Ketsu was heading toward the Command Center. When she landed, she was relieved to have escaped. Many others weren't so lucky. Even though she hadn't been there for most of the fight, what she had seen was bad. So many good pilots of the Rebellion were gone, drifting in the wreckage of the battlefield around Scarif. And one of those ships could be the Ghost. Ketsu hadn't seen the ship, but Hera hadn't rendezvoused with them, so she was presumed KIA. Ketsu has been surprised. She didn't know most of the Ghost crew well(other than Sabine), but she just couldn't believe they were gone. And she knew Sabine would take it even worse.
Ketsu wanted to tell her herself, but she had orders to return to Pantora. She didn't want Sabine to find out from some stranger, some random soldier of the Rebellion who only knew Hera because of her position. She decided to have a friend tell Sabine.
The call went out, and on the second ring he answered. He wasn't her first choice(that had been Ezra, but she hadn't been able to get a hold of him), but he would have to do. He knew Hera, and she had massive respect for him, enough to call him one of the best pilots in the Rebellion. More importantly, he would know how to break the news to Sabine. He would do anything to make sure she wasn't hurt, because he was in love with her. From the few times Ketsu met him, she could tell that. From the looks he gave her, to how he talked about her it was clear Sabine Wren had a hold on his heart. Originally, Ketsu had thought he was a spy sent by the Empire or Clan Saxon to eliminate Sabine. It made sense. He was a defector, it wouldn't have been too difficult for them to have been tricked and Sabine was a high profile target. Eventually, Ketsu had confronted him thinking he might try to assassinate her. But when she saw the way his face twisted when she had said he would hurt her, she knew she was wrong. He knew Sabine would never love him back, not while Ezra was around, and he was okay with that. He knew Ezra loved her as much as he did and would never do anything to hurt her. But he couldn't just stop loving her. She had rescued him from the Empire and helped show him what the Rebellion really meant. She showed him there was greater purpose in the galaxy and that he could help it.
"Hello Wedge," Ketsu said.
"Ketsu?" He said, astonished she had called him. They had met only on a handful of occasions, so he was quite shocked to hear from her. "Are you delivering the report about the battle? I thought Sergeant-"
"No I'm not Wedge. I need a favor. There's something I need you to do."
"I'm not sure what I can do. I'm stuck here on Yavin, at least until what's left of the fleet gets back."
"You don't need to leave Yavin for this. I need you to deliver some bad news."
"What kind of bad news?" Wedge says, his voice wary now.
Ketsu had been stalling, hoping that as long as she didn't say it it wouldn't be real. That Hera would walk in the room behind them and everything would be ok. But that didn't happen, and Ketsu knew it wouldn't. "Hera's dead." Silence hung in the air between them. Even though she couldn't see him, she heard him
suck in a breath. He knew Hera better than she did so she knew he'd take the news harder. After another few moments he said, "How?"
"She gave the order to jump to hyperspace, but she wasn't here when we arrived. It's assumed her ship was destroyed before she could jump."
"If you didn't see her then maybe she survived, maybe-"
"That's false hope Wedge, and you know it. Listen, I need you to tell Sabine. I know you'll break it to her gently."
"But if no one saw her then maybe-"
"Listen to me Wedge. Hera's gone. As sad as that is it's true. For Sabine's sake, don't imply she might still be alive. You'll give her false hope and when she realizes that it'll crush her. Wedge, don't make this harder for her than it has to be."
After another moment of silence Wedge said, "Alright I'll tell her. I don't want to see her hurt, I'll be sure to break it to her gently."
"Thank you Wedge," she said with a sigh of relief. "I've got to go. Good luck."
Several hours later, on Yavin
It was finally morning. After everything that happened yesterday Sabine was glad it was over. But she was also dreading what was to come. The day out with Ezra was a good distraction, but now it was time to face the truth. Time to see whether the mission had succeeded or failed. Time to see who lived and died. She got up out of bed and started to get ready. She wanted to see Ezra before it happened, it was always easier to bear the pain when he was with her. Before she could leave her room to find him though she heard a knock at the door.
She saw Wedge there and was about to ask why he was there, but then she realized. His face was crestfallen. Something terrible must've happened.
"Wedge what's wrong?"
Wedge was looking everywhere but Sabine's eyes. He was looking at the wall behind her, full of bright splashes of color and paint. At a little table with holos of her and Ezra, and the Ghost. But then he thought about what Ketsu said and he steeled himself. He looked her straight in the eye and said, "Sabine, I'm so sorry. Hera she..."
Sabine didn't hear what he said next. She just slowly stepped back toward her bed. Her vision went black and she kept thinking, She's gone. She's really gone. I tried to warn her, I tried to. And now I'll never see her again. I won't see her or Chopper or Zeb ever again. My family left me again. She felt something on her hands and realized she was crying. After she left Mandalore the Ghost had become her home, and it's crew her family. She didn't trust them at first, couldn't bring herself to but eventually she couldn't really imagine life without them. They had all been devastated when Kanan had died, they all mourned him. No one was the same afterwards. And now she was all alone mourning some of the only people that cared about her and become her family.
No, not alone. Ezra was still here and he wouldn't leave her. He promised her that he'd always be there, and Jedi did not break their promises easily. Even though her family had abandoned her again, Ezra would never leave her.
Meanwhile on UkioThe ships were leaving. Yavin needed the fleet so they could make a plan as soon as the Death Star plans arrived. She said goodbye to Garven Dreis and Evaan Verlaine, the only two of her friends who survived Scarif. Ketsu watched them go. It was a sorry sight. There wasn't much of a fleet left, only a few squadrons of starfighters and Y-Wings. A lot of good men had been lost that day, and Hera was one of them. She was a highly respected member of the Rebellion, and her loss was being felt by all of them. Hera was a hero of the Rebellion and her memory would never be forgotten. Ketsu wondered what happened in their final moments.
On the Ghost after Scarif
"Someone tell me what's happening!" Hera yelled from the cockpit as the Ghost was violently shaking.
"Carabast!! The hyperdrive's been damaged. We won't last long, we need to make repairs to it," Zeb started as he checked the Ghost's systems
"What're are chances of making it to Ukio?" Just then the shaking got worse, and pieces of the hull started to break off.
"None. We need to find somewhere closer to jump to otherwise we're done for!!"
"All nearby systems are controlled by the Empire!! We jump there and we'll be killed on sight!" Kallus said.
"General, wait. I may know of a place where we might be able to jump without Imperial prescence. But it's very dangerous, and we might not find anything."
"We don't have a choice! Chopper plug Rex's coordinates into the hyperdrive!"
Later on a distant moon
Everything was burning. In the wreckage of what once could have been a ship a droid was scurrying around looking for something. Droid designation C1-10P, better known as Chopper, was looking for something, anything, a sign that someone survived their crash here.
After a few minutes of searching he found something. Zeb was lifting a very heavy looking piece of metal off Hera. Chopper immediately rushed over to look over her. He made a bunch of happy little beeps. She was injured, but not severely. She made one hell of a crash landing.
Rex and Kallus were off to the side, checking what was left of the Ghost. Its structure was mostly intact, but its engines were severely damaged and it needed a new paint job. They would have Sabine do it when they got back. If we get back, Hera thought bitterly. She needed some help walking, but otherwise she was fine.
"Rex where exactly are we?" Hera asked while surveying the area. There was mostly debris, but it didn't look like it all came from the Ghost. Caves lined the walls of a little crater they landed in and it may have just been her eyes, but was that a battle droid in clone armor over there?
"An old Republic base on the Rishi Moon. This station was a listening post to ensure the Separatists could never attack Kamino. But they infiltrated it and the base was destroyed. Some of the best men I knew died protecting this place. We should be able to find what we need to fix the ship, but even if we can't we might be able to get a signal to the Rebellion if we modify some of the old satellites."
"Good. Looks like we're not going anywhere soon though. Alright enough standing around. Chopper, check the systems on the Ghost, figure out what's functioning and what's not. Kallus go with Rex, see if you can find anything useful. Zeb, help me make shelter. We're not going anywhere anytime soon, plus we'll need defenses. The Empire might not find us here, but predators will. Alright let's move!"
Hi there. I'm finally back!! So my exams are over so I should be able to write more. The chapters should come out more frequently, but I'm working on other fanfics too so not too frequently.
So thoughts. Everyone thinks Hera's dead. But she's not. Isn't that fun? There might be a bit of a time skip for the next chapter. Nothing extensive maybe just a day or two. Haven't decided yet. But what'd you think about this chapter? Should I have killed Hera off, or is it better if she lives? What about Wedge? Think that was a good addition to the story? Thoughts welcome as always.