Chapter Four
The Separatist supply ship rested on the snowy Agamarian cliff, it's exterior pitted and rusted with a decade and a half of age and exposure. Climbing out of his black A-Wing, Ezra made an easy leap from the starfighter's dorsal hull to the ground beside the Phantom. The yellow-and-white shuttle's ramp descended and Zeb stomped down, his bo-rifle slung over his broad back.
Rex followed him down, clad in his battered Phase 1 clone armour, twin DC-17 blaster pistols tucked snugly into their holsters. His helmet was held at his side leaving his tanned and bearded face visible. His brown eyes narrowed on the looming mass of the supply ship and a scowl crossed his face.
"I never thought I'd see one of these things again," Rex muttered as much to himself as to Ezra and Zeb. The grizzled war veteran took a few steps towards the ship, his eyes going distant as he relived old memories. Ezra almost raised his voice to warn Rex, then thought better of it. He was best waiting until Sabine joined them to share the key mission detail he had withheld from the Rebels.
The Mandalorian girl descended the ramp a few moments later, clad in her customary Mandalorian armour. Metal plates gleamed brightly in the Agamarian sunlight, pink and orange contrasting with the black undersuit that was visible between them. Her sleek WESTAR-35 blaster pistols were sheathed in their nerf-hide holsters at her hips.
Stepping onto the frozen ground, Sabine turned her helmeted head in Ezra's direction.
"Well, Ezra? This is your party."
Ezra hid a smile and turned to face Rex and Zeb.
"Okay, listen up," he said, "The proton bombs are in the port-side hangar off to the far side of the cliff."
"Right," Rex acknowledge with a nod, "I've been inside these things before, so I'll take point."
He turned towards the indicated hangar where a large jagged hole was visible in the exterior hull.
"We'll make for that entrance," he ordered, "There won't be any resistance, so it's a simple find-and-grab."
The three Rebels began to move towards the hangar with Ezra hanging behind, a pensive look on his pale features. They passed through the gaping rent and entered the port hangar, a dank and musty smell immediately filling Ezra's nostrils. The chamber was vast, with a high vaulted ceiling that was laden with slender catwalks. Most of the overhead lights had burned out long ago, leaving the great room in a permanent dimness. Dozens of large cargo containers were scattered across the wide floor, some stacked as many as six high.
"Well," Rex said grimly, "At least there are no battle droids here." His voice was muffled slightly by his battle-scarred helmet that he had donned upon entering the hangar.
"Those things can be a serious pain, trust me."
Ezra grimaced internally. Then, gathering the courage and steel resolve he'd developed over the last three months he spoke up.
"Actually, it's funny you should say that," he said in the best casual tone he could muster, "There was one thing I forgot to mention. The battle droids on this ship are still active."
Three heads snapped around in an instant and stared at him in disbelief. Zeb was the only face Ezra could see, but he could feel the sudden shock and anger in Sabine and Rex's Force auras.
"There are battle droids here?" Rex asked in a furious tone.
"Yes," Ezra replied calmly, refusing to even sound apologetic.
"How many?" Sabine asked coolly.
"Never mind that!" Zeb bellowed, his green eyes glaring at Ezra in rage.
"When were you planning to tell us this?"
Ezra met his gaze evenly.
"Just now," he said, "Once you were inside the ship and already committed to the mission."
The Lasat's jaw dropped at his companion's sheer audacity. Rex pulled off his helmet and stared coldly at Ezra with his dark brown eyes.
"You deliberately withheld information from us?" he asked incredulously.
"Information that was key to the mission's planning?"
"Yes," Ezra said simply.
When Rex's expression grew angry, Ezra felt the need to explain his actions as he had not with Zeb.
"Phoenix Squadron is too conservative," he insisted, "Hera and Sato aren't willing to take risks. To do what needs to be done to achieve victory. I'm helping you, whether you know it or not."
"Ezra," Sabine said, her tone containing more than a bit of pain in it, "We trusted you."
A note of sadness entered her voice, "I trusted you. And now you've led us into an ambush?"
"It's not an ambush," Ezra scoffed, "I can handle a bunch of outdated battle droids. How you think I got the recon data on my first visit?"
He looked at Rex and Zeb, "But I knew that Rebel Command wouldn't be willing to send a team if they knew there were still battle droids here."
Rex took a deep breath and then let it out, some of the anger fading from his expression.
"How many?" he asked in a calmer tone.
Ezra shrugged, "A couple hundred, give or take. I didn't get a chance to do a full count. They're mostly B1's and a handful of destroyer droids."
Rex paled at the mention of the latter, "Those things are trouble," he said warily.
Ezra shook his head, "I've studied up on them," he replied, "I know how to beat them."
That was one thing Maul had drilled into Ezra again and again. Always be prepared and always know your enemy.
The three Rebels exchanged looks, Sabine keeping her helmet on. After a few moments of whispered discussion, they all turned back to Ezra.
"Okay, Ezra," Rex said with a hint of menace in his voice, "We're going to go forward with this mission."
"But when we get back to base," Zeb added, "We're going to have a long talk about your constant lies."
Ezra ignored the veiled threat. He didn't fear any of his former friends. That was another thing Maul had burned out of him with his brutal training methods. Fear was a weakness.
Turning towards the depths of the hangar, Ezra indicated a tall pyramid of stacked crates.
"The proton bombs are in there," he said matter-of-factly.
Zeb scowled and huffed angrily, turning towards the distant corner. After a moment, Rex and Sabine followed him, with Ezra bringing up the rear.
"It's too quiet," Rex muttered under his breath, "This is a Sep ship. There should be clankers all over the place."
Abruptly the aged Captain spun on his heel and faced Ezra, eyes narrowing in suspicion.
"Where are the droids? Normally they'd be on us by now!"
Ezra shrugged his shoulders in feigned ignorance.
"They're around here somewhere," he replied nonchalantly.
Rex's face grew red with anger and he took another step towards Ezra when a loud creaking sound filled the hangar.
Rex spun back around to face the direction of the noise and Ezra turned his gaze to it as well.
Fifteen meters away from the crates of proton bombs, a grimy and tarnished set of blast doors had just slid open, the dusty durasteel slabs creaking and groaning. As they finished gliding open, the creaking sound ceased and a new sound began to echo into the hangar.
A faint, metallic clanking.
A lot of faint metallic clanking.
Rex's flushed face turned as white as a bonzami's fur and his age-spotted hands dropped to his holstered pistols.
"I'd know that sound anywhere," he muttered to himself. Then he raised his voice quickly.
"Sabine, Zeb! We've got company coming!"
The Lasat and Mandalorian turned away from the crate they were struggling to wrench open.
"Battle droids, incoming!" Rex shouted.
Sabine and Zeb quickly drew their weapons and as they did the clanking grew steadily louder. A second later a handful of skeletal figures entered the hangar. Sporting spindly arms and legs attached to a boxy torso, the droids looked almost comical. Almost.
Ducking behind a dusty crate with Rex, Ezra peered above the rim of the box, carefully surveying the number of enemies he faced. Seven of them entered the hangar, their elongated heads swiveling around, gazing around the hangar for the intruders they had presumably been sent to find. Each of the droids gripped a black blaster rifle in their flat rectangular hands.
The droid squad began to fan out into the immediate vicinity, their small black photoreceptors shining brightly in the dim light of the deserted hangar.
"Fan out," one of the droids said in a nasal voice. Ezra noticed he had yellow markings splashed on his squat torso.
"Find the intruders," the droid commander continued, "Eliminate all targets!"
Taking that as his cue, Ezra called his buried anger to the surface. Letting his hot rage bubble to the surface, he reached into the Force, calling the great energy to him and allowing it to suffuse his every cell with power. Bending his legs and summoning a burst of Force energy, Ezra leapt out from behind the crate in a high jump. At the apex of his leap, he snatched his lightsaber off his belt with one hand, igniting the emerald blade with a snap-hiss.
The seven droids turned their curved heads towards him, drawn by the sound of the activating weapon. Gripping his weapon in both hands, Ezra came down from his jump directly on top of the closest battle droid and cleaved the machine in two even pieces in a single mighty stroke. Even as the glowing metal scrap hit the floor, Ezra was on his feet, lightsaber held at guard.
"Jedi!" the commander barked in a tinny voice.
"Blast him!"
The six remaining droids opened fire at Ezra and the young man moved with preternatural speed, using the Force energy suffusing his body to supercharge his muscles. Dashing forward in a blur, Ezra dodged the oncoming blasterfire with ease and leapt into the air again, twisting his entire body in a mid-air barrel-roll that propelled him forward. Landing beside a droid, Ezra came up slashing as the droid was bringing its blaster to bear and bisected the droid through it's boxy metal torso.
To their credit the five surviving droids spun swiftly and opened fire on Ezra. Instead of leaping away, Ezra brought his blade up in a two-handed grip and twirled the glowing verdant sword in an incredibly fast deflection pattern. Scarlet blaster bolts flew towards him and reflected off green plasma to ricochet against nearby crates or fly into the distant ceiling.
After deflecting the initial volley, Ezra focused his parries and sent a flurry of blaster bolts flying back at two of the droids, dropping them to the dusty deck with glowing burn holes in their tan metal bodies. Spinning his lightsaber in a swift Soresu kata, Ezra freed one hand and, summoning all the Force energy he could, thrust his palm outward in a powerful Force push. The three remaining droids hurtled backwards as if caught in a starship's engine backwash. Crashing to the deck with a loud clatter, the skinny droids broke apart into dozens of useless components.
Glancing furtively around the hangar, Ezra spied no additional droids. Giving his lightsaber a few cautionary sweeps, he deactivated the weapon, the emerald blade vanishing into the black hilt.
From behind their cover, Zeb and Sabine rose slowly, awe visible on their faces. From behind Ezra came a series of footsteps and he turned to face Rex.
"Not bad," the grizzled veteran said appreciatively.
"You're no Skywalker, but not bad kid."
Ezra resisted the urge to Force-hurl the old man into the nearest crate.
"Come on," he said, gesturing to the open blast doors.
"The droids will keep coming unless we get to the bridge and shut them down from the main control computer."
"Hold on," Zeb shouted in alarm, "The plan wasn't to take on a ship full of battle droids. We're just here for the proton bombs."
"Zeb's right, Ezra." Sabine added, "You and Rex cover us while we get the crates onto a repulsorsled and get them out to the Phantom."
Ezra gave the Mandalorian girl a patient look.
"The droids will come in stronger and stronger waves," he replied, putting as much calm and reason into his voice as he could.
"If we don't head for the bridge and shut them down, they'll overwhelm us."
"Ezra's right," Rex interjected, "I've fought these clankers a hundred times and the one thing they always have on their side is numbers. We can't take them all in a head-one fight."
Zeb and Sabine exchanged a furtive look, and then the Lasat let out an loud sigh.
"Fine," Zeb snarled, throwing Ezra an angry glare, "Let's just get this done."
Ezra didn't bother returning Zeb's look and instead dashed through the doors. Not looking back, he heard the others following him, their boots thumping on the dusty metal decks. The young man raced through two more open blast doors before coming to a sealed portal which seemed smaller than the rest. He studied it for a moment before seeing a control panel on the left-hand side.
Moving towards it, he pulled a compact slicing tool from his utility belt, Ezra was about to slice into the door controls when he heard light footsteps behind him again. Not bothering to turn around, he inserted the electropick into the data slot, then spoke.
"Hey Sabine, where are Rex and Zeb?"
The Mandalorian girl's voice contained more than a hint of annoyance.
"They're catching up, Ezra. Not all of us can run like a Jedi, you know."
Ezra resisted the urge to roll his eyes and began to bypass the door locks when the aged metal hatch suddenly slid open with a loud creak. He drew back in surprise and then turned to face Sabine. The Mandalorian had her helmet on but Ezra could hear the smirk in her voice.
"I had Chopper slice into the main computer. He's opening the way for us."
Ezra had to smile at that and then gestured at the open door.
"Let's get going."
Sabine shook her head and jerked a thumb at the hallway behind them, "Not yet, Ezra."
The young man heard the sound of more footsteps and Sabine continued.
"We're a team, Ezra. You may have been working on your own for the last three months, but you're not alone anymore. Stop acting like you are."
Ezra paused at that last statement and his gaze grew distant, as if lost in a memory.
Rex and Zeb charged onto the scene a moment later, the former breathing hard.
"Well," Sabine said, a smirk still in her voice, "Now that we're all here, let's proceed. Together."
Ezra's gaze remained distant and he said nothing in response.