"I lived with my parents on a planet that wasn't under Imperial watch. It was nice. I felt like I was living without fear and had a life people would desire. But of course, we eventually decided to help out in the fight. Even more so with my parents because they were around when the Empire was a Republic." He answered her, of course leaving out the fact that he and his parents are Force Users and that he's a Jedi.
"I lived on a backwater planet. One full of crime. It was a lawless place until the Empire came. My father was an Officer and all I ever wanted was to make him proud and live up to his expectations." Verra told her backstory.
"'Was'?" He asked, picking up on the wording. She had her head low, looking down at the ground.
"It was one of my first missions. We were carrying supplies from a planet they came from when the Rebels ambushed us. His ship was destroyed; he didn't make it out in time." She said, mourning her loss. Errol knew exactly what she was talking about now.
"We were on a mission to bring those supplies to starving people on the planet your precious Empire subjugated. How you can leave innocent people to starve to death without question is just awful." Errol informed her the reason behind the attack, though feeling sorry for her loss.
Their whole time discussing got cut off, however, when three large masses came out from bushes and faced them, growling. Errol and Verra put their helmets back on as they faced these creatures. They were hairy with large forearms, large horns and teeth, two pairs of legs each and long tails.
The two then looked at each other, knowing full well they'll have to work together. They nodded to each other and then they pulled their blasters out and fired at the creature in the middle, causing all three to react, especially the one in the middle. They roared and bolted at the pair, who dodged their attacks and then they kept up their blaster fire on the one they shot at, aiming in particular the head and so within several seconds of constant fire, the creature was taken down. Now there were just the two left.
Again, Errol and Verra looked at each other and silently agreed to take on each of them. They split up and confront each of them.
Errol grabbed a sharp, broken off branch and waited for the creature to attack, waiting for the moment to strike against it.
And after a tense several seconds, it charged at him but having expected this, he jumped to the side and stabbed it in the eye, causing it to screech in agony and flail about, trying to get him but Errol managed to weave and dodge its claws and horns until he stabbed it once more, but right where the heart is, causing dark green blood to trickle out as the creature drew its last breath before it fell on the ground, limp.
Errol then heard Verra struggling and so he turned to see her on the ground, using her blaster to shove it in the creature's jaw to stop it from eating her. She's not as well trained as him to fight against something like this, so he had no choice but to use his lightsaber. He pulled his hilt into his hand and ignited his gold saber,
He then became a blur and stabbed the creature right in the head, killing it instantly and falling on top of Verra. Noticing this, Errol grabbed a hold of her and pulled her out.
Once he did, she saw his lightsaber fully and realised who he was.
"You're a Jedi." She gasped. Errol looked down at his saber and then switched it off.
"Yes. But I'm not some scary menace that the Empire and Palpatine would make you think." Errol told her.
"I've seen first hand what the Empire does, Verra. They force innocents from their homes, treat them as threats even though they don't do anything, take them prisoner for reasons that are insignificant and I haven't even talked about all the atrocities I've seen." He then explained.
"That's not true. We're just protecting them all." Verra tried to convince herself.
"Really? Well I met a Stormtrooper named Jaylah. She joined the Rebellion because her brother, who followed in her footsteps, got executed because he finally realised how the Empire treats its civilians. She couldn't stomach working for the Empire. Does that sound like the same Empire you've been molded to believe in?" He then asked her. She sat there, horrified to learn that someone lost their brother because the Empire wasn't what they believed in. She was now starting to rethink everything she's witnessed with her own eyes.
"Look, Verra. I'm sorry for your loss, I really am, but despite what you've been told, the Rebellion aren't the bad guys. We actually help people and give them hope of a life without a corrupt and brutal rule. And whilst there are some like Cham Syndulla or Saw Gerrera that take things too far, they're only a few of many who want to fight for freedom." Errol then said, sitting next to her in front of the fire.
She just sat there in silence, soaking in every word he told her, the seeds of doubt now planted within her.
"Look, we need to sleep and keep an eye out until morning rolls around. I'll take the first watch, you get some sleep." Errol said. While hesitant, Verra silently agreed with the idea and so she went to the Phantom and lied down and closed her eyes, dozing off while Errol kept an eye out.
The rest of the night went off without any trouble as they traded places and then when daylight beamed down in the morning, they started getting back to repair the Phantom. Errol and Verra now had a mutual respect and understanding with each other, which they didn't need to say aloud as they just felt it.
After spending all morning on repairs, they finished and now for the moment of truth.
"Here we go. Please work." Errol said, crossing his fingers as he started flicking all the switches to start the shuttle up. The hum of the engines were heard, sounding smooth and then the console started to light up, monitors showing that everything was working perfectly well.
"Yes. We can finally get out of here." Verra said, sounding glad. They packed stuff up into the Phantom and Errol piloted it out of the moon's atmosphere and headed in a particular direction.
"I'm taking you to Horizon Base. I'll have to land somewhere where I can't be seen." Errol told Verra as he headed to the planet where Horizon Base is located. Verra nodded with a quick 'thanks' and Errol flew towards the base, not being noticed at all and then he landed on a landing pad that looked like it hadn't been used for a long time as it seemed to be a place to store crates. Since the Phantom is smaller than most ships and shuttles, he landed with ease.
"Well, this is where we part ways." He told Verra as he opened the hatch.
"It would seem so. I know we're on opposing sides, but I wish you luck, Errol." She said, holding her hand out. Errol grabbed her hand and shook it.
"You too, Verra. Heck, who knows, maybe we'll run into each other again." He said. She chuckled slightly.
"Perhaps. Hopefully in a less violent way. Well, goodbye." She replied before walking out and jogged off, meeting fellow Imperials.
Errol shut the hatch and then took off before any Imperials caught him. He flew away as fast as possible and headed back to where he and the Ghost had parted ways.
He didn't have to wait for long when suddenly the Ghost exited Hyperspace in front of him.
"Errol, do you read, over? Are you alright?" He heard Hera ask him over the comms, sounding scared out of her mind, amusing Errol a lot.
"I read you loud and clear, Hera. I'm about to dock onboard, over." He replied and then attached the Phantom to the ship. He then climbed down the ladder and the second he turned around, Hera punched him in the arm where it wasn't armoured.
"Ow!" He whined, much to the amusement of the crew.
"That's for leaving to take on those TIEs." She scolded him.
"Hey, I was just trying to-" He tried to argue but couldn't finish as she pulled his mask off and pulled him in and smacked her lips onto his in a deep kiss. Errol relaxed and wrapped his arms around her, kissing back for a while until they parted.
"And that's for making it back in one piece." She softly whispered with a tender smile.
"Thanks. So… did you get the fuel back to the fleet?" He asked, parting from her and facing the crew as he patted Slick who was happy to see his master alright.
"We did. And we both found a new base and made a new friend, thanks to Chopper." Sabine told him, gesturing to a newcomer, an inventory droid.
"I'm AP-5. You must be Errol Flynn." The droid said in a monotone voice.
"Yeah." He nodded before AP-5 left the common room.
"So… how did you handle being alone overnight?" Ezra asked his fellow Jedi. Errol smirked.
"I actually wasn't alone." He answered, surprising his crew members.
"Who were you with?" Zeb asked him, wondering what he meant.
"Let's just say she's a friend." He vaguely replied, knowing he's gonna have to explain later, but for now, he just wanted to relax with his friends, and especially his girlfriend.
Initially, PsychicTitan pitched a plot for Slick and while I loved it, I felt that Errol should be the first to have his own chapter, so he devised this plot and don't shrug Verra off, she'll show up later on.