'Is this where you are?' Heron asked through the Force as he came to a stop in front of a hallway with three exits and one closed door. 'Hello?'
'Yes, at the nearest room to you.'
Heron turned to the door and slowly approached it, keeping the tracker in his belt before raising his hand up and flicking it over. The door slid open, revealing Ashoka in her hoodie as she stepped out.
"Greetings," she said. "I'm glad that you've finally found us,"
Heron smiled in his helmet, but his smile faded the moment he saw their companions step out beside her.
"Hey, kid," Rex, who was still in his stormtrooper disguise, gave a salute to the boy. "Thanks for coming to our rescue,"
"Don't thank me yet," Heron groaned, rolling his eyes. "We haven't escaped yet, and our only escape route was ambushed, so we'll have to get out of here the old-fashion way; escape pods,"
"There are three in this facility," Kallus told him. "They can fit up to two people in each escape pod, depending on the size,"
"Then it's a good thing that my comrades are slim," Heron chuckled before taking out his comm. "This is Specter 7 to Ghost, do you have Specter 10?"
"WUP, WUP WUP WUP WUP WUP." Chopper beeped, causing the half-Twi'lek to snap.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T HAVE HIM?!" Heron's eyes grew wide in rage. "WHERE IS HE?!"
"HE GOT CAPTURED!" Zelda's shrill voice was full of panic. "SPECTER 10 GOT CAPTURED BY SOME BLUE-SKINNED IMPERIAL WHO'S WITH GOVERNOR PRYCE!"
"Thrawn…" Kallus muttered under his breath, gritting his teeth.
"AND YOU'RE ONLY TELLING ME THIS NOW, WHY?!" Heron snarled with anger so massive that Ashoka swore she saw his visor flashing gold. "HOW LONG HAS THIS BEEN?!"
"…5 minutes," That news didn't settle well for the crew's leader, who was now clenching his fist while one of his eyes twitched.
"Son of a—!" Heron was fuming now, his clenching hand now clawing and messing up his hair. "THAT'S IT! CHANGE OF PLANS! SPECTER 8, SPECTER 9, FOLLOW MY COORDINATES AND MEET ME HERE!"
"What about the explosives?" Selena questioned.
"LATER." Heron's expression darkened, yet he wasn't calm, which only gave a chill down Ashoka's spine. "We'll give the Empire the destruction they deserve."
X
The tension in the room was thick as Elvis sat on a chair, his cadet helmet still on him and covering his face as he glared at the stormtroopers around him and at Pryce, who was standing right beside him as they both faced Thrawn. The grand admiral, on the other hand, was grasping at another weapon he found at Elvis's belt; his lightsaber.
"You are a Jedi, I presume?" he asked the boy.
"Padawan. Not a Jedi." Elvis stayed firm, his glare deepening at Thrawn. "I just earned my lightsaber."
"Of course," Thrawn hid a grin. "you are far too young to be a fully-fledged Jedi Knight. I wouldn't be surprised to know that you are still a mere Padawan,"
"At least I've earned a title that's worth my efforts and my life." Elvis hissed.
"And who is your master?" Thrawn raised an eyebrow, ignoring the insult.
"My mother." Elvis huffed. "That's all I'll ever reveal to the likes of you."
"Understandable, I suppose," Thrawn turned away from the boy.
There was a moment of silence that soon occupied the office. Elvis was still, his breathing slow as he shut his mouth and refused to make a sound. Thrawn soon noticed that the child wasn't going to talk, or at least ask his name, so he would have to initiate.
"Do you know who I am, boy?"
"Does it matter if I do?" Elvis raised an eyebrow.
Pryce was irritated, but a short glance from Thrawn told her to keep her temper down as the grand admiral turned back with a calm expression.
"I am Grand Admiral Thrawn," he said, stepping forward to place a hand on the hybrid's shoulder. "I was placed in charge of any Rebel activity in this system. All was going well until there was a Rebel Spy, or 'Fulcrum', in my presence,"
Elvis growled lowly at the hand touching him, gritting his teeth. "How 'interesting' to hear, but I have no idea who this 'Fulcrum' is. My crew and I came here to save prisoners from a distress signal. That's it."
"I would assume that, considering you didn't even know who I am," Thrawn smirked as his grip on the other's shoulder tightened. "But I'm sure you'll learn Fulcrum's identity soon. And by soon, I mean now. Fulcrum is Kallus, Agent Kallus,"
"WHAT?!" Pryce roared out into rage while gritting her teeth. "I KNEW that agent had SOMETHING under that no good—"
"Pryce." Thrawn gave her a glare. "Not in front of our little 'guest', please."
Pryce didn't oppose and immediately shut her mouth. She crossed her arms and turned her head away, internally fuming.
Elvis, on the other hand, wasn't fazed with the info. In fact, he didn't even seem to believe Thrawn's words. Instead, he let out a chuckle of disbelief.
"Yeah, sure he's Fulcrum. Sure." his voice was full of sarcasm as he rolled his eyes in his helmet. "And I'm the Emperor's nephew. How realistic. I TOTALLY believe it."
Thrawn was fully alert at the sarcastic tone in the boy's words, but he chose to tolerate it and let it slide to not spark up the child's sass. Instead, he looked down at him, his eyes meeting the hybrid's own with only the helmet to block his complete view of the boy's face, yet he was able to spot a shimmer of blue eyes through the dim visor.
"Of course you need proof of this treachery," he spoke as he stood upright again. "You… rebels… are as untrustworthy as we are, always finding proof of loyalty before getting stabbed in the back,"
"It's better than being stabbed after you become too cozy with someone." And, of course, Elvis just had to get his mother's sass. "My mother had always taught me to not trust anyone."
"And yet you trust your crew to find and save you?" Thrawn gave a snicker. "You surprise me, child,"
"I never said that they'd rescue me." Elvis growled. "I'm fine, even if they DON'T rescue me."
'We will see about that…' Thrawn narrowed his eyes at the boy, a gleam of mischief sparkling over his blood red eyes.
X
"Present and accounted for!" The vents opened to reveal Zelda dropping beside the half-Twi'lek.
Selena came out right after her, landing beside her before turning to their leader with a hand on her hip. "So, What's the new plan, Specter 7?"
"You two get these three out with the escape pods," Heron replied, pointing to the ones behind him as he stepped away from them and placed himself below the vents. "Once you've escaped, signal Specter 3 to get you guys attached to the Ghost. I'll get Elvis back from that blue-skinned scoundrel. Where did he take him?"
"That way," Zelda pointed to the direction of Thrawn's office.
"Alright." Heron hissed before climbing into the vent. "Now go! Before any stormtrooper finds you,"
"On it, boss," Selena saluted with a smirk then she and Zelda ran to the escape pods, with Ashoka, Rex and Kallus running behind to follow.
"The room for the pods are down that way," Kallus guided.
"Alright, let's— woah, hold on! Wait a minute!" Neither of them stopped running, but Zelda turned to look at the agent, with her helmet hiding her twisted expression of disgust and disbelief. "What is AGENT KALLUS doing here?! I thought he was one of those nasty ISB Imperials!"
"He had become our Rebel Spy, or 'Fulcrum', a few months back," Ashoka explained. "Grand Admiral Thrawn, however, had figured out who he was, so we need to get him out of here,"
"Well, that was Specter 7's orders to us…" Selena shrugged, though it was obvious by the sound of her voice that she didn't trust Kallus, or any of them, for that matter.
"Argh, fine…" Zelda scowled under her breath as she picked up the pace. "But you two better be responsible for him!"
X
'Come on, Specter 10…' Heron growled at himself as he went through the vents, trying to sense the other boy with the help of the Force.
He stopped a bit and sighed then he shut his eyes and focused on the other's Force Signature.
'I know you're out there… please… reach out to me…'
X
'…reach out to me…'
Elvis's eyes widened in surprise as he felt Heron's Force Signature, desperately trying to find him. He noticed that Thrawn was distracted and entranced with his lightsaber again, so he took the advantage and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath as he concentrated.
'I'm here…' he spoke telepathically. 'Find me, Heron…'
X
'Find me, Heron…'
Heron gasped, his eyes widening before turning to where he heard Elvis. He picked up new courage and kept on crawling.
'I will… I promise…'
X
Zelda, Selena, Ashoka, Rex, and Kallus passed a couple of rooms and turned through the windy hallway until they found an open room with the escape pods.
"Alright," Selena sighed in relief and turned to her comrade. "Specter 9, you take Kallus and the girl with you on one escape pod. You guys leave first then signal Specter 3 to pick you up first,"
"I forgot the Ghost could only pick up one escape pod at a time…" Zelda groaned as she opened one pod. "Okay, but once I'm on the ship, I'll signal you and this trooper to go then we'll pick up your escape pod, clear?"
"Loud and clear," Selena nodded then the half-Lasat female entered the escape pod with Ashoka and Kallus following behind her. "Good luck,"
"To you too," Zelda then closed the pod and activated it, releasing it from the Star Destroyer and into space.
She grabbed the boosters and flew it a bit to get away from the Star Destroyer. Once they were far enough, she turned on her comm.
"Specter 3, pick me up on the escape pod," she said.
"WUP WUP WUP WUP!" Chopper beeped in approval before flying down towards her.
Zelda bit her bottom lip and waited as the old freighter came close. Soon, the escape pod was attached, and the Ghost went back to flying to avoid the Ties, letting her sigh in relief.
"Oh, thank the stars…" she leaned back on the escape pod chair as Ashoka opened the hatch.
"Come, the escape is not yet over," she urged her gently.
"Right…" Zelda let them leave first before climbing out then she took out her comm. "Specter 3, release the escape pod!"
"WUP-WUP." With that, the escape pod was released.
Zelda smiled then she ran to the cockpit, with Ashoka and Kallus following behind her as they were all met with the view of the battle.
X
"Tell me, boy," Thrawn set the lightsaber on the table and turned to the hybrid. "are you brave enough to know that your Rebel friends and Rebel crew are not going to come for you?"
'They ARE coming for me, you dim-witted ass.' Elvis bit his tongue to keep him from thinking out loud. "Yes, I am. If they escape without me, it's fine. As long as I know that they are safe."
"Words of a true Rebel…" Thrawn hissed, moving closer towards him. "I would not be surprised if you die in a day or two with your words, but lucky for you, I am tasked to bring any Jedi Rebel I encounter to either Lord Vader or my Emperor,"
"Then if I don't turn to the dark side, a.k.a be a Sith Lord or even an Inquisitor, I will be slain." Elvis rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I know how it goes. I've been told SO many times…"
"Then you know the consequences quite well," Thrawn hid his urge to snicker. "Why do you still stay a Jedi if you know?"
"Because I don't break as easily as Anakin Skywalker." Elvis grinned, causing the grand admiral's eye to twitch at the spoken name. "Nor do I submit as easily as the other Jedis who gave up their good hearts to be the wicked Inquisitors they are now."
Thrawn wanted to grab the boy and throw him out of his office, repeatedly hitting him and making sure he suffered, but he didn't let his vision see red. Instead, he kept a calm expression, with his posture still upright and straight.
"The Empire was already too powerful because of my Emperor," he finally said after finding his words. "The Jedis were either to die or submit. They chose the right way to live,"
"It didn't mean that Skywalker had to break with them." Elvis retorted back calmly. "It was clear that he was only a normal Jedi Knight; easy to break and easy to fall into the hands of—"
"SILENCE, CHILD!" Thrawn grabbed Elvis by the shoulders with a tight grip and made the hybrid face his annoyed, anger-filled bloody red eyes. "TALK ONE MORE NEGATIVE THING ABOUT LORD VADER, AND I WILL SEND YOU TO HIM WITH NO HESITATION."
Elvis's heart began to beat faster as his fright increased. His whole body went tense while his breathing hitched, and his brain screamed for a way for him to get out, yet he managed to keep a calm mood.
"Okay then." he shrugged, regretting every word he was saying and he was going to say. "Take me to Vader. I don't care. He is nothing to me."
If only he had shut his mouth.
X
"Specter 8, you are clear to escape,"
"Copy that, Specter 9," Selena opened the other escape pod and turned to the clone. "Come on, Gramps. We gotta go before your nap time,"
"Hey! I'm not that old!" Rex frowned, but he entered behind Selena into the pod anyway.
Selena got into the piloting seat and activated the pod, which was launched out of the Star Destroyer. She lowered a little to give a distance between her and the Imperials before turning her comm on.
"This is Specter 8 to Ghost, we're ready for pick-up," she spoke out.
"Be there soon, Specter 8," Zelda replied as she was on the pilot's seat, with Ashoka and Kallus watching her seat from behind, and was maneuvering around the Ties that kept firing at her. "Argh, Chop, I need a hand with these Tie Fighters!"
"WUP WUP, WUP WUP…" Chopper waved her off as he connected himself with the bottom gun again.
Soon, he was shooting at the Ties, clearing a space for Zelda to zoom in. She neared Selena's escape pod, her grip on the steering wheel tightening in tension as she went closer and closer. Finally, the escape pod was attached with a click, giving Zelda a moment to sigh in relief before she leaned back on her chair.
"Specter 8, you're secured,"
"I'll be up at the nose gun to help you out in a jiffy," Selena returned then she opened the hatch and climbed out.
Rex followed behind her then when they ran into the ship, Selena came into a stop in the common room.
"The cockpit's that way," she ordered then she sped off to the nose gun.
"Right," Thankfully, Rex knew what she meant and turned to run to the cockpit.
X
Heron was soon above the door of Thrawn's Office. He noticed the guard and immediately went down the vents to knock him out then he unlocked the door and ran inside. He had only managed to run a few steps when he heard a yell.
"SILENCE, CHILD!"
"What the hell…?" Heron knew very well that Elvis was the one who sparked the angry roar, but at what reason? That was something he'd have to ask later on.
Suddenly, there was a few minutes of silence before an angry and annoyed snarl came. A scream soon followed, and Heron jumped when someone was thrown THROUGH the metal door. His eyes widened at the familiar midnight blueish-purple hair from the creature…
"ELVIS!" He immediately ran to his side, carefully holding him to see the half-Lasat's usually tan and striped fur full of bleeding cuts from the throw. "ELVIS, ARE YOU ALRIGHT?!"
No answer came, and that's when the half-Twi'lek KNEW that he was knocked out but, thankfully, still breathing.
"A daring child, he was." a spine-chilling voice came, and Heron turned to see Thrawn appearing with an irritated expression on his face. "but he should have kept his mouth shut on matters that do not concern him."
Heron snapped as he carried his unconscious crew mate with one arm and took out a blaster in the other. "STAY BACK!"
"Troopers, capture them both," Thrawn ordered, and the army of stormtroopers came running in.
Heron cursed under his breath and kept his blaster then he dashed out of the office and into the halls. He heard the troopers coming, so he groaned and took out his lightsaber, activating it to let out the blue blade as troopers from other halls came running in to stop him.
"GET HIM!"
"STOP HIM!"
'Of course.' Heron rolled his eyes before slashing down every trooper that came to stop him. 'Pathetic waste of— you know what? I feel pity for them. I'm already taking them down, and now I'm trash-thinking them? Yeah, I think killing them or at least injuring them is good enough.'
After running and slashing anything and anyone in his path, he found himself in the lower hanger. Unfortunately, he had also found himself surrounded by at least 5 armies of stormtroopers.
'Yeah… I regret stopping myself from trash-thinking the troopers right about now…' Heron cursed before setting Elvis down by his feet and held his lightsaber with both hands. 'Now, time to take these bucket-heads down once and for all!'
"Surrender, Jedi." He turned his attention to see Thrawn step forward, activating Elvis's lightsaber to challenge him.
"Ha, it takes more than a blade to make you a Jedi." Heron grinned.
"We will test your words, shall we?" Thrawn got into a fighting pose then he swung the blade.
The blue blade met Heron's, but luckily, the half-Twi'lek was more experienced in fighting with a lightsaber. He made a quick move, grabbing Elvis's saber and kicking Thrawn to the troopers, which fell as the grand admiral landed on them.
"Tested and proven!" Heron deactivated and kept the younger boy's lightsaber in his belt. "Who's next?!"
"Fair battle," Thrawn wasn't fazed by the quick defeat, calmly standing up and dusting himself off from the fall. "but you still won't get out of here alive. Troopers, fire at will."
With that, the standing troopers fired, leaving Heron to deflect their shots back directly to them or to their fellow stormtroopers. Most of the troopers were already down, so Thrawn took out a blaster of his own and shot the boy on the shoulder.
"Argh!" Heron snarled as he was hit, stumbling back a little to hold his injured shoulder. "Hey!"
"I will repeat; surrender, Jedi." Thrawn took a step forward, the blaster still in his hand. "Or else."
"Or else what?!" Heron gritted his teeth, deactivating and keeping his lightsaber.
"Your friend here knew the consequences for Jedis not joining the Empire." Thrawn's grip on his blaster tightened. "Either you break, or you die."
'Of course…' Heron growled before letting a smirk slide over his face. "You are such an idiot. You have NO idea who you're facing,"
"A Jedi who is about to die with a fellow Jedi," Thrawn spat out, having quite enough of them for the day.
"How pathetic." Heron began to laugh abnormally and slowly into insanity as his eyes were repeatedly flashing between aqua and gold. "You pick a fight with a Force-User without knowing how much power he could have. You are such a disappointment…"
"Are you mocking me, boy?" Thrawn glared at him. "Because I assure you that your life will be the price to pay for your mockery,"
"No. It won't." Heron's smile was wider and crazier than earlier while his eyes turned gold completely. "The price will be YOUR life."
He reached into the back of his belt and took out a dark purple cylinder then he held it out and activated it, revealing a bright red blade. The stormtroopers were all frozen in fear while Thrawn's eyes widened in shock.
The Red Lightsaber of the Sith Lords and Inquisitors.
"Surprised?" Heron's eye twitched in broken irritation as his wide, wicked smile stayed stretched across his face. "Oh, do not be. There is more where that came from."
With that, he threw the blade and swung it around the air, using the Force to manipulate it and slice down every trooper in the hanger. Soon, Thrawn was the only one left standing as the lightsaber returned back to the half-Twi'lek's hand.
"You can't break what's already broken now, can you?" Heron smirked.
"So you can't…" Thrawn was still frozen still, yet his expression changed into something unreadable. "Lord Vader would be pleased to find a dark Force-User at such a… tender age,"
"Sorry, but I don't want another master to train me in something else I don't care about," Heron scoffed, turning to face an empty shuttle in his view before he bent down to pick up Elvis. "For now, I must take my leave. Farewell."
He deactivated and placed the lightsaber back in his belt then he ran to the shuttle at top speed. He set Elvis down on co-pilot's chair then he started to activate the shuttle, closing the ramp and letting he engines roar. He sat on the pilot's seat and pushed the nearest lever, making the shuttle zoom out of the Star Destroyer and into deep space.
'Finally.' Heron sighed in relief as he took off his helmet, and his eyes flashed back to aqua green then he turned on his comm. "This is Specter 7 to Ghost. I'm in the shuttle floating near the Star Destroyer. I've got Specter 10, but he's badly injured. Requesting for pick-up,"
"Copy that, Specter 7," Zelda spoke through the comm then she turned around to see Selena join the group in the Ghost's cockpit. "Specter 8, take the controls. I'll prep up the med-bay,"
"Specter 10 ain't doing so good?" Selena asked as she came over to the pilot's seat.
"Specter 7 that he's injured. Not the best sign," Zelda shuddered before running out.
"It never is…" Selena shook her head then she turned to see the shuttle approaching them. "Specter 7, hold on. We're going to attach ships,"
"Copy that, Ghost," Heron replied. "Don't wait for us to board. As soon as we attach, jump into hyperspace,"
"Whatever you say, boss," Selena grinned, sitting down and placing her hands on the steering wheel. "Chopper, I'll be getting closer to the shuttle. Get me clear opening for hyperspace while I do,"
"WUP WUP WUP WUP-WUP WUP WUP-WUP, WUP WUP…" Chopper beeped our to complain.
"I don't CARE if I'm as bossy as Heron! Just do as I say!"
"WUP-WUP WUP WUP WUP WUP!"
"Chopper…!"
"WUP WUP!"
"Ugh, fine!" Selena growled. She HATED it whenever the droid had a bigger attitude than an average human. "Chop, get me a clearing for hyperspace once I get the shuttle PLEASE,"
"WUP WUP-WUP." Chopper was satisfied enough as they neared the shuttle.
Soon, the two ships were attached, signaling the old droid to blast the incoming Ties. Selena maneuvered around the ones Chopper wasn't able to shoot then once the space was clear, the half-Mando gave a grin.
"Goodbye, Empire. Hello, Hyperspace!"
With those words, she pressed a button, and the ship soared through a speedy path of bright blue.
X
"Grand Admiral Thrawn, what happened?!" Pryce demanded as she ran towards him. "What happened to the Rebels?! How did they escape?!"
"Calm yourself, Governor Pryce." Thrawn simply spoke in a calm voice, turning towards her while he kept his blaster. "Get me a call with Governor Tarkin and Lord Vader. We have a sensitive matter to discuss."