Felucia was for all accounts and measures, an inhospitable place. Sure, you could breathe the atmosphere, and sure, life existed on the planet.
But from where Ezra Bridger was standing, it seemed that almost everything on the planet was out to kill him.
And the temperature didn't help either.
Faced with either Felucia or Malachor, Ezra was certain he'd rather spend another day in the Sith temple than here.
However, according to Kanan, with intel passed to him from Kallus, there were some high grade explosives on the planet. Specifically hidden within an old abandoned Republic base from the Clone Wars.
So Ezra, accompanied by Ryder and Chopper, had set course for the supposed location of this base, deep within the swamp like lands of Felucia.
And by luck they had found it. The base was out of the way, and over the years it appeared to have become overgrown with plants and other life.
Clearly, the power grid would no longer work, and without access to any form of network, Ezra and Ryder would have to search for the explosives manually.
But right now that wasn't what concerned Ezra most of all.
What did was the presence of a run-down cargo freighter, one that had landed next to the location of the hidden base as well.
Clearly, it belonged to smugglers, or pirates, looking for salvage.
Ezra could only hope that they could get the explosives before whoever else was here did.
"Chopper, stay outside and guard the shuttle. Let us know if anything serious happens, or if you see anyone leave." Ezra called out to the droid as he approached the entrance to the old base, Ryder in tow.
The droid beeped in affirmative, before heading back to the stolen imperial shuttle.
Turning his attention to the entrance before him, Ezra noted that something had evidently torn the door apart.
"Are those scratch marks?" Ryder inquired beside the young Jedi, moving forward to inspect them.
Ezra chose not to reply, instead he reached deep into the force, trying to sense something. He had always had a natural affinity with the force and other creatures, being able to control the Purrgil, as well as Loth-Cats and Fyrnocks to his advantage.
He hoped that whatever was inside would also be easily tamed.
"Well we didn't come all this way for nothing did we. Let's go." Ezra spoke, taking the lead into the abandoned base, igniting his saber to light the way. Ryder followed behind cautiously, blaster at the ready, whether it be for pirates, smugglers, or monsters.
Turning a corner, Ezra noticed more scratch marks on various walls, as well on the floor.
Trepidation filled his senses. It was as if he was walking directly into a lair belonging to some monster.
But still he and Ryder pushed on, searching for the explosives.
The two had agreed before entering that logically, the explosives would be kept in a large side room somewhere, to keep them from interacting with any dangerous elements that may set them off prematurely.
And from what Ezra had been told by Kanan, these explosives were high grade Mandalorian, and Ezra had seen first-hand what Mandalorian explosives could do. They would certainly need them for the mission.
Assuming him and Ryder could retrieve them that was. Kanan was looking into acquiring his own supply of explosives, with the help of Sabine somewhere else.
So even if Ezra failed, it wasn't the end of the world.
Suddenly, breaking Ezra out of his internal thoughts, a sound could be heard, like something scuttling across the floor.
It was coming from behind him.
No wait! In front of him.
Whatever it was, it was coming for him from all directions.
The sounds increased suddenly, many more scuttling sounds could be heard, as well as what sounded like high pitch screeching, animalistic in nature.
The hairs on the back of Ezra's neck stood up rigid, a sense of dread filling him.
"What the kriff is that?!" Ryder spoke from beside him, his body tense and his blaster ready.
"No idea, but I get the feeling we are about to find out." Ezra reply, as the sounds got closer.
Seconds later, they did.
Scurrying round the corner behind them at an alarming speed was some kind of insect, roughly the same height as Ezra. From his initial glimpse, it had six long bared legs that it walked on, as well as a long neck with a sizeable head. Its face had small beady eyes, as well as sharp incisor style teeth, clearly visible.
If Ezra was honest with himself, it somewhat resembled a spider, just not the spiders that had been on Atollon.
The creature's eyes locked onto Ezra and Ryder, and then it released another screech, before charging at the two rebels.
"Run!" Ezra called, equipping his blaster and firing a few shots at the approaching monster, whilst simultaneously fleeing down another corridor.
Ryder did the same, taking the lead this time.
Periodically glancing back to see where the monster was in comparison to him, Ezra noticed more figures moving behind it with similar speed.
"There's more than one!" Ezra called in alarm, forgetting about trying to fight them off and breaking into a sprint. His blaster was not really having the intended effect anyway, and he didn't want to get close enough to use his saber, not with sharp clawed feet like the ones the monster possessed.
Turning another corner, Ryder and Ezra found themselves running down a long corridor, the clawed monsters right behind them.
"What are we going to do?" Ryder called out in panic, firing a few blasts backwards at the monsters, who seemed to only grow more agitated by them.
Ezra honestly didn't know. It would take a miracle for them to get out of this one unscathed.
Why the hell did Kanan send him here again?!
As the two rebels reached the halfway point of the corridor, the unexpected happened. The door straight ahead of them, the one that had been closed and most likely locked due to lack of power, opened suddenly.
In the dark before them, Ezra could make out a single figure, armed with a blaster. Who this figure was was a mystery due to the lack of light.
Then the figure spoke.
"Over here my friends. Get inside quickly!"
The figure was clearly male, and his accented voice suggested that he was not from the core worlds, but rather somewhere in the outer rim.
It was most likely the owner of the cargo freighter out front.
But right now, Ezra couldn't care less about who this person was, so he headed for the doorway with Ryder.
Passing through the threshold, Ezra and Ryder dived inside, narrowly avoiding the monsters behind them.
The mysterious figure moved fast once the rebels were inside, pressing a button on a control panel that somehow still had power, and closed the door.
The door snapped shut with a clang, sealing the creatures on the outside.
From the sounds they were making, they were clearly not happy about losing a potential meal. Bangs sounded on the door, of which Ezra could only assume was the creatures trying to claw their way inside.
'That would explain the claw marks.' Ezra thought to himself, as he rose to his feet.
"Thanks for your help stranger." Ezra spoke politely. After all, this person had just saved his and Ryder's life.
"Stranger? Why Ezra my friend, have we grown so far apart?" The figure spoke with enthusiasm.
Ezra did a double take. He had met this person before.
Bringing his lightsaber upwards, both in defence, and to illuminate the room, Ezra spoke.
"Do I know you?"
The mysterious figure laughed bombastically, before stepping forward into the green glow of Ezra's saber.
"Why of course you do Ezra. It's me, your long-time friend and partner, Hondo!"
Chopper was fed up.
Chopper was bored.
Chopper was downright angry.
Why did they always have to go on suicide missions? It wasn't that he didn't want to help his friends, no, he would always be there for them.
But for once, just once, couldn't they go somewhere non-threatening, like a beach, or an amusement park.
Instead, here he was, an astromech droid older than most, waiting in an imperial shuttle on Felucia of all places.
Suffice to say, his life sucked.
At the moment that was. Despite his outwardly hostile attitude to many, Chopper did care. And he was worried about not accompanying Ezra into the abandoned base.
Ryder was good. But in his opinion, Chopper was better.
And yes, Chopper would freely admit to having an ego.
So he waited, watching for any movement, both from outside parties, and for his friends.
Roughly ten minutes after Ezra and Ryder had entered the abandoned base, things got interesting for Chopper.
The scanners on the stolen Imperial shuttle detected a single ship, approaching at high speeds towards them.
The design was quite clearly that of a TIE, and rather than open fire as Chopper was expecting it too, it landed beside the shuttle.
Remaining as still as possible, Chopper hoped to avoid detection.
Rising a look, Chopper elevated himself to see out the window of the cockpit.
The TIE fighter, one of the advanced model, had landed, and a single figure had exited and was heading into the base.
From a distance, Chopper could not make the figure out easily, only that it was an imperial of some kind. But what sort of imperial travelled alone?
Zooming in with his eye scope, Chopper got a better look at the figure, before they disappeared into the darkness of the base.
And unfortunately for Chopper, he recognized the figure immediately.
"Oh no." The droid buzzed to himself.
Chopper had been bored.
But now… things were about to get interesting… and dangerous.
Chopper almost wished he was still bored.
"Hondo? What are you doing here?" Ezra spoke with surprise at seeing the old Weequay pirate. Of all the people to be raiding an old abandoned republic base…
'Oh wait, this makes perfect sense.' Ezra changed his train of thought mid-way. Of course Hondo would be searching for some way to make some credits. He was a pirate after all.
The question was, did he know what was in this base?
And would he allow Ezra to have them?
"Ezra my friend, there is loot to salvage here. But upon arrival, I was attacked by that horde of monsters outside." Hondo replied in his usual jovial tone.
Not many people liked Hondo, and for good reason. Ezra could see that now, but inside he still felt some compassion for the old pirate.
In a way, he was a role model to Ezra. Well, a role model on how not to be a role model at least.
Still, Hondo had come through in the past for him, even if it was for selfish means.
"What are those things?" Ryder joined the discussion, gesturing to the door they had entered through.
Outside, the monsters continued to try to claw their way in.
"Why those are Acklay. Juvenile ones to be precise. The adults grow to be the size of tanks." Hondo informed, far too enthusiastically for Ezra's taste.
"Those are the small ones!" Ryder clearly had to same interpretation of what Hondo had said, as his voice rose with both panic and anger.
"Yes, yes. They are the children. Which probably means the mother is nearby." Hondo continued, his voice still full of joy, as if he was enjoying this near death experience.
Ezra sighed, before turning his attention to the situation at hand.
"So, how do we get out of here?"
Hondo's mood shifted suddenly, as if he was trying to conceal something.
If anything, Ezra would say he looked guilty.
"Ah, now, you see… we don't."
"Are you kidding me?" Ryder replied to the Weequay pirate, his facial expression changing to one of complete disbelief.
"No my friend I am not. We are trapped in here until those little baby Acklay get bored." Hondo responded, joy coming back into his tone.
"Great, just great!" Ryder replied, moving away from Hondo and sitting down dejectedly on a crate, one Hondo had clearly repurposed as a chair.
Silence filled the room for a moment, the only sounds emanating from the Acklay outside of the doorway, still trying to get in to get to the food.
After a few more moments filled with only the screeching of the Acklay outside, Hondo spoke up.
"So why are you here my friend? Some sort of secret rebel mission?"
Ezra debated whether or not to tell Hondo the truth. Part of him wanted to. Hondo could provide the supplies needed for Ahsoka's mission.
On the other hand, Hondo could also prove detrimental at the best of times.
So he settled for a half truth.
"Something like that. There's some high grade explosives here that we need for a secret mission."
Hondo's eyes bulged at the mention of explosives, as if he had stumbled across some great treasure.
"A secret mission? My my Ezra, you always seem to find yourself in trouble huh? Whos idea was it this time? Syndulla? Jarrus?"
Ezra knew that he had to keep it as secret as possible. If he mentioned that Ahsoka was the one leading the mission, then Hondo could very well betray them and give information to the empire in exchange for credits or other supplies.
After all, it wouldn't be the first time.
"You wouldn't know them, but it's dangerous Hondo. We need the explosives to succeed."
Hondo nodded in understanding. Despite being a criminal, Hondo had no love for the empire.
But that didn't mean he had any for the rebellion either.
Suddenly, a new sound filled Ezra's ears, drawing his attention to the doorway.
The Acklay were still screeching, but now it sounded like they were in pain, being attacked by something.
Within the sounds, Ezra could pick up the distinctive hum of a lightsaber, as it was swung around, no doubt dismembering the Acklay.
Moments later, the Acklay stopped screeching.
Ezra braced himself as he heard footsteps of a figure heading towards the doorway. Behind him, Ryder had stood with his blaster ready.
Hondo however…
"Hooray, we are saved. Some kind soul has come all this way out to help an old pirate and his partner."
Ezra rolled his eyes in disdain at Hondo's obliviousness. The force was calling a warning to Ezra. Whoever was on the other side of that door was not friendly.
Sure enough, seconds later, the door slide open dramatically, as if pulled with the force.
Ezra took a step back in alarm, his lightsaber out by his side, ready to clash as the figure entered, bathed in the red glow of his own saber.
"Well well, Ezra Bridger, we meet again." The Eighth Brother spoke, menace in his voice.
Author's thoughts
So... surprise... another two part chapter. :)
And welcome to the cast Hondo. Did you all really think I would leave him out. Every team needs a comedy backup character.
And yes... Hondo is the "Least likely person to join a suicide mission out of the kindness of his own heart."
Also, I am aware that Acklay are not native to Felucia, but I needed a big scary monster for this chapter, so I chose them. Hope that's ok.
Anyway. Not my best chapter I admit, but I hope you enjoyed it regardless.
Next time round Ezra and his allies must battle both the Eighth Brother, as well as find the explosives they came for, all the while being in the middle of an Acklay nest.
In regards to the last chapter, I'm glad people enjoyed the vision, as well as the development in Ahsoka and Kaeden's relationship. More to come, I promise.
As usual, comment and speculate at will.
Speaking of which:
Mysterious Guest number one: Maul will be coming, but not for a while yet. But his chapter will be a big one, so much to look forward to.
Mysterious Guest number two: We can only hope that Ahsoka manages to stay on the path of the light. Glad you liked the vision, despite how dark it was.
FossilQueen1984: Sidious is the master of this game. He knows exactly what buttons to push, and how to exploit someones fears. Let's hope Ahsoka can keep it together.
Chiara Polairix Edelstein: Ahsoka and Kaeden certainly do have a long way to go before all is well for them. Only time will tell.
SLE's fave guest: I'm glad you liked the chapter, despite the rather dark tone it took on.
You really do seem convinced that I'm going to kill Rex don't you. I'm so sorry if it's upsetting you.
Originally, I was going to have it be 'Darth Snips', but I thought it sort of detracted from the drama of the moment, so I left the name blank. If you want it to be Snips, then it's Snips.
I'm glad you feel like the Kaesoka development wasn't forced, even if Ahsoka is the queen of 'Denseville'.
Of course Hera is a better pilot than Han. How often have we seen Han fly the falcon in an actual combat situation? (First Death Star doesn't count as he showed up in the last five seconds and got the jump on two fighters... big deal.) In comparison, Hera has been flying the Ghost in major combat scenarios such as the Battle of Atollon, and even went toe to toe with Vader. (My opinion of course. Many will disagree surely. Whatever.)
WolveHulk: I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter. Maul is off recruiting his own 'ally' at the moment. You will see him later on briefly in one chapter, then he will get a chapter all to himself.
Mogor: Yes, finally some Kaesoka development. I hope you enjoyed it. We can only hope that the vision wasn't a warning of things to come. Saw will have an interesting dynamic with the other characters due to his extremist nature.
Your English is fine. I can understand it. No need to worry. :)
Travis Middleton: I'm gald you enjoyed the dark chapter. It was fun to write.
Darkside Ahsoka is a bloody terrifying thing, even moreso than darkside Anakin could ever be. (Vader's not that scary to be fair) But Ahsoka going evil... everybody hide! Only time will tell if she can resist the visions Sidious is giving her. As for your quetsions:
1. I chose not the give Ahsoka a Sith name in the vision as I could not think of a good one for her, so I left it blank, that way you can fill it in with your imagination.
2. Saw's partisans will appear alongside him on Jedha.
3. Maul did indeed touch the holocron, as did Ezra, Kanan and the Eighth Brother. However, unlike both Ahsoka and Sidious, they only held it briefly, not long enough to recieve full visions like the ones Ahsoka is experiencing. They could only just hear Maul's voice back in the previous story. Furthermore, Sidious has a more refined approach in the force with the holocorn, allowing himself to focus solely on Ahsoka alone, rather than giving the vision to everyone by accident, as Maul did.