Hey, so kind of a slow chapter last time. Thanks to the Guest who commented about the German problem. I will be sure to fix that in the future. Anyways here is chapter 8.
Aboard the star destroyer eternal. Above Kashyyyk two weeks later.
Juk Orno limped into the command center of Grand Moff Tarkin aboard the Covenant. One of the two remaining star destroyers above Kashyyyk. Him and the other two Mandalorians that survived the skirmish with the two mysterious force wielders. He was the last to be interviewed, "Or rather interrogated." He thought to himself as he opened the door. As the highest ranking officer left he was, according to protocol, was to go last. However, his had to be delayed due to him being in a coma for the past two weeks. In fact, he had hardly heard anything from his squad mates. Entering the room, he saw the Grand Moff staring out of one of the vast windows in the room.
"Ah, Corporal Orno," Tarkin said looking out over Kashyyyk. Performing a perfect about face. He sat in his chair and motioned for the Mando to sit down as he organized some holo-tablets on his desk.
"Your kind is known for its ferocity in battle. Am I correct in saying that?" Tarkin started off in a cool tone.
"Yes, sir," Orno responded.
"And your kind is also well noted for being able to hand the likes of the Jedi?" Tarkin continued a subtle edge in his voice.
"Yes, sir," Orno repeated.
"Then why is it that two Jedi. Outnumbered twenty to one by Mandalorians. And with the support of three of the top members from the inquisition. Not only failed in their duties. But were soundly beaten!" He finished with a raised voice as he stood to tower over the shorter Mando.
"Sir, there is no other way to put it then, they weren't Jedi. At least not to my knowledge." Orno said. Trying to keep any weakness from showing.
"Oh, and have you ever met any Jedi?" Tarkin remarked in anger as he sat back down.
"Outside of the previous Grand Inquisitor, the one that Kanan Jarrus killed above Mustafar, No sir." Orno tried to explain. Only to be shut down by the Moff.
"Then that is a plain no. The previous Inquisitor was a sham. Only put there due to his experience. At least this last one seemed to have some sort of metal in him." The Moff said as he swiveled his chair away from the Mandalorian.
"Sir, I hate to say it. But we should maybe have had around one hundred Mandalorians there and possibly five or six inquisitors. They were so fast and so strong. I only got a few shots off before I was nearly killed by some of that lightning that force users fire from their hands." Orno said, some of the fear getting into his voice.
"Really? You wish to say they were that good? Because from what your friends said they were in fact much more. One of them taking out the Grand Inquisitor on his own." Grand Moff said the edge in his voice obvious.
"Well, sir I can't really comment on that. When I was knocked out I missed all of that. I only was able to regain my senses just in time to start tracking them back to their ship. I didn't get a good look at it. But it looked a lot like an Imperial shuttle. Only, black, and with some very nice upgrades. The markings distinguished it as the Rogue Shadow." Orno said, as his cool started to return to him. He knew that that bit of information would prove useful, he just hoped it would be useful enough to save his hide. He was already returning home in shame. Might as well not make it a body bag.
"Hmm, your friends didn't mention that. I will be sure to look into it. Have you contacted Viceroy Saxon yet?" Tarkin asked as he swiveled back around. Looking the warrior right in the eye.
Squirming the Mando simply said, "No sir. I collapsed right after they fled. I was in a bacta tank until one hour ago."
"Hmph. Well, that is very good. Now my associate wishes to have a word with you." Tarkin said as he turned back around.
The last thing that Orno heard was the distinctive breathing of Darth Vader and a lightsaber being activated. He let out a shout of surprise right before his head was lifted from his shoulders by the crimson blade. Looking up at the Sith, Tarkin sighed. "Did you have to do that here? You nearly damaged the chair. And you know how hard it is to get those replaced."
"He knew too much. Couldn't have him spreading the word of their existence." Vader replied. Punctuated by his heavy breathing.
"Yes, I know. But this is your mess. You are lucky that I like you. I have half a mind to let the Emperor in on this little debacle." The Moff said as he rose and moved around his desk to stand by Vader. Stepping over the body as he moved.
"The Emperor knows. He sent the inquisitors in as a test of their strength." Vader stated as he looked down at the shorter man.
"And did they pass?" Tarkin asked.
Vader just looked at him, with what Tarkin assumed was a glare, and strode out of the room. Moving back towards his desk he called for his protocol droid to come pick up the dead warrior and send him to the incinerator with the others. Sighing the Moff knew that things just got more complicated.
Atollon, same time.
Ezra sat on one of the stone mesa's that surrounded the base. He had been meditating more frequently on the light side recently. It actually was due to the help of the Jedi Kanan. It had been a bit of an awkward conversation. See he had planned on asking General Kota for help with how hard it was for him to use the light side. But of course, as soon as they had touched down on the ground at Atollon. Proxy came in and had told them that for whatever reason the hyperdrive was in a state of near-meltdown. After rushing all forms of coolant to it, they were able to power it down only to have the power coils turn out to be melted. Of course, that nearly set Juno off. Her ship was the one thing that Ezra was pretty sure that she loved as much as him or Galen. Unfortunately, the part needed to fix said ship was heavily regulated by the empire and would take a few weeks for them to find the right replacement. Ezra and Galen would perform simple raids in their down time on Tython. Thus giving them enough credits to keep the ship in top shape. So money wasn't a problem. The problem was actually getting the part.
Breathing in again he thought about the connection he had made with the ghost crew. First, he went with Zeb. The towering Lasat seemed to tolerate him. At least on the surface, when he had asked Kanan, all he said is that Zeb thought he was alright. It just takes him a while to warm up to you. Kanan, on the other hand, was still a bit apprehensive. He didn't like that he and his brother used the dark side, nor did he like that we weren't to open about their pasts. Something Ezra thought that as a fugitive Jedi he believed he would leave alone. In fact, he was the main pusher of the whole past thing. Not too hard, but with well-timed questions to make it seem like he didn't mind. Hera, on the other hand, was a lot more up-front. But not about his past per se. More like, who did what between Juno, Proxy, Galen, and Ezra. Hera also seemed to have glued herself to Juno. Especially after the Twi'lek found out the blonde pilot was pregnant. She could hardly stop gushing. In fact, poor Galen was stuck with them right after Hera found out. Due to them being on their way to the med station on Atollon. Yeah, Sabine made them keep his promise. And all it got him was a poking and prodding by the med-droid who told him he had a partially collapsed lung, two broken ribs, a cauterized gouge on his leg and a mild concussion. Some simple medication and another application of bacta would do the trick. Hera seemed like the mother of the Ghost crew, keeping them in line. But they all spoke highly of her. Sabine, Sabine. Sabine had been on his mind a lot as of recent. She wanted to hang out or train. Go for walks, or just sit in the mess hall and talk.
He cleared his mind and did exactly as the Jedi told him when it came to light side meditation. As he probed outward he felt a person approaching. Feeling outward he felt the familiar presence of Kanan. The krykna seemed to move back as the Jedi moved toward the semi-student he had. Ezra noticed that the blind Jedi moved around a lot easier than he expected. Supposedly he was going out past the fence to meditate. When he had returned the last time Kanan asked Galen and Ezra to come along for his next meditation session.
"Are you and your brother ready?" Kanan said when he came up on Ezra.
"Yeah, Thank you for allowing us to do this," Ezra said as he rose.
"It wasn't my idea," Kanan replied.
"Then whose idea was it?" Ezra asked. As they walked toward his brother who was twenty feet away talking to a lieutenant.
"You will see," Kanan said with a smirk, his new mask covered his now blinded eyes.
As they approached Galen he turned. He opted to wear his tan tunic and robes he had from the mission. Whereas Ezra chose to change into an orange coat and brown pants with a set of flight boots. Of course, they both had their lightsabers strapped at their sides. To compensate for them being here longer than expected the two brothers along with Proxy, participated in almost every mission that came up that they were allowed to go on. Sometimes it was a supply run. Sometimes a scouting mission. Or, the ones they liked the best, Hit and runs on imperial targets. Commander Sato liked having the two Je'daii around to help the members of phoenix squadron. And Proxy's ability to disguise himself as any imperial officer made it a lot easier to sneak past imperial defenses.
As the group moved out past the perimeter the krykna moved away. After an hour of hiking in the hottest part of the day. The three came upon a depression in the wilderness Kanan stepped forward as the two brothers turned to each other as they felt a serious movement in the force.
"Fühlst du es Bruder?"(Do you feel it, brother?) Galen said as he turned to the direction of the Jedi. Ezra only nodded, he had never felt this kind of power before.
"I've brought them Bendu." Kanan called, "Just as you instructed."
The ground shook, as a rock seemed to stand up and turn, only to reveal the face of the Bendu.
"Ah, Kanan Jarrus. Jedi Knight. You seem to have brought the Je'daii to me." Bendu spoke. His voice causing an echo in the valley.
Awestruck the two brothers bowed. Saying in unison the brothers spoke, "Bendu, Wir sind geehrt, in Ihrer Gegenwart zu sein." (Bendu, we are honoured to be in your presence.)
Laughing, the Bendu simply spoke, "It has been too long, I remember the last time Je'daii were around. Many a great thing was discovered about the force because of them. Rise young warriors, it is wonderful to see you trying to bring balance to yourselves. I am also pleased to see that you answered my call."
Standing up Ezra looked confused, "You were the one to call us?"
"Yes, I called you. I foresaw the events that would lead to Kanan's capture." Bendu said as he bent down to inspect the group of force users.
Kanan knelt on the ground and began to meditate. Ezra and Galen followed his example and began to meditate. After two hours of meditation, Ezra was drawn out of his trance. Looking around he saw the Bendu looking off into the sunset. Walking up beside him he asked, "What are you looking at Bendu?"
"The sunset," Bendu responded in a soft voice.
"What type?" Ezra spoke, hoping to catch onto any double meaning the force wielder was using.
"The type that leads to a dark night. But leads to a brighter day." Bendu simply said, turning to the young man. As they turned around to view the others who were just coming out of their trances in the twilight.
"Go Kanan Jarrus, Jedi knight, and Go, Galen Marek, Je'daii warrior." Bendu spoke to them, "I have much I wish to discuss with young Ezra here."
"As you wish Bendu," Galen said before addressing Ezra, "Be safe, we wouldn't want the Krykna eating you. Your girlfriend would be a little upset about that." He finished, throwing a jab in about his relationship with Sabine.
"Arschloch." (Asshole) Ezra shot back as Kanan seemed to get a little uncomfortable about the exchange, before sighing and turning around. Ezra knew that Kanan wanted to talk to him about the Mandalorian. He remembered how Sabine talked about the relationship she had with the others of the crew. Hera was the mother, keeping everyone in line and making sure that they weren't too hard on themselves when they messed up or when they had a hard day. Zeb was the fun-loving uncle who tried to make sure that she had fun, but he always made sure that anyone who tried to hurt the crew met the business end of either his bo-rifle or his fist. Chopper was the pet, a bit moody, but nonetheless loyal. And Kanan was the father that she never had, at least that is how she described it. She did make sure that he knew that her biological parents did love her. But Kanan and Hera always seemed to be there when she was at her lowest. That and When she defected, her family disowned her. So it wasn't surprising that Kanan was protective of her.
"Be safe," Kanan called over his shoulder. Ezra would have to explain later that he and Sabine were nothing more than friends. And it was just his brother getting some teasing in while he could.
"Do not worry young one. The krykna won't harm you. They know you do not fear them." Bendu said once the other two had left.
"Yeah, hard to fear anything when you live with Vader," Ezra responded. Looking away.
"Why do you carry the sins of your past on your shoulders?" Bendu said looking at Ezra. "Do you feel as though it was you who committed them?"
"But I did commit them." Ezra protested, "And I still know that no matter the punishment levied against me, it will never truly erase what I have done."
"Did you commit them? Or were you merely a slave doing your master's bidding?" Bendu said his white eyes boring into the blue eyes of Ezra.
"It shouldn't matter. It was MY hand that guided MY sabers, therefore I should be considered responsible." Ezra shot back, his anger rising.
"You were a lost soul, in fact, your brother has helped you more than I ever could. Breaking the bond of master and apprentice. Broke you free of the sins of your past. You are not the person you were under Vader. And neither is Galen." Bendu simply said back.
At this moment Ezra's comlink lit up, Taking up the link he spoke into it. "Starkiller two here. What's the problem?"
"Excuse me, sir. But it seems like there is a transmission for you, your brother and the Ghost crew." The officer on the other end spoke, "Seems pretty big, supposedly you guys have turned some heads of the higher-ups."
"I am on my way. I should be there in an hour." Ezra spoke as the commlink disconnected. Turning to Bendu he spoke. "Thank you, I will meditate on your advice."
"It would be wise to do so before you go I want you to know something. This mission will test your brother and you to a point that you have ever been. Keep with the teachings that you two have learned. It will be needed." Bendu said as Ezra turned to take off at a jog.
Atollon command center. Forty minutes later.
Ezra came into the command center drenched in sweat. Looking around he noticed that Galen, Juno, and Proxy along with the Ghost crew were gathered around. Looking to the comms center, he saw Bail Organa, Mon Mothma, and Garm Bel Ilbus all on the comm.
"What is going on?" Ezra said. Looking at the essential leaders of the Alliance.
Mon Mothma spoke first, "First thing, it is nice to see you two again, unfortunately under similar circumstances as when we first met. We have lost contact with General Kota's squad. They were on a mission to liberate the Pantoran moon."
Shocked Ezra turned to his brother. He didn't want to even see the looks that the Ghost crew was giving them. They knew that the brothers were affiliated with Senator Organa and that they knew one of the last Jedi masters alive, Rahm Kota. But to know all three of the major leaders, that was something that they didn't imagine. Unfortunately what they were thinking was the furthest thing from the brother's minds. Pantora, the place where Ezra committed the massacre. All in the name of the Empire. Shaking Ezra nodded to Mon Mothma to continue.
"We would like it if you two would go and lead a rescue mission to recover them. Galen seems to be the only one to be able to talk any sense into the old General." Mon Mothma explained.
"My brother and I will need to consult the force. But expect word-" Galen started, before Ezra interrupted, "We will be in the Pantoran system as soon as possible."
Looking at his brother Galen saw the look of determination in his eyes and knew that something must have told him that they were called to take this mission. "Okay, one problem though, we don't have a ship yet. The part to fix it has proven to be quite difficult to get." Galen stated as he stepped up to the holo-table.
"That won't be a problem. The Ghost crew has volunteered to assist you on this mission." Senator Organa spoke up. Obviously, they were there before Galen and Ezra arrived, and were briefed on the mission already.
Nodding to the rebel leadership, the Starkillers and the Specters turned around and exited the command center. While they walked out Sabine hung back and fell in beside Ezra.
"You do realize that my brother and your crew are starting to get the wrong impression about the nature of our relationship right?" Ezra stated as he smiled at Sabine.
Giggling Sabine responded, "Oh, let them think what they want. It's more fun that way."
"I know, but I really don't want to be on the business end of Kanan's lightsaber because of it," Ezra said as her giggling died down. He felt something in his hand, looking down he saw Sabine had interwoven her fingers with his. Swinging his arm back and forth she looked at him, "You don't have to worry about anything. Judging by how you use that lightsaber."
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I want to fight him. I know that he doesn't exactly like my brother and me." Ezra stated as he kept his hand in hers.
Sabine then started to look around nervously, and Ezra felt her nerves through the force, "Something on your mind?" Ezra asked carefully. Over the past two weeks, he had learned to be cautious about when Sabine was nervous. Thus leading to him nearly setting off the Mando's fiery temper.
"Well, I may have gotten some leave. And there might have been an art exhibit I wanted to go see. I was wondering if you would like to come with, me, come with me to the art exhibit." Sabine stuttered out.
Ezra froze in place, "Is she asking me out on a date?" Ezra thought. "Is this a date?" He asked bluntly wouldn't do the way things came out justice. The look in her eyes made him realize that maybe he should have been a little more subtle. Sneak through a Star destroyer, he could do that. Mercilessly execute someone, been there done that. Talk to a beautiful girl. Now that was something that he couldn't do. Trying to smooth things over he looked forward and simply responded, "I would like to go with you."
When he looked over he saw Sabine smile. Then she pulled him into a hug and kissed his cheek. They pulled away as Ezra went to go and change into his gear and grab his mask. Although this time he had a smile on his face.