Star Wars: Rebels: 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: I had originally envisioned both of this two part special I promised as a single chapter, but it appeared too long compared to the rest, so I decided to split it into two. Now, without further delay, here is Part 1 of the promised two-part special! I know all of you waited a while for this one, so thank you for your patience. Enjoy!
I also wanted to take a moment to thank everyone who responded about my mother's condition and the depression I was going through. She's doing better now, as am I. We're both tougher than we look! Lol. Your kind words are much appreciated. :)
Chapter 7: Musings of a Veteran
Upon finally reaching the top level of the Imperial base, the young Padawan and the teenage Mandalorian quickly forced the doors to the turbolift shaft open crawled through. The duo knew that HK-47 was still active down at the bottom of the shaft, the dangerous mechanical foe not easily destroyed as they would have preferred. They winced as they carefully moved towards the officer's lounge, their wounds from the battle with the ancient continued to sting and ache, and would certainly require treatment sooner rather than later.
"In here!" Sabine informed her teammate as they came to a set of doors not far from the turbolift.
"Quickly!" Ezra grunted, the burns from the blaster marks taking their toll.
Within a moment of their arrival in front of the access to the lounge, the door flew open and both young Rebels were pulled in by a pair of arms. At last, they were face to face with the man they and their team had come all this way to find.
"General Dodonna!" Ezra immediately exclaimed, instantly recognizing his bearded face from the video and holocalls.
"Shhh!" the older man abruptly ushered the younger duo into the lounge and closed the door behind them, locking it by an emergency code he promptly entered in the panel to the left of the door on the inside. Turning around to face them again, Dodonna finally noticed the injuries already scarring his would-be rescuers, "Not good, I see you didn't escape that psychotic droid unscathed. Did you at least destroy or deactivate him?" the general was dismayed, but somewhat unsurprised when the teenage Mandalorian refuted his wishful thinking.
"No, he proved far more capable than any droid, or trooper for that matter, that we've faced before. Nearly killed us both in the turbolift shaft on the way up," Sabine didn't miss the concerned look on Ezra's face as she splayed her hand over her burned midsection, now blistering from where HK's scorching foot had stepped on her.
Dodonna didn't miss it either, nor did he notice the way Ezra limped as the young padawan moved to her side. Ushering them further into the lounge, the veteran general pulled out a medical kit from an emergency supply locker built into the wall on the left side behind the luxurious recliners. He gestured for them both to sit down as he moved back over to them.
"Well, the fact that you both managed to survive and reach this location is still an accomplishment as far as I am concerned. As I said, I've read the reports on that droid, and if even half the allegations about that unit are true, I'd be amazed if even a single trooper from a full battalion managed to survive being on the wrong end of his blasters. Now please, let me treat your wounds. It's the least I can do given the circumstances."
True to his word, Dodonna cleaned their wounds and applied antiseptic ointment and heavy-duty absorption bandaging to the young Rebels, and within a few minutes both were expertly patched up. Sabine was curious, as clearly this efficiency in medical care could only be provided by a professional. The military-graded medpac was not something available to civilians or even their doctors on the open market.
"Where'd you learn to treat wounded personnel like this?"
"Before I found myself climbing the ladder towards top brass, I was a specialist in the Republic Security Force, the closest thing the Old Republic senate allowed to an army before Palpatine's rise to power. My training included technical expertise and medical provision."
"That's right, I think Kanan mentioned you were with the Old Republic. So you've been a military man for a long time, then?" Ezra inquired with Dodonna, who nodded in affirmation.
"Yes. I originally enlisted forty four years ago. Wearing the uniform meant something good, something better back then, but everything changed after… after the Clone Wars," as he trailed off slowly, deep in thought and memory, both Sabine and Ezra listened intently.
"I believed in the cause the Empire was supposed to represent, I really did. I wanted to keep believing in the cause of galactic unity under a single banner, but I couldn't with a man like the Emperor calling the shots. The tyranny of fear, suppression, slavery, too many atrocities to count… I couldn't ignore it any longer. That's why I agreed to assist Aygo in his uprising, and it's also why I decided to reach out to you, my young friends," as Dodonna looked at them both, finishing with a firm voice and displaying a sincere expression, Sabine was the first to reply.
"The Rebellion will be fortunate to have someone like you in our ranks, general. An individual of your skills, experience, and heart is precisely what we're looking for as we continue to expand and solidify our threat to the Empire."
"She's right, general. We just need to get to that shuttle of yours, and alert the rest of our team to our success," Ezra stated straightforwardly. Dodonna however remained cautious.
"Your confidence is admirable, but don't let it blind you to what's going on in the moment, young one."
"Ugh! You're starting to sound like Kanan! Was being a Jedi part of your training as well?" Ezra replied sarcastically, to which Dodonna shook his head with a light chuckle, and Sabine merely rolled her eyes, a brief smirk manifesting with her lips.
"First thing's first. The way to my shuttle isn't exactly clear. With the base on high alert, patrols throughout the entire facility have been doubled, and there are guards on station around the clock at the landing platforms. We'll never be able to get past all of them in a fight, and my cover cannot be blown until it absolutely cannot be avoided, just for good measure. I have an idea, though."
"And that is?" Sabine inquired, eager to finish the mission. She knew as well as the others in her company did that the lounge would not be a private meeting point for long.
"The troopers will shoot at the both of you on sight, unless we provide them with a reason not to pull the trigger. So, you're both going to pretend to take me hostage. With my life on the line, as far as they know, they won't risk trying to take either of you down."
"What if the Grand Inquisitor supersedes your authority again? You said it yourself, he's already taken command of your troops and the base," Ezra interjected, his own sense of caution catching up with him.
"He shouldn't be returning to the base for at least another half standard hour, more than enough time to reach my shuttle and get out of here. Follow me, don't worry, the windows are tinted. We can't be seen from the outside," standing up and moving over to the windows at the back of the lounge, General Dodonna showed Ezra and Sabine the landing pad across the airfield that held his personal shuttle, ready for launch at any time, "We just need to head down two levels and make our way directly across to the platform. Just brandish your weapons, and maybe keep one of your blasters in my back, young Mandalorian. I'll order any troopers we come across to stand down. We should make haste. That droid will no doubt still be gunning for you two, and something tells me he won't hesitate to shoot through me to get to the both of you."
"Right," Sabine nodded as Ezra did the same.
"Let's get ready, then!" the young padawan added.
As this was taking place, back down in the venting tunnels, Kanan and the others had been sitting in uncomfortable silence, their lengthy stay courtesy of the emergency containment lockdown far from over. Zeb grumbled, the Lasat warrior breaking the eerie calm as his patience wore thin.
"I don't know how much more of this I can take, just sitting here and doing nothing while Ezra and Sabine risk their lives inside Imperial central up above!"
"I get it, Zeb, I do, but there's nothing we can do about it. We simply need to have faith and patience. You trust in them and their abilities, right?" Kanan asked his older teammate.
"Yeah, I trust them, but not the odds they're facing," Zeb replied sharply before shifting his focus to Aygo as the grizzled Bothan cleared his throat. Kanan looked over as well.
"You both have your points. The odds aren't particularly in their favor, but it's all we got to go on. Besides, General Dodonna will without a doubt do everything in his power to assist them. He's certainly not one to just sit around and wait things out."
At that moment, a loud mechanical thundering erupted from behind both of the twin sets of containment doors keeping the group sealed in. Before any of them had a chance to become alarmed, Aygo realized he was receiving another holocall as well. Upon answering it, he found his familiar Twi'lek lieutenant on the other line.
"Rajom! What's going on?! Answer me, soldier!" Aygo barked quickly and sternly.
"Lieutenant Governor Aygo, sir! Utilizing the sewers beneath the city, a squad of our boys was able to make it to the processing center, on my orders. They were able to hack into the mainframe and manually speed up the extraction of the gasses in the vents. Numerous safety protocols had to be bypassed, but the air in the tunnels should be safe to breathe when the doors open in just a few minutes. Just keep moving and don't touch anything the rest of the way to the base, the residue won't be completely cleared away."
"Excellent work, Rajom! You heard him, everyone, prepare to move out!"
As Aygo finished the holocall, Kanan and the others returned to their feet as he did the same. Now with this new development, it would seem that the Rebels and the Freedom Coalition were back in this fight, together.
A/N: Continued immediately in Chapter 8!