Author's Note: If you guys are ever interested about Rylla, on my page is another side story about her life after Order 66. It hasn't been updated too recently, and probably won't have my full attention due to the other stories I'm working on, but I'm hoping to continue updating chapters for it as well to expand on the Shaniverse even more. I'm passionate about the series, and not a day goes by where I'm not thinking about ideas for it! :D
Your support makes it all the better, and I just love reading your reviews! It's crazy to think that this whole series was never a thing before the end of January... wonder if I should do anything special for a 1 year anniversary of the Shaniverse?
Idk. ( ._.)
Jarik POV...
For the next couple of hours, Ahsoka, Rylla and I had all spent some time to catch up together, discuss our life stories and figure out what we've been up too. It almost felt like old times back at the Temple, when we were still younglings. Mara, Ezra and Hera had all met up with Sabine and another bounty hunter called Ketsu Onyo, who was also from Mandalore, just like Sabine was. I made the wise decision to stay away from her, as she sounded a lot more violent and short-tempered than Sabine was, but luckily Mara reported that she didn't too to much to her, only glare angrily. It was a little unnerving to see that a bounty hunter; even if they were of Mandalorian blood, recognize Mara easily, so we'd have to be a little more careful with her from now on.
Anyways, Rylla explained to us how she had taken Sabine and Ketsu under her wing from a short period of time, showing them the ropes of how to be a bounty hunter alongside her partner and friend, Hayden, who was currently on another job right now. She's long since abandoned being a Jedi, having learned quickly that type of lifestyle doesn't work in the criminal world, and hasn't used the Force in many years.
It made especially good sense when she also told us about her and Hayden's brief time working with the Crimson Dawn, an infamously notorious and ruthless crime syndicate. There were some rumors several years ago about its shadowy leader, but me and Ahsoka never followed through with them as the majority of the crime syndicate went underground some time ago, after most of its main leadership was supposedly wiped out by a man named Tobias Beckett, but he's long since dead. The fact that Rylla worked with them at some point, even briefly, was shocking since everyone knew that once you work for them, you can never leave. Luckily that didn't seem to be the case for her.
(Ooohhh... Rylla side-story plot revealed? Hehehe...)
Anyways, she told us a little bit about her stories, and we told her about some of ours. We even went a little bit into talking about our time on Ahch-To, however we kept up with the oath that Ahsoka, Mara and I took to never speak any aspects of the planet that involved the Force, or its name, or its location. We trusted her enough to know that she's still a good friend, and that she won't talk about it. She laughed loudly as we described the teens on the planet.
"Seriously? How does that group even work together? From what you've said about them, I wouldn't expect anyone to work together!" she says.
"I know right? It's a miracle they didn't fall out within ten minutes." Ahsoka remarks with a smile.
"More like seconds," I added.
"They've got spirit though, so I like that about them. Especially in Astrid's case," she replied.
"It'd be fun to meet them if I ever got the opportunity." Rylla agreed.
I groaned quietly. "Oh Astrid, I swear she's like the Viking version of a Mandalorian."
"Don't let that degrade your opinion of her." Ahsoka scolded lightly.
"I never really heard much about it, but I've noticed Mandalorians have a grudge against you." Rylla says. "Why is that?"
"It's... actually really complicated," I admit hesitantly, rubbing the back of my neck.
She nods her head in understanding. "If you say so. I probably won't have much time to listen to it all then," she says.
Ahsoka looks at her a little sadly. "You sure you don't want to stay?" she questions.
"I'd be great but, my calling is as a bounty hunter," she tells us sorrowfully. "But if the Rebellion ever needs the help of a bounty hunter, I'd be happy to accept a job," she offers.
"Thanks Rylla." Ahsoka says gratefully, a small smile on her face.
I scoff lightly, rolling my eyes. "A bounty hunter with morals and compassion... that's about as unbelievable as a Hutt that doesn't involve themselves in crime."
"Yeah well, first time for everything right?" she replies with a grin.
"I guess," I say with a shrug.
We laughed lightly after that, before Rylla looked at us with serious, but hopeful eyes. "You guys have obviously seen much, and traveled much. Do you know if... um, if anyone else in our clan survived?" she asks hesitantly.
Ahsoka and I both grow serious within a moment and sighed, sharing a concerned look, eyes full of sadness and regret. "We have... we encountered, Vifi..." she manages to say.
Rylla notices the tension and sadness and quickly grows concerned. "What happened? Is she alright?!" she asks.
Ahsoka gives me a glance before looking down, finding herself unable to answer. I rub my forehead sadly, a heave a sigh before responding. "I'm not sure there's any good way to say this Rylla but... do you know about the Inquisitors?"
She frowns in confusion. "Only a little, but what does that have to do with-" she suddenly stops, eyes going wide as she looked at us in horror and realization. "Wait, you're not saying..."
I nodded my head in resignation, a grim look on my face. "Unfortunately, she turned to the dark side, and has taken the name of Seventh Sister," I said, managing to keep my voice together, and Ahsoka had her head in her hands to hide the welling up of tears. It was still a sensitive subject.
Tears began to pool in Rylla's eyes, and she covers her mouth to muffle a sob, closing her eyes. "I can't believe it," she whispers.
Neither of us knew what to say, but after a few minutes we all drew each other into a group hug, sharing our sadness and grief over what happened to the rest of our clan. Weron and Kurhran were gone, we now knew, as we had sensed two of our clan bonds go out during the purge, but we didn't realize it until much later due to how weak clan bonds were. And even if she hasn't used the Force either in years, Rylla definitely has had to have sensed it too. And Vifi turned to the dark side to serve an Empire ruled by the dark lord of the Sith. It was heartbreaking.
Afterwards, we bid Rylla our farewells as she took off to rejoin Hayden to continue their lives as bounty hunters. I had to wonder if they would ever become a couple, because despite her harsh comments about how annoying he was, it was easy to tell that she was very fond of him too. Ahsoka could definitely sense it if I picked it up.
But unfortunately, while Rylla is heading back to work, this means that we have to start our work again as well. Ezra had left a few minutes before Rylla, having volunteered to go on a mission with Commander Sato's crew to look for a missing patrol. It wasn't surprising that he volunteered for that, as he seemed really bored with all the small 'blue milk runs' they've bee doing on Garel. It doesn't help that Kanan and Rex are trying to assume responsibility for his training in two different way. Boil could only watch on helplessly, but with some amusement at the continued tension between the two.
However, it was a little concerning, as my sources, as well as R5 have picked up rumors about a new weapon the Empire has created, supposedly capable of pulling entire ships out of hyperspace. They've worked on it for some time, but I didn't expect it to actually be possible to create such a device. Besides that though, a series of kidnappings has also got out attention, mine and Ahsoka's specifically. Not just because of the crime, but because of who it was against.
Force sensitive children.
Clearly the Emperor and Darth Vader did not want these children to grow up to become Jedi. And with me and Ahsoka being a very large topic of public interest and criticism on the holonet; criticism being a huge understatement, I'm sure they definitely would imagine us attempting to find these children ourselves and teach them the ways of the Force. Which we'd certainly love to do, in order to protect them and their families, but unfortunately we've just been too busy with so many other things in the Rebellion, not to mention worrying about Oryx and Snoke.
We both had a bad feeling that many of these kidnappings are being done by Vifi, and whoever else she accompanies.
I was broken out of my thoughts when Mara slams the door open to our room, and we jump in surprise. "Mara, what was that all about?" I ask her in bewilderment.
"Ezra and Commander Sato have been captured by the Empire!" she exclaims.
"Captured?" Ahsoka asks.
"They've created some kind of gravity well that can pull ships out of hyperspace!" she explains quickly, and we share a brief glance of concern.
"Does Hera and her crew already know?" she asks again.
"They're sending Kanan, Rex and Boil, but I'd like to go as well to help bust them out," she says determinedly.
I shake my head. "Not a chance Mara."
She stares at me in bewilderment. "Come on Dad, I can do this! I've done similar missions before!" she argues.
"We know sweetheart, but this time it's a lot more dangerous, and it requires something that you won't be able to give this time around." Ahsoka explains.
"Like what Mom?" she asks.
"Covertness," I said.
"You saying I don't have that?" she demands.
"Not for this type of mission I'm afraid." Ahsoka says. "You're way to small to disguise as a Stormtrooper, and on a Star Destroyer, even a prototype cruiser, you can't sneak around for long before being discovered."
"Not to mention we're starting to realize how your face is becoming more recognizable," I added.
She looks down in disappointment, and heaves a frustrated sigh. "Fine," she grumbles in resignation.
"There will be other chances, don't worry." Ahsoka reassured her.
Boil POV...
"Finally! A real proper, exciting mission this time!" I exclaimed cheerfully.
"At least you seem excited." Rex grumbles beside me, inspecting his blaster pistol.
I gape at him. "Are you kidding me brother? Don't tell me you actually prefer going on this lousy pick up errands we've been doing for the last few weeks!" I sy in disbelief.
"Of course not!" he shoots back.
I look at him closely before a smirk comes on my face, and I cross my arms, giving him a look. "Oh, I see. It's because Kanan's coming along isn't it?"
He's about to retort, a glare on his face before the door to the cargo bay opens, and Kanan walks through, arms crossed with an irritated expression. Well, he certainly looks like he woke up on the wrong side of bed today.
"Look, for the record, this wasn't my idea," he says immediately.
"Just try to act like a professional." Rex replies.
"What if you two get in there and forget whose side your on?" Kanan demands accusingly, marching forwards.
Me and Rex turn to glare at him. "I would never be on their side!" Rex exclaims.
"Or wear that junky costume they call armor!" I added in disgust.
Just then Zeb walks up to us, pulling along three stormtroopers up the ramp, tossing two down so that he can grab hold of the third and drop him as well, who groans slightly. "Here are your disguises," he says.
Rex reaches down to pull off one troopers helmet, and holds it up with a look of contempt. I stare down at the armor as well, frowning at how shoddy it looks in comparison to my own armor.
"Perfect," Rex mutters.
ooo00ooo
After squeezing ourselves into the garbage that the Empire calls armor, the three of us walked down the Ghost ramp. I messed with my armor, finding it uncomfortable, although not so much as Rex. He was pulling up several pieces, trying to get it to fit, since he was not as good of a fit as I was, considering he liked to rest up more on Seelos.
"This garbage is nothing like clone armor!" he complains, pulling up a piece on his behind.
"Looks a little tight on you old man." kanan says smugly, and I raised an eyebrow at him, finding his shoulder pad to look ridiculous. rex notices the same thing, and marches over to him.
"Yeah? At least I know how to wear it!" he retorts, correcting the shoulder pad, and Kanan pulls away from him with a grimace.
Hera suddenly approaches us, with two rebel pilots in tow. "Kanan, Rex, Boil, once you're in, signal me and I'll come in with Phoenix Squadron to blast you all out," she tells us.
"How are we getting in anyway?" Kanan asks.
A noise from behind us gets our attention, and we turn around to see an Imperial shuttle being lowered down from the workshop, primed and ready to go, Sabine giving us a thumbs up from the cockpit.
"How is it the Empire lets us keep stealing these things?" Kanan asks in bewilderment.
"Oh, I thought it was the same one we used before," I admit sheepishly.
We start walking towards it, but Rex continues to fix and mess with his armor, much to my amusement. "I hate this thing," he mutters.
"Guess you should've kept working out like I did Rex old boy. You're looking out of shape," I tell him with a grin.
He glares at me. "Boil, your continued workout routine was absurd, and none of us were gonna do that anymore."
I give off a shrug, pointing out the obvious differences in our stature, as I was clearly more fit. "Your loss."
ooo00ooo
Once we boarded the Imperial shuttle, we set off through hyperspace for Ezra and Commander Sato's last known location. Chopper was coming along with us as well, given a paint job fitting for an Imperial droid. However, Sabine also decided to have fun with the walls, and had drawn a picture of me, rex, and Kanan, all in a battle pose, lightsaber out and blasters firing. Kanan it seemed was the only one upset by it.
"I don't know why she does that," he complains.
"I kinda like it. She got my ferocity right," I said proudly, and Rex nods in agreement.
"I believe it's called artistic expression," he adds with a smirk.
"Yeah? Well, my expression is wrong. I'm not happy about being on this mission!" Kanan retorts angrily.
"Really? That wasn't clear." Rex replies sarcastically.
Me and Chopper both chuckled in amusement, while Kanan shoots him a glare. "Once we board this thing, Chopper will plug in, find out where they have our people, and we get them out of there."
"We've got to disable this weapon, whatever it is. If the Empire is able to intercept our ships in hyperspace, this Rebel movement won't last long." Rex says grimly.
"I hear what you're saying, but remember this is a rescue mission first and foremost." Kanan reminds us, before the console starts beeping. "We're coming up on Ezra's last known position."
"Let's just hope we can find that ship fast." Rex adds.
Our ship immediately exits hyperspace, to reveal a small Imperial fleet in front of us. There were two Imperial light cruisers, as well as one large ship, not as large as a Star Destroyer, but still intimidating. It was a design I didn't recognize, which meant its the new weapon that the Empire has.
"Found it Rex," I deadpanned.
"Uh oh," Kanan says nervously.
Just then, the comm lines come to life as the Imperial ship contacts us, and me and Rex share a look of understanding. "Shuttle S2-57, this is a restricted area."
"Copy that, sir. Boy, are we glad to see you. We have a 157, I repeat, a 157." Rex says urgently.
"You are not cleared. This is a 675 test zone and off limits to you, S2-57," the operator responds.
"Well, if we don't get any help soon, then we're gonna have a 3376 on our hands," I chime in with a grin.
"I don't think you're gonna wanna have a 3376 off your starboard side now would you, sir?" Rex adds, our voices blending together perfectly.
"Shuttle S2-57, requesting your emergency access code," the operator responds.
"Copy that, sir. Priority protocol 7, 10, 9, 5." Rex tells him.
"Standby for code check."
"Cody and I practically invented these emergency protocols back in the Clone War." Rex explains.
"Bloody useful to be honest," I add.
"Trust me, the codes are good." Rex finishes with a grin, and Kanan groans in annoyance.
"Copy, Shuttle S2-57. You are clear to proceed on heading 1599 to hangar 11."
Kanan gapes at the comm, and then at us in shock, and we both grin triumphantly, giving each other a quiet fist bump. "Thank you sir," he says, ending the transmission.
"See? What'd we tell you? They don't suspect a thing," I tell Kanan reassuringly, leaning back in the chair with my arms behind my head.
ooo00ooo
Once we landed, we put our helmets on and headed for the exit, Rex still working out a few kinks in his armor. "Well, all set?" he asks.
"I guess." Kanan replies, opening the ramp door. We head down the ramp and into the hanger, and a pang of nostalgia hits me when I see how similar it is to hangers back on Venator Star Destroys. Not the same, but still similar in design, especially the lighting.
"This must be just like old times," Kanan remarks.
"Heh, just follow my lead and you'll be okay." Rex replies.
"No, you follow my lead!" he retorts.
"Excuse me Kanan, but we've got much more battle experience," I stated smugly.
I couldn't see his face through the helmet, but I knew he was throwing me a glare. We approached the doors with Chopper rolling along behind us, and the two stormtrooper guards moved forwards to block our path.
"Command deck says you need to make your repairs and depart," he orders.
Kanan then moves forwards and waves his arm. "We need to get to maintenance."
The stormtrooper stills for a moment before replying. "You need to get to maintenance."
"We can go on our way."
"You can go on your way."
With that being said, the stormtroopers back up to give us clearance, and we walk through the door and into the corridor, exiting the hanger.
"Eh, not bad, but I've seen better,' Rex comments in disinterest, and I chuckle quietly, knowing how true that was. Not to mention, General Kenobi was a master at mind tricks, which Jarik picked up on of course, although he didn't use them as much.
"Maybe I'll practice on you sometime," Kanan retorts.
"Ha! Good luck with that. He once managed to fool Asajj Ventress when she tried to mind trick him," I replied in amusement.
"What?" Kanan asks in bewilderment.
"Yes I did," Rex says proudly, remembering one of his earlier missions on Teth. He told us how he fooled her into thinking he was going to ask for General Skywalker's location, but used his first name instead, in order to warn him that something wasn't right.
Kanan groans in annoyance. "Whatever. Chopper, plug in and find Ezra and the crew," he tells the droid.
Chopper beeps before rolling towards one of the astromech sockets and plugging in. After a few moments, he unplugs himself before looking at us, beeping a response.
"Transferring him to a secure cell?" Kanan asks in alarm. "That means they know who he is. Let's go!"
We rushed quickly through the hallways, coming up to a lift elevator, which the four of us piled into. Unfortunately, something that has changed since the Republic, was the dumb lift controls.
"Hurry up, hurry up! Press the button!" Kanan whispered harshly.
"Whi- which button? I don't know where it is!" Rex exclaimed, pressing one of the buttons at random.
"Oh no," I groaned quietly, as an Imperial officer stepped into the lift with us. The door closes, and the officer glances back at us briefly, at Rex in particular.
"Your armor appears to be a little tight trooper," he comments, not too nicely.
"Aha!" Rex laughs, before grumbling indistinctly. "I'll tighten your... face, a little tighter..."
I stifle my laugh, but stand at attention when the officer glares back at us. "What was that?" he demands.
"Possible hypersickness sir, we're hoping to get him fixed up." I offer respectfully.
Unfortunately, Kanan decided to get a word in as well before I could finish. "Err, we're taking 565 here on, um, 257."
If there was no reason to worry about blowing my cover, I would've smacked my forehead in frustration. I could imagine Rex feeling the same way.
"The commissary?" the officer scoffs mockingly in amusement. "That's the last place I'd take him."
"Yeah..." Rex mutters, grumbling more, saying something about the commissary. Thankfully the officer had gotten off the lift before he could say more, and we were on our way to Ezra's position.
Once the door opened to the proper level, we rushed out, glancing around before running down the corridors towards the cell block. Along the way we could hear shots being fired, and so quickened the pace, figuring that must be Ezra. We whipped around a corner, and saw Ezra tossing his binders inside a prison cell. Before we could do anything however, he turned around and fired his blaster at us, and the world went black.
Next thing I knew, my helmet was being yanked off as I groaned, and what sounded like a child yelling my name. I slowly got into a sitting position, rubbing the back of my head as I opened my eyes, blinking furiously at the bright lights while groaning. Finally I managed to get a sense of my surroundings to see Ezra crouching in front of us, Kanan and Rex by my side. Chopper was beeping behind us.
"What just happened?" Kanan asked groggily.
"Oh, uh, did you see them? We were so, outnumbered. There was a fire fight- a big fire fight actually. You guys fought great!" Ezra stammered hesitantly, and I frowned in confusion.
"What? I think I would've remembered that..." I muttered, and Ezra gave me a nervous look, eyes wide in alarm.
"Heh, thanks," Kanan said gratefully, before frowning. "All I saw was you."
Just then, Chopper opened up a hologram in front of our eyes, and the three of us watched as Ezra pulled out his blaster, shooting three bolts from it. Next thing I knew, I was watching those three bolts slam into us, knocking all of us onto our backs. Chopper laughed in the background, and Kanan looked appalled, shaking his head, while I just gaped at the recording. Rex had his eyes narrowed in bewilderment, before a grin came onto his face, and I couldn't help a grin as well.
"You shot us! I can't believe you shot us!" Kanan exclaimed.
Ezra backed off nervously. "I mean, you were dressed like stormtroopers!"
"Yeah!" Kanan replied in angry exasperation as if the reason were obvious; which it was.
"You shot us kid?!" I asked in amazement before laughing, Rex joining in on it. "I haven't been shot in years! I almost forgot what it felt like!" I roared, still laughing.
"I- I set it too stun!" Ezra protested.
"Yeah well, you shoulda used kill." Rex suggested, and I nodded in agreement.
"What?!" Kanan exclaimed in horror.
"Well, just in case it wasn't us, I mean-" I explained.
Kanan scoffs furiously. "This armor doesn't protect you from anything!"
"Well, I told you!" Rex retorted.
"Now's not the time!" Ezra exclaims in exasperation. "We've got to find Sato and sabotage this ship. They have this gravity weapon thing that-" he starts to say, before seeing we were giving him dull looks. "You know all this," he realizes.
"So, what's your plan?" Rex asks.
"Well, we should probably split up. I'll take Chopper and he can get me to the reactor that powers this thing. You to bust out Sato." Ezra suggests.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. We are not splitting up." Kanan disagrees immediately. "Let's get Sato and get out of here."
"Now hang on a minute Kanan-" I reply before being interrupted.
"The kid's right, we have to destroy this ship." Rex says firmly.
"Do you know how many stormtroopers are heading this way?" Kanan argues.
"Doesn't matter." Rex retorts.
I let out a frustrated sigh as the two of them start arguing again, and stand beside Ezra, who was growing increasingly frustrated.
"We can't afford to separate!" Kanan exclaims.
"We have to protect the fleet!" Rex replies angrily.
"Will you two quit it already? Part of the reason I took this mission was to get a break from this!" Ezra exclaims, shoving between the two of them. "Ok, Chopper and I will meet you at Sato's ship."
As he moves off with Chopper, I turn to the other two. "He's right you know, you guys gotta work together, which is why I am going with the kid."
I started following after him, although Kanan looked upset. "Absolutely not-"
"Sorry, can't hear you! My hearing must be degrading because I'm so old!" I called back, just faintly hearing Rex's laughter.
I walked out of the lift elevator, Chopper rolling along behind me. Two stormtroopers looked at us, and I gave them a sharp nod, to which they went back to their duties. What they didn't realize was that Ezra was clinging onto Chopper from the side, in a way that made him invisible to the stormtroopers. Once we were in the clear, he jumped off, coming up to my side.
"That actually worked really well." Ezra admitted.
"Of course it did," I retorted proudly.
"Did Jarik really come up with that with R5 during the Clone Wars?" he asks me.
"Yup. One of the perks of being an astromech droid, everybody ignores you," I commented.
Chopper beeped at me loudly in what I assumed was annoyance, and I just rolled my eyes. In no time, we reached the reactor room and peeked inside, noticing a few workers milling about.
"There it is," I said.
"You think you can get in there and disable it?" Ezra asks me.
"Even if I knew how, they'd know something's up if I started messing with the controls. It'd be against protocol," I explained, shaking my head.
Chopper then beeped up at us, drawing Ezra's attention. "What? You, have a plan?" he asks disbelievingly.
Chopper beeps again, and Ezra stares at him. "I'm the bait," he deadpans.
"What's he saying?" I ask.
"I don't know, but he wants us to draw them away," he tells me, and I let off a shrug.
"That's fine. They'll ignore him anyways," I reply.
With the plan set, I enter the reactor room, walking calmly while Ezra rushed forwards, hiding behind the consoles. I fixed my helmet a little bit, internally groaning at how stupid they make the visibility on these buckets. One of the workers gives me a nod, and I nod back at him, glancing around like I was coming to check up on everything.
Ezra then rushes up to the next part of the generators, hiding around the corner. He looks at one worker, smirking to himself before turning away, making it obvious for the guy to notice him.
"Hold it!" the worker calls out, and Ezra dashes away, flipping off the catwalk and onto a lower platform.
"Come and get me!" he exclaims, pulling out his lightsaber.
"We've got an intruder! After him!" I yelled out, pointing out Ezra's location.
All of the technicians scrambled over, including the one near me, pulling out their blasters. Before they could fire, I raised my own and shot the guy in the back, causing them all to look over at me in surprise.
"Make that two intruders!" I called out, unable to help the grin on my face. I missed this!
Half of them split their attention on me, while the other half shot at Ezra, who deflected their bolts with his lightsaber. I took cover behind one of the terminals, firing my blaster at the others. During the chaos, Chopper was rolling over to the astromech socket, just like we wanted. I fired my blaster again, but the shot missed... embarrassingly! I growled in frustration.
"This stupid helmet!" I exclaimed, yanking it off my head. "I can't see with this kriffing crap!"
I threw the helmet at one of the technicians, and he dodged it, but before he could do anything more, I delivered a headshot with perfect precision, and he went down. I grinned proudly to myself.
"I still got it," I told myself, aiming my blaster at another.
However, much to my shock, the gravity generators in the room suddenly shut off, and I began to float upwards. I hastily grabbed onto the terminal to keep myself rooted with a groan, glaring at the droid.
"Chopper!" I yelled.
"THIS WASN'T PART OF THE PLAN!" Ezra shouted in a panic. He was floating uncontrollably through the air, lightsaber swinging as he desperately attempted to deflect the blaster fire headed his way. One technician fired his blaster, and Ezra just barely managed to deflect it, although the force sent him flying back. I quickly aimed my blaster at the worker and fired, striking him in the back, and he let out a cry of pain before dying.
Ezra pushed off the wall, continuing to flip through the air while the last technician struggled to retrieve his blaster. I tried shooting him down, but the lack of gravity made it hard to line up the shot properly. It didn't help that Chopper was laughing his tin can off.
"Don't you dare! Don't you do it! Not yet!" Ezra yelled.
Chopper beeped, and just as the worker retrieved his blaster, and I was about to fire at him, the gravity cut back on. Everything fell down, the technician screaming in terror along the way. Thankfully, Ezra dropped onto the walkway, although was hanging over the pit, while Chopper rolled towards him. I Set my feet back on the ground with a sigh, and rushed over to help Era up.
"Ow!" he exclaimed in pain, after Chopper ran over his hands, and I winced at the sight. Didn't look to pretty.
"Come on kid," I said, grabbing his arm and pulling him back onto the platform.
"Thanks Boil," he replied gratefully, and we ran after Chopper. "You better have sabotaged it!"
Chopper beeped back at us, and Ezra glared at him. "What do you mean you think you did!?"
"I'm starting to think I like R5 a little better," I muttered to myself.
More blaster fire from below got our attention, and we whipped around to see a pair of stormtroopers firing at us. We dashed along the walkways, Ezra blocking with his lightsaber, and I fired back. A well placed shot from me took out the lead stormtrooper, who fell into the reactor pit with a scream. I would've gotten the second one if we didn't reach the exit, and just decided to let it go, despite my want to take him out.
Still, this is more exciting than slinging for joopas has ever been these last few years. I missed this kriffing insanity!
Not much longer afterwards, we managed to meet up with the rest of the escape party, and it was absolute chaos. Stormtroopers were surrounding us left and right, and we continued to fight them off. It was much easier now, with Ezra and Kanan at our side, and I was getting a lot more used to this type of blaster. None of my shots were missing anymore, and while we didn't have any grenades or rocket launchers, these were working just fine. However...
"Where's Rex?" I asked over the chaos.
Kanan was just standing there in the middle of the firefight, eyes closed, with a look of concern on his face.
"We sabotaged the reactor, lets get out of here!" Ezra told Kanan.
"Wait!" I exclaimed. "What happened to Rex?!" I demanded.
Kanan turns around to give us a serious look. "Get Sato and his crew to the blockade runner!"
"Where are you going?" Ezra asked in bewilderment.
Kanan groans in aggravation. "I gotta get my friend!" he replies, rushing forwards and shooting back at the stormtroopers, deflecting blaster fire.
"Friend? What?!" I exclaimed.
"We can't get through! Where's Kanan going?!" Sato demanded.
I wanted to follow after him, but Kanan knew what he was doing. Besides, I'm guessing that Rex decided to hold the troopers back on his own, and got captured. He's a tough guy, so he'll do fine.
"Don't worry, I've got this." Ezra told Sato reassuringly.
"Right behind you kid," I replied, rushing after him.
"You've... got this?!" Sato questions disbelievingly.
The rest of Sato's crew were hunkered down by the corridor, firing away at the stormtroopers down there, unable to get any headway. That all changed when Ezra jumped out, immediately starting to deflect blaster fire as he charged forwards. I followed after him, going on the offensive and shooting down stormtroopers, while Ezra was on the defense. It was like the sword and shield maneuver, and it almost felt like I was fighting with Jarik in the Clone Wars again. Ezra is the same age as Jarik was during the first half of the war.
Our teamwork easily pushed through the stormtrooper barricade, and before we knew it we were halfway down the hall, taking cover behind the walls. I fired my blaster, scoring another hit on a stormtrooper down by the end.
"Hey!" Ezra called out in frustration to the rest of the crew, who were still sitting there, watching us in shock.
"I like getting all the kills, but feel free to join in any time!" I yelled back.
"Come on! They've got this!" Sato exclaim encouragingly, leading the rest of the rebels after us.
ooo00ooo
We had managed to reach the ship after the firefight, and I was covering the ramp entrance with Ezra while the rebel crew rushed inside. The comlink then beeped, and Ezra answered it.
"Ezra, tell Sato to take off!" Kanan says.
We share a surprised look. "No way, we're not leaving." Ezra replies firmly.
"Just do it! We've got another way out!" he told us before ending the transmission.
"How are they supposed to escape if there's no ship?!" Ezra asks in bewilderment, blocking another laser blast.
I shot down a stormtrooper before replying. "I don't know... wait, yes I do. They'll try and use the escape pods!"
ooo00ooo
Once everyone was on board the ship, we rushed into the cockpit, where Commander Sato and the pilots were preparing to take off.
"Where are the others?" he asks in alarm.
"Kanan order us to go! He said they had another way out!" Ezra explained.
Sato frowns but nods in understanding. "Pilot, disengage."
The cruiser detaches from the Star Destroyer, and we fly off at top speed in order to get as far away from the Imperial ships as possible. Along the way, we pick up an escape pod that holds Kanan and Rex, and they quickly rush onto the bridge with us.
"You sabotaged that thing right?" Kanan asks immediately.
"Of course we did," Ezra says confidently. "Right Chop?"
Chopper beeps back at us, but I still have my doubts, raising an eyebrow. "Ehh..."
"Make the jump!" Sato orders.
The familiar blue stars of hyperspace start to come into view, allowing me to breathe a sigh of relief. However, before we could complete the jump, the view outside suddenly exploded into an array of orange, blue and purple, and the ship shook violently as we were yanked out of hyperspace. I grunted in surprise, scrambling to grab hold of something to stay on my feet.
"We are caught! Again!" Commander Sato exclaims.
"Are you kidding me! R5 was better than this tin can!" I yelled angrily.
Chopper wails furiously at me, and I glare down at him.
"Don't get mad at him Chop! I thought you said you sabotaged it!" Ezra exclaimed.
He beeps back a reply, and Ezra frowns incredulously. "What do you mean wait for it?!"
"Look!" Kanan says, pointing out the window.
We widen our eyes as we notice the Imperial light cruisers being violently sucked towards the main ship as well, having also been affected. Chopper chortles in droid laughter.
"Chopper rigged their own weapon against them. It's pulling everything in!" Ezra realized.
"Including us!" Kanan added.
Moments later, we all watched with wide, shocked eyes as the light cruisers slammed into the Destroyer, one skidding across the top nd shearing off the hull of the ship, leaving huge explosions in its wake. Soon enough, the cruiser slammed into the bridge, causing a massive explosion that briefly blinded us, and once that happened, our ship stopped shaking so violently.
"Commander, we're free!" the pilot exclaimed happily.
As our ship turned away from the implosion, we got to watch as the Star Destroyed exploded in a massive ball of blue fire and lightning. The rebel crew all cheered, and I crossed my arms with a scoff, shaking my head.
"Feels like old times eh Rex?" I asked.
"Definitely like old times," he replied in agreement.
Third Brother POV...
I marched up silently to Fifth Brother and Seventh Sister, who were once again glaring at each other, in a pointless argument. I growled through my mask, yellow eyes glowing at their stupidity and nonsense.
"You want to go toe to toe with me, halfwit?" she threatened.
"I wouldn't want to embarrass you so, witch," he retorted, and she growled at him, reaching for her lightsaber.
"That's enough!" I snapped, and they both glanced at me, turning away from each other and lowering their heads in submission.
"Apologies... Third Brother," Seventh Sister said in disdain, which I brushed off.
"You two better cooperate before I send you back to Lord Vader to explain why you're such failures," I snarled, fed up with their behavior.
Wisely, they said nothing, the threat of what Lord Vader was capable of all too clear. "Now, there are reports of a Force sensitive child headed for the Chandral system, and another on Takobo. You two will seek them out, and bring them back for Lord Vader and the Emperor."
"As you wish." Fifth Brother says quietly.
"You aren't coming?" Seventh Sister notices.
"I have other Force sensitives to bring in, along with someone else," I stated, although with some distaste.
From behind me, a shadowy, feminine figure approaches, mask still on her face, black cloak flowing behind her. Seventh Sister and Fifth Brother widen their eyes in surprise at the sight of her.
"Second Sister," Fifth Brother says in surprise.
"That's Grand Inquisitor to you!" she snaps, and they both incline their heads with respect.
"My apologies, Grand Inquisitor," he replies.
I give no reaction, finding myself not enjoying this assignment with the Second Sister, who has now been promoted to the head of our ranks after the demise of the previous one at the hands of Jarik Shan and Kanan Jarrus. I still don't understand what she could've done to gain that position, because with her arrogance and failures, she did not deserve it. I could not wait until my true master wiped these Sith out.
"Now, we must be off Third Brother," she says. "And the two of you better not screw this up, or else there will be harsh punishment," she hisses.
"We will not fail," Seventh Sister says angrily, her dislike of Second Sister being clear enough.
If there was one thing that I agreed on with her and the Fifth Brother, it's that we hated the Second Sister.
Oh, that was fun. Boil got to enjoy the thrill of battle once again. It was a little saddening that we never got to see too much of him during the show, especially on Umbara, since that's where Waxer died. They were like the Fives and Echo for the 212th, with Boil mirroring Fives. Oh well.
Rylla still has a different life to lead, but now she knows how to get in contact with her old friends whenever she wishes too. And also knows that Vifi is now an Inquisitor. Also in her side story, in their discussion were some hints of where I'm planning on taking her, which involves the Crimson Dawn. Ohhh... although my progress on that one is slow, so who knows when that'll happen. :P
And then there's the reappearance of Second Sister! Haven't seen her in a while huh? I have to admit, I sort of forgot about her for a brief amount of time; anyone else? But while I don't have a clear idea of how she'll go out yet, whether it's on Malachor or maybe afterwards, I'm hoping to give her some more involvement of the story, as she is a major part of Mara's past.
And the kidnapping of Force sensitive children... this looks like a job for our favorite couple!
