Star Wars: Rebels: The Rising Darkness

Disclaimer: Star Wars Rebels and all Star Wars characters and Lore are not my property, as they are all owned by Lucasfilm and the Walt Disney Company.

A/N: Time for more development with your favorite Rebels pairings, and the plans of the Imperials working against them. And once more, another thanks to all my readers, especially the reviewers, favorers, and followers! I honestly would not be updating this fast were it not for your greatly appreciated and encouraging support. Enjoy! :)

Update: Admittedly I wasn't too pleased with how this chapter turned out in original format, so I decided I wanted to tweak it a little. I would sincerely appreciate further feedback.

Furthermore, during my editing of this chapter, it seems I accidentally put out a notification for Chapter 6, which is still in progress. I apologize in advance to all my followers who got the mistaken notification. I expect the real Chapter 6 to be ready and posted sometime next week.

Chapter 5: Intentions Are Never Enough

Within minutes of the Grand Inquisitor's transmission to the Rebels and Freedom Coalition operatives, his personal shuttle arrived back in his private hangar bay on his flagship, the Furious Vengeance. In his absence, Vice Admiral Thrawn had been in command of the Fourth Fleet. Accompanied by Fleet Commander Piett, Grand Inquisitor Nachtgeist made his way to the forward ammo depot, a highly-secure chamber off-limits to all standard personnel within being their destination.

"Your return to the ship this early is unexpected, if I do say so myself, sir. I can only assume your presence here is part of your plan to deal with the insurgents below?" Piett asked his superior respectfully as he walked alongside the Dark Side master.

"Indeed, your assumption is correct, Commander. Tell me, do you recall the secret payload that was on the manifest when we stopped for refueling and supplies en route to this system?" the Grand Inquisitor inquired with his subordinate, curious.

"I do, sir. However, I'm afraid I was not privy to such information. The ISB informed the lesser officers and myself not to ask questions regarding it."

"Only the Vice Admiral and myself have the full details of what this new weapon is, and we have been granted clearance to for its first combat deployment. Top brass and the scientists behind its creation will be most eager to study the results. The insurgents will make suitable first targets."

"You intend to use it immediately, then?" Piett inquired as he raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, and I want you to oversee its preparation with me. Thrawn has things well in hand with the rest of the fleet as he always does."

At this point, both men had come to the secured blast doors that were always sealed shut when not opened, signifying that the chamber beyond was indeed for deadly and/or potentially experimental ordinance. Using a retinal scanner to the right of the doors, the Grand Inquisitor verified his identity for the automatic security systems, which opened the doors and allowed the two men to enter. As the doors sealed shut behind them, Piett took a moment to study the weapon that was carefully placed in secure computer-locked restraints, unable to move even millimeters while in storage.

The top-secret weapon that lay before the both of them was a large bomb, easily five feet tall, ten feet long, and four feet wide. The frame was gunmetal grey in color, and luminous yellow lights flashed on small rectangular lenses that ringed both right and left sides of the core. The casing matched the color of the frame, and the device had a large, almost oval-octagonal shape. The Grand Inquisitor elaborated as labor droids entered from a door to the side to begin loading the bombe carefully onto a large hovercart they brought with them.

"Behold, the latest marvel brought to us by the Imperial Department of Military Research, the Seismic Bomb. Virtually it holds the same function as the smaller, more manageable seismic charge, but the destructive power is easily one hundred times that."

"Sir, the standard seismic charge can destroy a starship the size of a corvette or light frigate. An explosive of this magnitude would more than likely demolish an entire city about the size of Coronet on Corellia," Piett stared with wide eyes as he pondered the horrific capabilities of this weapon.

"Exactly, or to be more specific in this case, the entire city of Worlport on Ord Mantell," the Grand Inquisitor further explained, making his intention known.

"Sir, if I may, we do have a military base and government building full of personnel and prisoners to think of."

"I have no intention of sacrificing Imperial lives, Commander. Rest assured of the fact that I have carefully plotted and calculated the precise location of deployment to ensure our key installations will not be affected."

"That's more comforting, then," Piett let his face relax at the clarification.

"Those throughout the Galaxy who have chosen to stand against the order and the peace the Empire has gifted them must be shown whatever their perceived grievances may be, there is always a darker, more terrible, more unthinkably nightmarish existence and final demise awaiting them. Those who do not know what it means to truly suffer will never understand the value of true peace. This example will suffice to drive home that fact."

"Whatever must be done for the Empire, sir. I look forward to this pointless struggle below coming to an end," Piett bowed respectfully to his superior.

"As do I, Commander. As do I," Grand Inquisitor Nachtgeist agreed before both men turned to follow the bomb to its next destination, an Imperial gunship being prepped in one of the main hangar bays. Before the day was done, Ord Mantell and the Rebellion would never be the same.

As this turn of events with the rest of their team and their Imperial foes had been taking place without their knowledge, the teenage Mandalorian and the young Padawan stood aghast in awkward silence, Ezra blushing despite himself as he recalled the words he blurted out over and over in his head. Sabine for her part seemed equally flustered. Slowly and delicately, she removed her helmet to look at him face to face. The sight of her with her face exposed to him after what he just said only served to leave Ezra even more at a loss for words. Deciding she would have to be the one to cut through the tension, Sabine spoke softly, all her previous anger and frustration gone completely.

"You… you care about me?"

While she would never admit it to him herself, his words had caught her completely off-guard. She was at a loss as her brain attempted to make sense of his outburst, in response to her own frustration and prodding. Sabine had known that this slightly younger boy was attracted to her, after all they started off with him making a shoddy attempt at flirting, to which she was glad that Zeb had interrupted. However, she had always written off his amorous affections as entirely physical, based on superficial things like appearances. The aspiring artist wasn't exactly new to the knowledge she had an unwelcome habit of turning the heads of pubescent and perverted males, and she knew Ezra wouldn't be the last, either. Nonetheless, that was the extent to which she had written off his advances. Contemplating this new development, she couldn't help but begin to doubt her assumptions. Could she have pegged him wrong? Were his feelings more genuine than she had been willing to accept? What would that mean for them, now? Musing to herself, she could recall all the times he had not so subtly attempted flirting with her over the last few months they'd known one another. The frequency of these rather annoying moments had been decreasing, and Sabine began to wonder whether or not he was growing past his obvious crush on her. It was clear right now more than ever that was wishful thinking. She could also recall signs over these last few months with the crew that Ezra was more noble and selfless than he initially let on, exactly the kind of qualities she grew aspiration for after leaving her brief career as a freelance bounty hunter behind. He was kind of inspiring, to tell the truth…

No! What was she thinking? Of course Ezra wasn't actually and genuinely in love with her. His naivety was confusing a childhood crush for actual and deep feelings, it happens to everyone, herself included Sabine admitted. The poor boy was confused, smitten with her was all. That had to be it.

"Yeah… I do… I have for a while…"

Unable to look her in the eyes, Ezra missed the reaction of the girl in front of him as his words once more halted her train of thought. His heart was throbbing in his chest. He honestly never in his wildest imagination thought he'd be letting some of his more personal feelings for his female teammate out in the open today, and he never really thought about how and if he'd let her know at all. He figured Sabine knew he was attracted to her, but she never seemed interested. Truth be told, the boy wasn't as confident as he tried to come off as.

Admittedly when he first saw her face in the nose gun chamber on the Ghost, his initial attraction to the slightly older Mandalorian was based on her looks. He was a healthy and growing teenage boy after all. A young woman with a face, eyes, hair, and figure like hers was nothing to scoff at. Of course, that was then, and this was now. Over the last few months he had spent with the crew, learning to be a freedom fighter and training to be a Jedi, Ezra got to know more and more about his new friends and allies, Sabine included. His more frequent attempts to flirt with her had decreased not because his attraction to her was wearing off over time, but because he was growing to genuinely respect her as his friend. Of course it was true that the attraction was still there, he just attempted to be less obvious about it.

Growing up on the streets from a young age left him with little concern for others besides himself, but his time with the Rebels had changed his perspective on life. It's like what Hera told him in a sense, essentially that a life only lived for yourself is not one worth living. For the first time since losing both his parents, Ezra had come to see that while the Galaxy is a cruel place with cruel people, it's also a good place with good people. It's living for the good that makes it all worthwhile, and being with others instead of alone makes it even better. His respect and admiration for his fellow crew only grew as time went on. Sabine was not excluded from that list, not even close. She was strong and self-sufficient, but still courteous and caring. Her talent with painting was a bonus. If anything, Ezra felt more attracted to her now than in the beginning.

As Ezra mulled over these thoughts in his mind, uncertain and frightened at her potential response, Sabine recalled another memory, of when Ezra had sacrificed himself to let her escape from the Seventh Sister and the Fifth Brother when they were on the abandoned Old Republic medical station. Her shock and confusion at the sudden and unexpected arrival of two new Inquisitors was rivaled only by her bewilderment and fear when Ezra jammed the console for the doors in the hall with his lightsaber, ensuring they would seal shut and she could escape, allowing himself to be captured and interrogated alone. That was without a doubt the most selfless thing anyone had ever done for her in her life, an act that remains unsurpassed. At the time, Sabine had explained it to herself as having been integrated in Ezra as some noble thing a Jedi must do for others, likely drilled into his head by Kanan during their training. Looking back now, she couldn't help but wonder if that was the only reason. Was it out of serious concern for her wellbeing and safety? Was he willing to put his own life on the line for hers because he cared for her just as he said?

Looking at him with a nervous feeling in her gut despite herself, Sabine finally noticed how shy he had become since he blurted out those words that left them both fazed. While her own head was still reeling, she smiled lightly, thinking the display kind of endearing. She was grateful he still didn't notice the pink tinting her cheeks. She still had her pride to think of. However, Sabine also realized she would have to be the one to speak up again, and soon.

"Of course I care about you, too, Ezra… we're teammates, right?" she knew this wasn't the angle he had been going for, and to her shame he immediately caught it.

"Yeah, we are, but that's not what I meant, Sabine…" he said sharply while looking back up her. Their expressions were almost mirrored in one another, uncertain and flushed.

"Ezra… I…" at that moment, a ringing coming from the holodevice clasped on her own belt indicated someone was calling them. Pulling the device out and activating it, they were both relieved to see Kanan on the other end.

"Kanan! How's everyone?" Ezra inquired with his master urgently, having been concerned for everyone else who got locked behind Sabine and himself as well.

"We're all fine, just trapped until the lockdown ends. I'm glad holofrequencies still haven't been jammed like the comm channels. How're you two?" the Jedi Knight asked his younger teammates, who both noticeably stiffened, but quickly gathered their thoughts. They didn't miss his curious eyebrow at their nervous shuffling.

"We're fine on our end as well, Kanan. Is there something you need?" Sabine asked.

"Yes, there is. Listen, we just got a live holocall from the leader of the Imperial reinforcements. It's the new Grand Inquisitor," at his words, both the Padawan and the Mandalorian were shaken once more, this time at the unwelcome revelation. This was a new complication they had not been expecting. Remembering how the last battle with the previous Grand Inquisitor ended, Ezra was the first to reply.

"Don't worry, Kanan, we took care of the last one; we can handle whoever this new guy is, too!" Ezra felt his new enthusiasm dissipate as fast as it came as Kanan warily shook his head.

"Just from briefly seeing him speak with Aygo via hologram was enough for to see this new guy is on an entirely different level than the last one. Aygo refused to give in to his demand for surrender, so he's on to his next stage of his plan for the city, whatever that is. We need to proceed with our mission and extract General Dodonna immediately, we can't afford to wait any longer."

Sabine felt the need to clarify, as Kanan and the others weren't going anywhere anytime soon just like her and Ezra.

"The lockdown will remain in place automatically for another five hours and fifty-some minutes, Kanan. None of us can go anywhere until the gasses are extracted from the tunnels," as she finished, the Jedi Knight on the other end had his rebuttal ready immediately.

"No gasses were pumped into the tunnels ahead of you guys, though, right? Ezra can cut through the containment doors in front of you, and the two of you can proceed to the entry point Aygo pinpointed for us. The rest of us will be along as soon as we can, but you two must proceed ahead of us, make up for crucial time the new Grand Inquisitor will rob from us otherwise."

Despite uncertain feelings regarding this, and other matters, both the young Padawan and the teenage Mandalorian nodded in affirmation.

"Very well, we'll go on ahead and find General Dodonna," Ezra told his master, who nodded at the both of them before finishing.

"May the Force be with you both. The rest of us will join you as soon as we can. Over and out."

And with that the holocall had ceased. Drawing and reigniting his lightsaber, the young Padawan moved to begin the process of cutting a hole through the containment doors in front of them. As he did so in silence, Sabine placed her helmet back on and watched him, the both of them knowing this temporary reprieve from the previous conversation they had been interrupted from was in all reality just that, something temporary.

Shifting his focus back to Aygo, the Jedi Knight allowed his previous expression of concern to return. Kanan didn't like the idea of sending his young apprentice and another teammate on to their objective alone with the revelation that a strong user of the Dark Side was now involved.

"You're certain this new Grand Inquisitor isn't in the base at the moment?" with his caution voiced yet again, Kanan almost grumbled aloud as Aygo shook his head dismissively.

"Standard protocol would require the commander of Imperial reinforcements to return to their ship to coordinate their plans rather than from any ground installation. It's not a certainty, but if this guy does things by the book, then it's more than likely," Aygo elaborated informatively.

"You better be right," Zeb retorted, also visibly concerned for his younger teammates despite himself.

Miles away at the spaceport, the Ghost sat idle with its boarding ramp retracted, Hera and her more-often-than-not-faithful astromech having just finished routine maintenance on the sublight drives, life support filters, and reloading the fuel tanks courtesy of a couple barrels gifted to them by the resistance forces.

As she sat alone in the turret pod, looking up at the imposing Imperial fleet ever so slowly moving forward in orbit, the ships blockading the planet in a straight line side by side like a snake coiling around its prey, the rogue Twi'lek pilot could only watch the fleet and the time pass by in silence. It was times like this when she remembered when the Empire took over her homeworld, Ryloth. It was like this, war-torn villages and cities, massive starships in orbit as fighters and gunships flew overhead. Dropships carrying troopers and vehicles to the surface, on the singular mission of subjugating and pacifying any and all elements of resistance that stood in their way. Hera lost her mother as part of the early stages of the Twi'lek people opposing Imperial rule, a loss that partially encouraged her to leave her home behind to pursue greater purpose as a combat pilot.

At first it was just her and Chopper, but when she met Kanan she saw he too was someone seeking to find them self, someone who also remembered the tragedy of the last war. She felt a connection to him immediately, and she knew he felt the same. They didn't have to be alone anymore, they could find their greater purpose together. As their team grew overtime with the addition of a veteran Lasat warrior, a teenage Mandalorian artist, and a young street orphan from Lothal, they had to take on leadership roles, another new experience they could mutually relate to. Her connection to the wayward Jedi was strong; they could often tell what the other had to say by a mere glance these days.

The nature of the reality that she, Kanan, and the rest of their team faced on a near-daily basis was also frequently on her mind. Every day the Empire showed it was responding to their open defiance to its rule more and more seriously, and friends and allies had been lost, not least of all amongst their comrades on the Rebel fleet. At any moment, any one or even all of the crew of the Ghost could suffer the same fate. This conflict had escalated into open war over the last few months, and war is not without suffering and death on both sides. The Rebels were surrounded by this harsh reality, and nothing was certain anymore. While she would never openly admit it as she believed she was needed to be and remain a strong leader, the thought of losing any of her new friends and family was deeply troubling to Hera. She knew and accepted that was the way things were and had to be, but that would never mean she was content with the idea. She could vividly recall he recent holocall she and Kanan shared before the mission to the base began, from where he was with the others at the Freedom Coalition HQ.

"Kanan… I'm counting on you to keep the family safe while you're all out there…" she told him with a sad smile, her concern evidence in her tone. She recognized the confident glimmer in his eyes; he hadn't developed that habit until a while after they first met.

"Come on, don't we… usually succeed in the end?" the Jedi Knight replied with a cheesy grin that made her roll her eyes as she chuckled. Sighing to herself with closed eyes, she shook her head slowly with a more genuine smile before looking back up to him.

"I'll await your return, dear," she said softly, holding her soft expression.

"I look forward to it," Kanan replied with a grin.

Sighing to herself worriedly, Hera resumed her silent gazing out to the sky and the imposing fleet above.

At this point, both Sabine and Ezra had made it to the point marked on Aygo's map back at HQ that signified the planned point of entry for the Imperial base above, just past the sixteenth pipe junction. Raising his ignited lightsaber up with one hand to illuminate the top of the tunnel, the spot where both he and the teenage Mandalorian would have to blast and cut their way through five feet of durasteel as well as dirt and solid rock.

"Think you can give me a boost long enough to cut through the tunnel?" Ezra sked her sheepishly. Sabine nodded, an unseen smile behind her visor.

"Yeah, and once that's done I'll prime the detonite charges I brought with me. You'll have to cut through the floor of the base, though. Wouldn't want an explosion alerting the Imperials inside."

Teamwork was key to the process. It took some delicate foot and arm work, and some use of telekinesis through the Force, but after about ten minutes of careful cutting and blasting, the Padawan and the Mandalorian had broken a clear access point into the exact-planned point of entry, a sublevel storage room inside the Imperial base. Using the Force to leap up into the room, dimly-lit and stocked with supply crates, Ezra deactivated and sheathed his lightsaber before reaching down with his right hand to pull Sabine up into the room with him, grabbing her hand as he helped her to her feet. At last, the two teammates were inside their destination. Now the mission could begin in earnest.

Unknown to either of them, a lone motion sensor had been left hidden inside one of the stacked crates to the left in the room. Its single red light was now continually flashing from near the dome atop its cylinder and metallic frame, a signal being transmitted out in silence. On the level above the two intruders, armed and armored troopers began rushing towards the stairwell down to the level with the room below, and HK-47 among them.

A/N: Well, for those of you, my readers, who are eager for more action, I have a rather certain and strong feeling you'll be looking forward to the next chapter. ;)