A/N: This chapter will start from the Inquisitor's point of view, but don't worry, we'll see the crew as well! I'm not planning to write from the Inquisitor's point of view very often, but if it happens, it happens. Here's where things begin to get really interesting! I might not update this story for a bit, because I wat to make sure the next scenes flow well and make sense, so I'll be working very hard on them.
As always, comments, questions, reviews, and helpful criticism are highly appreciated.
The Grand Inquisitor hit the metal wall with a loud bang and sat for a few moments, stunned both physically and mentally. That hadn't happened before. Last time, boxing away the child's memories had been easy; this time, however, something in the boy's Force signature, in the boy himself, had forcefully ejected the Inquisitor's own signature. He had felt rather than heard something within the boy snap, and then a hot, searing warmth flooded the boy's mind, washing away the new shields the Inquisitor had begun to build and forcing him out of the boy's head. What impressed the Inquisitor the most, however, was the fact that the shockwave had echoed through the Force and affected the physical world as well.
Intrigued, the Inquisitor staggered to his feet and returned to the child's still form, sending out a weak probe to take stock of the child's mental state. To his confusion and anger, the weak tendril of Darkness the Inquisitor sent out was met with something that burned it away and forced him to once again withdraw. Just as the Inquisitor prepared to make yet another assault on the boy's newfound and strangely powerful shields, however, his comm buzzed. With an irate noise halfway between a sigh and a growl, the Inquisitor snatched the comm off his belt and spoke into it.
"This had better be important, Agent Kallus. My orders to interrupt for only the most dire emergencies were very clear."
"My apologies, Grand Inquisitor, but there is an incoming message from Lord Vader himself. He has demanded your presence at once," the usual thinly-veiled mockery in the Agent's voice was not present, and that, along with the slight tremor the Inquisitor detected, told him that this was an urgent matter.
"I'm on my way," the Inquisitor promised, shutting off his comm and placing it back on his belt. He glanced once more at the motionless boy before exiting the room and making his way down the hall. Two stormtroopers stood at attention at the entrance of the dead-end hallway, and when the Inquisitor passed them they saluted swiftly and silently before making their way down to the Interrogation Room to stand guard.
The Inquisitor paid them little attention before returning to his troubled thoughts. If the reason for the Sith Lord's meeting was the boy, the Inquisitor worried that he would lose his prize and the hard-fought progress he had made thus far. The Inquisitor knew he must tread lightly, or risk losing everything.
No sooner had the crew closed the door to their temporary quarters behind them and checked over the room for any potential bugs than something swept through the Force like a wave, slamming into Kanan's mind and sending him staggering. Only Zeb's hand on his arm stopped him from tumbling to the floor.
"You okay, mate?" Zeb asked in concern. Kanan shook his head to clear the lingering cloud of emotions and looked up at the other three, who were all staring at him with unsettled expressions on their faces.
"Did… did you guys feel that?" Kanan asked, his voice slightly breathy. Zeb dropped his arm and nodded his head with a very puzzled expression. Sabine looked around the room, confused.
"What… was that?" Hera asked, frowning. Kanan shook his head slowly. Something had shifted in the Force, and it had been so strong that even non-Force sensitives had felt it. Whatever it was, Kanan had a feeling it was connected to the Weapon they were looking for.
"Hera, it looks like your estimates were off by a few days," Sabine said suddenly. The other three turned to her.
"What do you mean?" Hera asked anxiously, moving to stand beside the Mandalorian.
"It looks like the Weapon is already here," Sabine responded, her eyes flicking over pages of text as she spoke. Hera stiffened and her lekku twitched. "But, there is good news," Sabine continued.
"Well, let's hear it," Zeb encouraged gruffly, shifting nervously on his feet and eyeing the door.
"I've managed to slice into their security system, and I know where the Weapon is. It's in the Detention Block, in one of the Interrogation Rooms."
"Why would they store a weapon there?" Kanan asked with a frown. Sabine shrugged.
"New plan," Hera announced. "I'm going to prep the Ghost for takeoff. Kanan, you take Zeb and Sabine with you and find this… Weapon, whatever it is, and destroy it."
"So all this undercover nonsense was completely unnecessary?" Zeb grouched. "We shoulda just gone with that plan from the beginning." Kanan ignored Zeb's grumbling and instead made his way to the door.
"Zeb, Sabine, with me. Hera, keep the engine warm for us," Kanan said, meeting Hera's eyes. She nodded and smiled.
"Good luck, you three. Be careful," Hera said, laying a gentle hand on Kanan's shoulder before turning and jogging down the hall.
"This way," Sabine said, striding out of the room. Kanan and Zeb glanced at each other and hurried to keep pace with the teenager. Sabine led the way through a few corridors and out a door before they casually made their way over to the nearby building that held the Detention Block and all the prison cells. Zeb and Kanan stood watch as Sabine sliced the lock on the door and the three slipped quietly in, the door sliding shut behind them with a hiss.
"Which way now?" Zeb asked Sabine in a low whisper, unhooking his Bo Rifle from where it lay across his back. Kanan unholstered his blaster and peeked around the corner carefully before motioning the others forward. Sabine tapped at the screen built into her gauntlets.
"This way," she said quietly, pointing down a long, curved hall. Two more turns and one set of stairs later, Sabine held up a hand and the other two stopped before all three peered around the corner, withdrawing quickly before the two stormtroopers standing guard could spot them. "That's the room," Sabine said, readying her blasters. Kanan motioned for the other two to wait and stepped around the corner, holding out his hand and connecting to the Force.
"Stop right there! Only authorized personnel are allowed in this cell!" One of the troopers called as they both raised their blasters at the approaching Jedi.
"The cell you're guarding is on the floor above," Kanan said, reaching into their minds and nudging their brains to follow his suggestion. The two troopers lowered their blasters, and Kanan pressed harder.
"The… cell we're guarding is on the floor above," one of the troopers repeated, sounding dazed. The two then jumped into action, racing past Kanan and ignoring Sabine and Zeb completely as they rushed to follow what they thought were their orders. Sabine hurried to the cell door and began hacking into the lock as soon as the troopers were gone.
"What's the plan?" Zeb asked gruffly from his spot at the end of the hall.
"As soon as I get this door open, I'll plant some of these babies," Sabine said, pausing momentarily to show off one of her infamous miracles. "And blow this entire section sky-high. Whatever that weapon is won't be very useful for much longer." Kanan grinned at the girl and fell back to keep watch with Zeb.
"Got it!" they heard Sabine whisper as the lock beeped and the door slid open. "Now, let's see what we-" Sabine's voice stuttered to a halt and Kanan felt her shock through the Force.
"Sabine, what's wrong?" he asked urgently, starting to make his way over to where the Mandalorian was.
"Kanan, you're going to want to see this," Sabine's voice came clearly from down the hall, meaning she had removed her helmet. There was a slight tremor to her words and Kanan picked up his pace. He got to the doorway of the cell and froze.
Kanan hadn't been quite sure what he had expected to see when Sabine had called him over, but it sure wasn't… this.
Sabine was standing in front of a metal interrogation table, frantically working to release the metal clamps that held a human teen, no older than Sabine herself. The kid's tan skin was marked with scars and cuts and his chin-length blue-black hair was ragged and cut to different lengths.
"Kanan, what do we do?" Sabine asked, glancing up at the Jedi, her amber eyes wide and distressed.
"Where's the Weapon?" Kanan asked, stepping down the steps to join Sabine in opening the cuffs; Sabine had already unlocked three of the five, and Kanan quickly found the release for the other two.
"Kanan, I think this kid is the Weapon," Sabine said quietly. Kanan looked between her and the small form lying on the table and frowned. That couldn't be right… could it? Just as Kanan opened his mouth to respond to the girl, the boy shifted slightly, drawing Kanan's gaze back down to the table…
…Where his own eyes met bright, electric blue ones.