Episode 13 – Joyride
Rebels Rescued! After thirty years of being trapped in time, Old Republic Jedi Padawans Kanan Jerrus and Ezra Bridger now both work to complete their training under the tutelage of Jedi Master K'Kruhk, seeking to complete the training they began thirty years ago!
In the Jedi Temple…
Kanan and Ezra were both seated on the floor facing each other, K'Kruhk sitting to the side, all in meditative poses.
"Feel the Force around you, feel it within everything. The specks of dust on the floor, the mortar in the walls, even within the pieces of metal within the doors. Feel the presence of the Force, the footprints and handprints of those who walked here before us." K'Kruhk said, guiding them along in their meditation.
"I feel it. I can feel the faint presence of other Jedi from years past. Some of them are thousands of years old." Kanan said, his eyes closed.
"Good. Good. You remember your training from before, Kanan. Master Billaba trained you well." K'Kruhk said before noticing that Ezra seemed to be struggling. He was clinching his eyes shut periodically and his jaw was shifting from one side to the other in consternation.
"Calm yourself, Ezra. Patience." K'Kruhk said as Ezra took a deep breath and calmed himself down.
"I'm sorry. I just, I just keep thinking about somebody." Ezra replied as Kanan opened one eye towards him. K'Kruhk closed his eyes in meditation.
"Hmm. I see a suit of armor, pink armor, and hair in a rainbow of colors." K'Kruhk stated in mild confusion as Kanan arched a curious eyebrow.
"Sabine? Ezra, quit daydreaming about Sabine and focus." Kanan said as Ezra opened his eyes to glare at him.
"I'm trying." He mumbled.
"No-no, let Ezra dream. His feelings for the Mandalorian are clear. He is infatuated with her, much like you, Kanan, are infatuated with Captain Syndulla. It would seem that now is a good time to discuss something that will directly contradict your training from the old order, Kanan." K'Kruhk said as Kanan and Ezra both looked towards him curiously.
"You mean that new rule that allows Jedi to marry?" Kanan asked as K'Kruhk nodded.
"Yes. For many generations of Jedi and in most incarnations of the Jedi Order, the Jedi Code forbade attachments. For thousands of years, the difference between love and passion was misunderstood, and that which was not understood was feared and forbidden. There have been many Jedi throughout the ages who have defied the Order itself and married, some of them even producing some of the Jedi Order's most famous members. The Jedi Revan married fellow Jedi Bastila Shan and produced a legacy of great Jedi, including a Jedi Grand Master, the great Satele Shan. Even our own Anakin Skywalker married in secret to a Senator from Naboo and their marriage, although it ended in great tragedy, led to the birth of both our current Grand Master and the current Supreme Chancellor of the Republic." K'Kruhk explained.
"But I thought passion would lead to the Dark Side." Kanan said as K'Kruhk gave a nod.
"It can. Passion is what the Jedi caution against now. Love is a powerful tool of redemption, but one's passion can cause one to do things they never would think to be in their character. Take for instance, the most famous example. Master Skywalker himself, fell passionately in love with the woman that would become his wife. Haunted by dreams of her inevitable death, he became blinded and desperate to try and save her, to prevent her death through any means possible. This made him susceptible to the influence of the Dark Side from the man who would become the Emperor, and led to Anakin's fall to the Dark Side." K'Kruhk explained.
"But he's not the Sith Lord anymore. I mean, he helped save our lives over Lothal." Ezra said as K'Kruhk nodded.
"For over twenty years, he carried the mantle of Darth Vader. But it wasn't until he learned he had a son through his late wife that the faint embers of the Light Side of the Force began to flicker and glow once again. In the end, it was his love for his son that led him to turn away from the Dark Side. It is Anakin himself that used this story to justify marriage within the Jedi Order." K'Kruhk explained.
"Within?" Kanan asked a little hesitantly. K'Kruhk chuckled in light amusement at Kanan's misunderstanding.
"You're not restricted to only fellow Jedi, Kanan. Master X2's late wife was a Bounty Hunter and was not a Jedi. Nor was she Force Sensitive. Even Padawan Vos is partners with a non-Force Sensitive. And let's not forget General Solo, the Chancellor's Husband. He used to scoff at the very notion of the Force, considering…oh what were his words? Ah yes. He considered that 'ancient weapons and hokey religions were no substitute for a blaster.' He has since become an outspoken supporter of the Force and is one of the few in his family to not have any degree of Force Sensitivity. So don't assume that Captain Syndulla is out of bounds to you, Kanan. We have no control over the hearts of others. There are some things that even the Force cannot influence." K'Kruhk explained, causing Ezra to look at Kanan in surprise.
"Wait, you and Hera…you're together?" Ezra asked.
"Well it's complicated. I mean Hera and I have known each other for a long time. My old Jedi training prevented me from really making any commitments. But now…I'm…" Kanan said, visibly conflicted.
"Perhaps this is a conversation we should have in private, Kanan. Perhaps with someone more qualified to speak on such matters." K'Kruhk said as Ezra rolled his eyes.
"In other words, 'get lost Ezra.' I get it." Ezra said with a smirk as he stood up.
"Don't put words in my mouth, young Ezra." K'Kruhk gently scolded.
"Sorry Master, it was just a joke." Ezra replied as K'Kruhk gave a smile and a nod.
"Of course." K'Kruhk said as Ezra headed for the door. Ezra stepped out into the halls of the Jedi Temple, looking around curiously. He, like the rest of the Rebels were still getting used to the modern age of not having to duck the Empire all the time. The halls of the temple had gotten rather quiet lately as the Jedi were in increased demand to answer the call of those in need. Ezra paused in the middle of the hall, lost in thought. He didn't notice a repulsor trolley loaded down with spare parts and equipment approaching from behind until it bumped into him, sending him tumbling to the ground with a large welt on the back of his head. The person behind the cart then popped her twin-tailed head out from behind the cart.
"Oops! Sorry! Didn't see you there!" Griffon Vao said in a loud voice over the music being pumped through her speakers in her leather headdress. Ezra climbed to his feet, dusting himself off, turning to glare at the teenaged Twi'lek.
"You mind watching where you're going?" Ezra asked as Griff furrowed her brow towards him in confusion.
"Huh? What did you sa-…hang on." She replied before turning off her headdress speakers.
"Okay, now what did you say?" she asked as Ezra rolled his eyes.
"Never mind." He replied as Griff shrugged.
"Suit yourself." She said as she continued down the hall, pushing her cart of equipment.
"Where are you going with that stuff?" Ezra asked, curiously as Griff paused, looking back over her shoulder towards him.
"Hmm? Oh just to the hangar. They're just some spare parts that were donated to the Jedi. I'm working on a sort of…pet project of mine. Wanna see?" Griff asked as Ezra shrugged.
"Uh, sure. I've got nothing else to do." Ezra replied as he followed her towards the hangar. Soon they entered one of the hangar's maintenance bays where the Jedi Order's various starfighters and transports were stored or undergoing repairs. The hangar facility was a large cross shaped building with three large wings full of alcoves. The three smaller wings had large overhead doors for vertical takeoffs and landings while the longer south wing had a larger and wider hangar door where most craft entered or departed. There was also a large external landing tarmac and the hangar itself was largely reserved for storage and maintenance. Ezra followed Griff to one of the back corners of the east wing where, nestled in an alcove was a large object covered with a large brown tarp with only one wing with an underslung laser cannon attached to it sticking out from under the tarp. There was a white R2 unit with pink plating busily working on the laser cannon's circuitry.
"I'm back, Katie! I think our problems with the power coupling are solved. Got a brand new one from the quartermaster…well, new for us at least." Griff said as the astromech beeped a response in a slightly higher pitched tone indicative of an astromech with feminine programming. The droid looked at Ezra curiously before beeping.
"Huh? Oh this is…well this is the guy I awkwardly forgot to ask the name of." Griff said, playing off her blunder as if it were nothing although a keen eye could notice a little pink in her cheeks from embarrassment.
"I'm Ezra. Ezra Bridger." Ezra replied, looking up at the tarp covered vessel.
"Griffon Vao, R2-KT. Call me Griff, call her Katie." Griff said, picking up a hydrospanner with a flourish before reaching up and starting to tinker with some of the circuitry inside of the vessel's wing.
"So what are you working on here? One of those X-Wing's I've heard about or a Z-95?" Ezra asked as he looked the vessel over.
"170 actually." Griff replied.
"A what?" Ezra asked, confused.
"Aggressive Reconnaissance 170. Commonly known as an ARC-170. Frontline starfighter of the late Clone Wars, Republic, and early Empire. They were phased out of service early on by the TIE Fighter. You mind pulling that tarp off?" Griff asked as Ezra complied, pulling the tarp off to reveal a near fully restored ARC-170 Starfighter. It was done up in a soft blue color with a series of white swirls to the main hull while the engine turbines and wings were still the traditional white but with a matching soft blue edging. The nose of the craft had a decal of a grinning and angry looking Twi'lek skull (albeit with head tails which wouldn't remain as there were no bones in them) with the aurabesh inscription beneath it reading: "Buyer Beware."
"Oh yeah I remember seeing some of these flying over Lothal when I was little. The Empire replaced them with those screaming eyeballs with wings." Ezra said, running a hand over the hull.
"Yeah, well I wanted something with a little more elegance, passenger room, space for a droid-…" Griff said as Katie tooted her approval.
"…-hyperdrive, and plenty of teeth. Able's brother suggested a 170. Lucked out when Skywalker happened to have one in his 'spare parts' yard." Griff explained as she headed over towards the trolley full of parts.
"Not bad. What do you plan to use it for?" Ezra asked as Griff shrugged.
"Oh not much. Just take over the galaxy." Griff replied nonchalantly, earning a wry glare from Ezra.
"Ri~ght." He replied, earning a similarly wry glare from Griff. She was only joking of course.
"Are you gonna yap or do you want to help?" she asked.
"Not sure how useful I'll be but I don't mind helping." Ezra said as he headed for one of the open engine panels. Before he reached it, he saw Griff step towards the underside of the fighter and hit a button hidden inside of an open panel. Immediately three seats lowered down from inside the fighter, the front and middle seat facing forward while the rear most seat faced backwards.
"Actually, I was hoping you'd help me with testing the fighter itself. I need a copilot." Griff replied as she sat down in the pilot seat, the seat automatically retracting up into the fighter's pilot position. KT rolled into position between the middle and rear seats, two mechanical arms lowering down and grabbing her by the top of the legs, pulling her up into the fighter, her domed head popping out of the top. Ezra looked at Griff curiously as she sat in the pilot's seat. After a moment, she looked out towards him with a confused expression.
"Well don't just stand there." She said over a set of loudspeakers on the fighter. Ezra shrugged and got into the co-pilot's seat, the seat retracting up into the fighter, the cockpit systems already functioning.
"Everything looks good from back here." Ezra said before hearing the engines starting up. The starboard engine spluttered a little but quickly revved up normally.
"Systems looking normal." Griff commented to herself but KT beeped worriedly in response. Ezra noticed that the engines readouts were flashing yellow with lines of aurabesh text he didn't fully understand. The details were a little too technical for him.
"I've got some kind of reading here. Something's wrong with the engines. We need to shut them down!" Ezra said as Griff started messing with some of the controls.
"I would except there's one problem." She replied, earning a worried look from Ezra.
"What kind of problem?" Ezra asked.
"Uh, the engines aren't responding." Griff replied nervously.
"Uh! Katie! Shut it down!" Ezra yelled but KT started beeping an alarm, several alarms going off inside the cockpit.
"We've got a problem!" Griff exclaimed. By now some of the hangar technicians had taken notice of the old ARC-170's problems. Another alarm started to go off in the cockpit, drawing Ezra's attention.
"Yeah we do! The fuel temp is starting to rise!" Ezra said as Griff's eyes widened.
"Now that I know I can fix! Strap in!" Griff said as she grabbed the control stick, the ARC beginning to shake beneath them as it rose up on its repulsorlifts.
"What are you doing?!" Ezra asked.
"One way to get rid of fuel is to use it up! So hang on! We're gonna see what this thing can do!" Griff replied before pushing forward on the controls, the ARC lurching forward, swooping low over the hangar, pulling up in time to avoid colliding with a parked X-Wing.
"I don't remember signing on for this!" Ezra exclaimed as the ARC ducked under a ceiling mounted crane, the top of the starboard turbine scraping against the crane's grappler as it passed. Griff brought the ARC around the corner, taking them towards the main hangar doors.
"Hang on! This is gonna be rough!" she exclaimed, passing perilously close over Kyle Katarn's Raven's Claw, earning an indignant series of beeps from Katarn's droid, WeeGee.
"We're gonna get ourselves killed, or worse!" Ezra yelled as Griff quickly leaned the fighter to port in time to avoid clipping a pair of hangar technicians with the starboard wing. By now alarms were going off inside the hangar and deck crews were rushing to clear the hangar.
"Better just us than all of them!" Griff noted as Ezra realized she was getting the fighter clear to avoid collateral damage should it explode. Soon, the fighter had flown clear of the hangar and was gliding over the Ossus landscape, headed for a large canyon in the distance.
"Okay we're clear! I'm hitting the-." Ezra said but as he pulled the eject lever it broke off in his hand.
"Sorry about that! She's still a work in progress!" Griff exclaimed as Ezra clutched the seat of his chair.
"I have a very bad feeling about this!" Ezra yelped as Griff fiddled with the controls.
"There's no reason to panic! I have everything under-…" Griff said before they heard the engines splutter and die just as they reached the edge of the canyon.
"E chu ta!" Griff cursed just as the fighter started to plummet downward towards the canyon. Griff was hammering the ignition button but the engines were still spluttering.
"Come on you overgrown piece-a-…" Griff spat before giving the paneling at her feet a swift kick, the engines suddenly firing up again.
"Land!" Ezra exclaimed.
"I'm trying!" Griff replied.
"No, LAND!" he yelled, pointing straight forward as they saw the bottom of the canyon fast approaching. Griff quickly pulled back on the controls, bringing the ARC up enough to fly low over the large river that ran through the canyon, pulling straight up to fly close to the canyon walls until they were clear of the canyon and starting to fly into the sky.
"That was close." Ezra said, catching his breath.
"I've been through worse." Griff replied, wiping the sweat from her brow.
"Worse?!" Ezra asked in disbelief as they continued to fly towards the clouds, the hull starting to glow slightly as they headed for the edge of the atmosphere.
"Way worse." Griff replied as KT beeped in weary agreement as Ezra looked out the viewports, noticing the surface of Ossus rapidly getting smaller.
"So what's the plan now?" He asked.
"Get into orbit and let the chill of space cool the fuel down. Then wait for rescue…alternatively-…" Griff said before looking over her shoulder towards him with a challenging smirk.
"Or we could test the hyperdrive since we're up here." She suggested but earned a grimace from Ezra.
"No way. I've kinda become paranoid about hyperdrives lately. Especially on unreliable rust buckets like this." Ezra explained but Griff scowled.
"Hey! The hyperdrive is the one thing I had triple checked by other technicians. It's the one thing practically guaranteed to work." She argued, turning back towards the front as she worked at the controls.
"Remind me never to fly on anything you touch ever again." Ezra grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest as he sat back against the seat.
"Alright snippy pants, no hyperdrive. I'm powering down the engines so that'll give us plenty of time to let the fuel cool down." Griff replied as the fighter's engines powered down, a temperature sensor indicating the fuel temps dropping slowly but steadily.
"So until then, what do we do?" Ezra asked as Griff shrugged.
"Sit tight. I imagine the Jedi will come along soon enough and tow us back down. Probably get chewed out for causing a ruckus but that's just the way the Hutt bounces I suppose." Griff commented, the two falling silent as they drifted in the black of space.
Back on the surface…
Kanan and K'Kruhk hurried into the temple control room, responding to the alarms that had gone off. There they found X2 standing at the center console with Hera, both of them looking at security footage of the ARC-170's chaotic take-off.
"What's going on?! What's happening?!" Kanan asked as Hera turned towards them.
"It seems that Ezra decided to take a little joyride in a starfighter." Hera replied as Kanan looked at the fighter in surprise.
"An old ARC-170. Huh, I didn't think they still made those." Kanan commented as X2 nodded.
"They don't. This was a rebuilt one owned by one of the temple guardsmen. The Buyer Beware." X2 explained.
"Wait so Ezra resorts to stealing starfighters now?" Kanan asked.
"I wouldn't be too quick to judge Padawan Bridger, Kanan. Look closer at that hologram. He wasn't alone in his flight." K'Kruhk said, motioning to the cockpit of the fighter.
"Yeah, the owner was with him. I highly doubt he stole it. If anything I think Ezra's the one that was stolen." X2 commented as Hera looked at the hologram of Griff sitting in the cockpit.
"Oh, Griff? She's the owner of the fighter?" Hera asked.
"You know her?" Kanan asked.
"She's been helping with some of the Ghost refits. I've been letting her have some of the Ghost and Phantom's old parts whenever they get replaced." Hera said as X2 checked a datapad of information in his hand.
"Did any of those parts include a fuel pump?" X2 asked.
"From the Phantom, yeah, but I said not to use it. Tubes get clogged, pump overheats, fuel gets hot during the pass through as a result" Hera replied.
"Well it appears she tried to fix it. Her ship loudspeaker systems jammed on and we heard mention of the fuel overheating. Must've made a break for orbit to let space cool it down. Kinda smart if you ask me." X2 commented.
"So now they need a pickup." Kanan said as Hera shrugged.
"We could use the Ghost's cargo magnetizer to pull them in." Hera said but Kanan wasn't as convinced.
"Why? Looks like we've already got a ship on route to pick them up." Kanan said, motioning to the holoprojector which showed a large red arrow approaching the smaller blue arrow representing the Buyer Beware. X2 and K'Kruhk however…
"That's…that's not one of ours." X2 said, turning to one of the ATC officers.
"Scramble a wing to intercept! We've got a prowler!" X2 ordered.
"I'll prep the Ghost!" Hera said as she, Kanan, and K'Kruhk rushed out of the command center.
…
Back in orbit, Ezra was sat back in his seat while Griff was bent over in the pilot's seat, tinkering with some of the machinery under the controls.
"I think I know why the fuel was overheating. Bad fuel pump. The pump's at least forty years old and not even secondhand at that. More like fourth or fifth hand! Tried fixing it but it looks like it's just destined for a scrap pile!" Griff commented from under the console. Katie beeped something in response.
"I know Katie, I know!" Griff argued.
"Sounds like the pump off of my old ship. Pump caused the fuel temp to rise too. Had to offset the temperature with an ad hoc carbonite cooling unit." Ezra said as Griff sat up, wiping off a hyperspanner.
"Yeah well that would probably explain why the pump also came with one of those cooling units. The owner of the old VCX at the temple was practically throwing them away." Griff said, catching Ezra's attention.
"Wait a minute, an old VCX? Was the owner a green Twi'lek in a jumpsuit?" Ezra asked as Griff looked at him.
"Yeah why?" she asked back.
"Ugh! You stole from Hera!" Ezra groaned.
"Hey! I don't steal…well okay maybe not from anyone here I don't but I didn't steal any of these parts. I got all of them, with permission, from the temple maintenance bay! It's not my fault the parts are all secondhand." Griff replied. At the same time, Katie noticed that a shadow was casting itself over the fighter from behind and pivoted her head around in time to see a large metal maw starting to open as it approached them. Katie started beeping in alarm.
"What's that?" Ezra asked, the two looking back and seeing the ship approaching.
"Is that one of ours?" Griff asked.
"You tell me!" Ezra replied as Griff started hammering away at the controls, trying to start the fighter's engines.
"I have a bad feeling about this!" Griff replied, the fighter's engines spluttering and stalling. All the while the ship was getting closer, the ship gradually getting closer and closer into the ship's large forward hold/hangar where they could see several other salvaged fighters and ships all landed around the bay floor. They suddenly felt the fighter shake as tractor beams locked onto the fighter, the controls being hijacked remotely, causing the landing gear to extend.
"Uh-oh!" Griff yelped as the fighter started to land inside the hold of the ship. They looked around and saw several men of various alien races, gathering around a vacant spot where the fighter was being directed, each of them armed and aiming their weapons at the fighter as it touched down.
"You don't happen to know these guys do you?" Ezra asked.
"Not personally but if I had to wager a guess, I'd say they were scavengers from another system." Griff replied as they touched down, one of the scavengers approaching the fighter.
"Get out of there or we'll gas you out! And we better not see any blasters!" the scavenger, a Selkath man with a cybernetic right eye gurgled in his native tongue. Griff and Ezra both raised their hands.
"Got any ideas?" she asked before reaching over and hitting the button to lower their seats.
"Not yet." Ezra mumbled back as their seats lowered, the two unbuckling their safety restraints as several scavengers approached, one of them snatching Ezra's lightsaber/blaster combo. Two of them started patting down Griff but one of them went where they shouldn't have, earning a slap across the face.
"Hey! Hands off the lekku, farkle face!" Griff snapped, causing her assailant to recoil with an angered jumble of words in his own language before raising his blaster at her threateningly. Before he could fire though, the ship's loudspeaker came on.
"Stand down! I said stand down!" a man's voice ordered in basic over the hangar loudspeakers. The scavenger begrudgingly lowered his weapon as Ezra and Griff were forced away from the Buyer Beware, Katie joining them nearby with a worried beeping.
"You said it." Ezra mumbled as the scavengers parted, allowing a corpulent Crolute man in a suit of scavenged plates to approach. He didn't seem too interested in the three, rather directing his attention towards the captured starfighter.
"Well boss? We catch ourselves a goodin'?" one of the scavengers, a Weequay asked as the Crolute rubbed his double chin with one of his bloated fingers.
"An ARC-170. Fairly good condition, probably lacking some of its original parts. Not much demand for these though. Clone War era rubbish. Still, could probably sell it for something on Nar Shaddah." The Crolute said as Griff cleared her throat.
"It's got a bad fuel pump though. It'd blow up on you if you're not careful. Also the ejector seats aren't restored and the starboard laser cannon doesn't always link up with the port when set to linked fire mode." Griff interjected, earning an unimpressed look from the Crolute.
"Who's this?" he asked.
"Found them in the ship, boss! Couple of kids out for a joyride!" one of the scavengers reported, the one that had gotten slapped by Griff hobbling forward.
"Little kriffer slapped me!" he gobbled in his language.
"And I'll slap you again if you try and get grabby with me." Griff threatened as the Crolute rolled his eyes.
"Take 'em both to the brig. We'll sort out what to do with 'em later. Meanwhile double-check those issues she mentioned and fix 'em if we have the parts. Oh, and take the droid to lockup too. We'll stick a restraining bolt on it later. Sell the droid along with the fighter. Make it a package deal." The Crolute said, turning to leave. Ezra noticed one of the scavengers with his lightsaber then approach, pointing a blaster rifle at him and Griff.
"Get movin' you, little blighters." The scavenger ordered, forcing the two to move away from the fighter and towards one of the corridors leading out of the hangar.
"Don't suppose you have a plan." Ezra mumbled to Griff as they were forced into the hall.
"Kinda making one up as I go along. You?" she asked, Ezra smirking silently as the scavenger with his lightsaber walked ahead of them, taking point while two others moved in behind them.
"Working on it." He replied with a coy smirk.
"Quiet. Both of you." One of the scavengers ordered as they entered into a narrow hallway.
"What kind of ship are we on anyway?" Ezra asked.
"Definitely a bulk freighter, and judging by the big cargo bay door on the front, I'd say Baleen-class." Griff mumbled as they reached the door to an empty cargo pod.
"In you go." One of the scavengers ordered as Ezra bumped into the scavenger ahead of him.
"Hey! Watch it!" the scavenger snapped.
"Sorry!" Ezra yelped as he stumbled into the pod. The scavengers then slammed the doors shut, trapping them inside, the only light being whatever came through the grime stained transparasteel paneling of the door itself.
"Well now we're here, guess it's time to make a fool out of them." Griff said as she put her hands behind her head. Ezra however held up his lightsaber with a coy smirk.
"Couldn't have said it better myself." He said as Griff smirked back at him. She'd seen him swipe the lightsaber from the scavenger.
"They never check the headdresses. How long do we have before they realize you're armed?" she asked as she proceeded to remove her headdress, her smooth blue scalp and ear cones exposed. Inside her headdress though were several small pouches built into the lining, each containing various tools. She reached into one and pulled out a small metal hook-like tool meant to pick the lock from the inside.
"Probably not long." Ezra replied as he started carefully stomping on various plating, hearing a hollowness in the floor beneath him and smirking.
"So, you ready to use that blaster or-…" Griff asked as she turned towards the door, putting her headdress back on but was interrupted by the sound of a lightsaber activating, a soft blue glow filling the pod. She turned and saw Ezra cutting a hole into the floor, surprising her.
"Whoa, that's a lightsaber?" she asked as the hole Ezra made fell into the vent that ran below the pod and into the main corridor. Ezra deactivated his lightsaber, clipping it to his belt.
"Built it myself." He said before dropping down into the tunnel, Griff dropping down after him, the two crawling on their hands and knees through the crawlspace. They could see through the grating in the floor above them.
"So what's the plan?" Ezra whispered as they crawled.
"We'll need to sabotage their tractor beam first, rescue Katie, and then get to the hangar without getting blasted. Pure sabacc, right?" she asked, sticking the small tool in one of her vest pockets. Ezra was less than assured.
"Yeah, I'm convinced." He said sarcastically as he stopped at an intersection, Griff moving ahead of him. Ezra spotted a shadow moving ahead of them, indicating someone above them in their direction. He quickly reached out and grabbed Griff by one of her headtails only for her to whirl around and slap him across the face, causing him to let go.
"What was that?" they heard the scavenger above them ask, confused. Both Ezra and Griff pursed their lips together, holding their breath for a moment before the scavenger moved on.
"Ugh, damn that Gell for stealing my private stash. Been seein' 'n' hearin' thinks ever since." The scavenger grumbled as he moved on. Griff then scowled at Ezra, protectively holding onto her right head tail. Ezra shrugged apologetically.
"Sorry." He mouthed. She then slowly pointed to her head tails with a terse expression.
"Hands off." She mouthed back before motioning to follow, the two continuing through the vents. They then reached a junction where several fuse controls sat, Griff grinning at the sight of them.
"Here, we can reset these fuses and cause some general mayhem. It should cause enough of a distraction." Griff said as Ezra gave her a confused look.
"How do you know so much about this ship?" he asked.
"Not this ship specifically but the class. My old man had a couple of these old scows as part of his legitimate enterprises. Lousy rust buckets were rife with design flaws but they're cheaper than most bulk freighters and fairly reliable." Griff explained as she went about resetting the fuses, causing alarms to start blaring across the ship.
"Uh-oh. Wrong fuses." Griff mumbled. They then heard a monstrous roar echo throughout the ship, a sound that made Griff turn white as a sheet.
"Oh don't tell me they're hauling Akks on this thing!" Griff grimaced.
"Akks? What's an Akk?" Ezra asked worriedly as they heard blaster fire starting to echo throughout the ship. They could hear the scavengers yelling and screaming along with inhuman growling and ripping sounds from down the corridor above them. They saw shadows moving quickly across the floor above them from down the hall, indicating something was approaching quickly. Griff saw the shadow and grabbed Ezra by the hand.
"MOVE!" she yelled as they hurried through the tunnels, a monstrous growling and barking coming from above them but Ezra could only get fleeting glances as the monster followed after them above.
"What are these things?!" Ezra asked as they crawled as fast as they could.
"Akk dogs! Big scaly lizards! Lots of bark and a lot more bite!" Griff replied as they rounded a corner only to see a red scale armored claw break through a loose panel ahead of them, the claw flailing around.
"Wrong way!" Ezra exclaimed as they hurried in a different direction, hurrying towards a tunnel area where they heard the sounds of blaster fire. They then heard a loud metallic clunking ahead of them as a set of bulkhead doors slammed shut above them. They then heard a familiar beeping and whistling.
"Katie?" Griff asked as the floor grating above them was pulled up and off, revealing a familiar white and pink astromech, the grating being lifted off with one of Katie's metal arms. Griff and Ezra emerged from the maintenance tunnel to find themselves in a section of the corridors that had been sealed off thanks to Katie.
"Hey! Katie! How'd you find us?" Griff asked as Katie whistled her response, a small sensor dish briefly popping up out of her dome and retracting back in.
"Looks like setting those Akks loose was a good idea." Ezra said as Griff shrugged helplessly.
"Well, like I said, I'm making this up as I go along." She replied as Ezra checked his lightsaber.
"So how do we get from here to the ship?" Ezra asked.
"Well, as my Papa Hondo always used to say: 'when one airlock closes, break out the fusion cutters and flush them into space.'" Griff said as Ezra looked at her suspiciously.
"That sounds kinda…drastic." Ezra said as Griff found a mauled scavenger lying nearby, its blaster still in its holster.
"Yeah well my Papa Hondo was a pirate. It's kinda what he did. So, you know how to use that lightsaber?" Griff asked as she pulled the blaster from its holster.
"You bet." Ezra said as they heard more blaster fire from outside the bulkhead doors along with more growling from the Akks.
"Let's go!" Griff said, mildly panicked as they opened the opposite door but Ezra quickly pulled her to one side just as the bulkhead opened, revealing an Akk dog crouched down. It pounced through the open door, missing the three but turning towards them with a snarl. Ezra quickly shot the Akk with the blaster on his lightsaber, firing a stun bolt which only caused the Akk to growl and stagger in pain.
"Not good!" Ezra yelped as they hurried away from the dog, hurrying down the hall towards the hangar. Ezra glanced back and saw the dog chasing after them, barking at them viciously.
"Why are they carrying these things?!" Ezra asked as they ran, Griff quickly blasting a door control behind them, the door slamming shut just ahead of the dog but they could hear more dogs howling through the ship.
"They're excellent hunting dogs! Worth a fair amount on the black market!" Griff replied as they raced into the hangar where some of the scavengers were trying to fend off the Akks. The Crolute was amongst them, a blaster in hand as he backed away towards a nearby Quadjumper.
"Now's our chance! Go!" Griff exclaimed, the three hurrying towards the Buyer Beware.
"Take the back turrets! We might need them!" Griff yelled, nearly halfway across from the old fighter when Griff suddenly yelped in pain.
"Ah! Get it off! Get it off!" she cried out, spinning around as a small Akk pup had bitten onto one of her lekku and wouldn't let go. Ezra slid to a stop and hurried towards her.
"Hang on!" he called, prepping his stunner but Griff spun towards him, swinging the Akk pup across to smack into Ezra's chest, the pup letting go as Ezra fell to the ground. Katie didn't stop, quickly hurrying to the Buyer Beware, getting pulled up into the droid socket. Ezra put a hand to his head but froze as he saw the Akk pup lying on his chest, glaring at him. The pup sniffed him cautiously for a moment before starting to lick his face happily.
"Oh-gah-come-on-get it off me!" Ezra complained as Griff giggled slightly.
"Now's not the time to make friends! Come on!" Griff called, running towards the old ARC-170 but the pup noticed her and started chasing after her again, trying to nip at her head tails, yipping at her as it chased her.
"Ah! What's with everyone trying to grab me by the lekku today?!" she exclaimed, quickly running to hide behind the lowered pilot's seat as the pup toyed with her playfully, it's tail wagging excitedly. Meanwhile Ezra leapt into the back seat, the seat rising up into the rear turret position. Griff quickly grabbed a hydrospanner off the floor and threw it, the pup chasing after it.
"Good beasty!" she muttered, leaping into the pilot's seat, the seat retracting up into the pilot's seat. Neither of them noticed as the pup came running back towards the Buyer Beware, the hydrospanner clutched in its teeth as the ARC's engines roared to life. Nearby, the Crolute heard the engines starting up, the Buyer Beware starting to lift off and out of the hangar.
"Hey! That's mine!" the Crolute yelled as the Buyer Beware escaped the hangar, flying out into the empty space before them.
"Well that was a disaster." Ezra commented as he watched the bulk freighter disappearing behind them. Griff was checking some of the controls.
"You could say that. But it looks like they did do us a couple of solids though. They fixed that problem with the fuel pump and from the looks of this diagnostic, they fixed the cannon link-ups." She said as she powered the ARC's weapons, firing a few linked shots into the blackness of space, the cannons firing perfectly.
"Awesome!" she cheered but that excitement suddenly vanished just as a cruiser dropped out of hyperspace right in front of them, the laser cannon shots hitting the ship right on its starboard hull, causing light damage to the ship before its shields could be raised.
"Oh come on!" she groaned as the cruiser, an old Imperial Light Cruiser with pirate markings, opened fire. Griff quickly pulled the fighter away from the cruiser.
"Hang on!" she exclaimed as she struggled to evade the ship.
"Where did they come from?!" Ezra yelped.
"E chu ta! I should've remembered! Scavengers always have an escort ship nearby! Just return fire!" she yelped as Ezra grabbed the turret controls but the turrets wouldn't power on.
"I can't! I'm not getting any power!" Ezra yelped as Griff groaned.
"D'oh~h! That power coupling must've gotten loose again! It's a simple fix! Under the controls, you just need to reattach the coupling and then tighten the fastener!" Griff instructed as Ezra looked under his console, seeing the coupling in question, a large black cable with a fastener on the end. He tried to grab the coupling but got a light shock when he did.
"OW! That thing's live!" Ezra yelped.
"Gah! Find a hydrospanner!" she argued, trying to dodge the cruiser's fire.
"Where will I find a-…" Ezra asked before a hydrospanner literally fell into his lap. He looked at it, perplexed, until he heard a happy panting sound next to him. He turned and saw the Akk pup sitting happily next to him.
"Uh. Gri~iff! We've got a stowaway!" He warned just as the Akk yipped happily.
"What?! That little pup stowed away?!" she groaned as Ezra grabbed the hydrospanner, using it to reattach the power coupling.
"Looks like it!" he replied just as the turret controls came online.
"Alright, we're good! Turrets online!" Ezra said, grabbing the controls and opening fire at the cruiser but the blaster cannons did nothing against the cruiser's shields.
"This is doing nothing!" Ezra groaned.
"We're putting up a fight at least!" she replied before the Buyer Beware suddenly stopped.
"What happened?!" Griff asked as Ezra looked around towards his right and saw the scavenger freighter approaching nearby and immediately realized what had happened.
"It's the scavengers! They've got us in their tractor beam again!" Ezra exclaimed.
"Oh we're farkled." Griff mumbled but Ezra sensed something and turned around towards the left.
"Maybe not! Look!" Ezra exclaimed, Griff looking back at the freighter just as a pair of X-Wings bombed the freighter, taking out its tractor beam.
"It's the Cavalry!" Griff declared excitedly as she looked ahead in time to see a squadron of Jedi Fighters along with an old Hammerhead Corvette and the Ghost flying towards them. On the bridge of the Hammerhead, the Jedi Knight Zekk stood looking out through the viewport.
"This is Zekk of the Jedi Ship, Cavalry! We're here to assist you Buyer! All wings protect that fighter!" Zekk ordered. The cruiser had directed its attention on the corvette while the fighters and the Ghost formed up with the Buyer.
"Copy that, Cavalry! Buyer, form up!" Hera said from behind the controls of the Ghost, Kanan sitting in the nose turret controls, and with Sev manning the dorsal turret.
"Copy that!" Griff replied into the comlinks.
"Hera! I had nothing to do with this!" Ezra quickly remarked.
"We'll deal with that later! For now, let's deal with this bozos! Windu Squadron, assume attack formation and engage that cruiser!" Hera instructed as the Ghost, the Buyer Beware, and the fighters came back around to attack the cruiser, the Ghost firing off a volley of proton-torpedoes, the torpedoes smashing into the shields but having no effect.
"Cavalry we could use some assistance! Their shields need taking out!" Hera reported. On the Cavalry, Zekk smirked a little as he eyed the cruiser.
"Acknowledged Ghost! All hands, brace for impact! Ramming speed!" he ordered, grabbing onto a nearby guard rail as the Cavalry revved up to full sublight speed, barreling towards the cruiser with every ounce of speed it could pour on. The Cavalry proceeded to collide with the cruiser's starboard hull, bouncing off slightly but quickly slamming back against it, the sheer force of the whole corvette colliding with the cruiser causing incredible hull damage, taking down the shields, and forcing the cruiser to veer sharply off course.
"The shields are down! It's now or never!" Zekk reported as the Ghost, Buyer Beware, and the other fighters came around for another attack.
"Copy that! Fire at will Windu Squadron!" Hera ordered as Griff grinned.
"I've always wanted to do this!" she cheered as the Ghost and the fighters opened fire on the cruiser, inflicting heavy damage across its hull as the Cavalry backed away, having done enough damage to cripple the cruiser.
"Buyer Beware going in for the kill!" Griff reported as she started to strafe the cruiser's bridge, firing a few shots into the bridge, causing a fireball to rip through the bridge and set off a series of secondary explosions down the bridge tower towards the rest of the cruiser.
"She's buckling! She's about to blow! All craft, fall back!" Hera ordered as a chain reaction started within the cruiser, explosions ripping it apart until finally one large explosion destroyed the entire back half of the cruiser, leaving only a portion of the forward hull to drift aimlessly in space.
"Target destroyed. Well done everyone." Hera said as the Ghost and the fighters turned towards the freighter.
"Cavalry to Ghost, you and the Buyer Beware go ahead and head on back to base. Windu Squadron and the Cavalry will take care of that freighter." Zekk said as he watched the Ghost and Buyer Beware turn off from the freighter towards Ossus.
"Yeah, just as a heads up, we might've released a pack of angry Akk dogs on that ship. You might want to be careful." Ezra commented, causing Zekk to chuckle.
"Thanks for the tip, Buyer, but we can handle them. Cavalry out." Zekk replied, closing the channel.
"So~o how big a trouble do you suppose we're in?" Griff asked as the Akk pup yipped happily, it's tongue lolling out as it looked around. Katie beeped in amusement in response.
"Yeah, that's probably an understatement Katie." Ezra replied as the Ghost and the Buyer Beware headed for Ossus.
Just outside of the Ossus System…
The Quadjumper from the freighter dropped out of hyperspace, having escaped from the freighter and jumped away without notice. Sitting at the helm was the Crolute who turned towards a nearby display monitor. He entered a few commands before the monitor flickered to life with a grainy feed of a Quarren man, the Quarren glaring at him with contempt.
"Unkar Plutt, what do you want? What sort of rubbish have you drudged up this time?" the Quarren asked in annoyance.
"Somethin' really good this time. Information that's worth somethin' to the right people." The Crolute replied.
"Information? What kind of information?" the Quarren asked.
"No-no, this information's for the boss and the boss alone." Unkar replied.
"The boss won't meet some two-cred scrounger like you." The Quarren said dismissively,
"Even if it's a lead on the location of the Jedi headquarters?" Unkar asked, the Quarren arching a curious eyebrow.
"The Jedi? The boss and the Sith Empire have an extraordinarily high bounty for any credible leads on their location. Fine, I'll set up a meet for you. Just don't upset the boss. What about your ship?" the Quarren asked as Plutt let out an audible growl of frustration.
"Jedi 'ave likely impounded it by now. Lost our escort cruiser altogether. You got somethin' for me?" Plutt asked as the Quarren chuckled slightly in grim amusement.
"Well, assuming you get to keep your skin from that lead you've got for the boss. I've got a little junk dealing job for you out of Niima Outpost on Jakku…all just for you, Plutt." The Quarren chuckled before closing the feed as Unkar scowled and grunted in annoyance, his Quadjumper flying through space.
Back on Ossus…
Ezra and Griff both stood before Kanan and Hera on the landing tarmac outside the Temple. The Ghost and the Buyer Beware were nearby although the Buyer was being moved via repulsor platform into the main hangar. X2 and K'Kruhk stood nearby along with Chopper and Katie. The Akk pup also sat nearby, happily looking around.
"What were you thinking?! You could've gotten yourselves killed!" Kanan scolded.
"It was my fault. My ship had a malfunction, I should've kept better care of it. I accept full responsibility." Griff said but Ezra shook his head.
"No, I share the blame as well. If you want to punish her, I'll take the punishment as well. I went along with her of my own will after all." Ezra said as X2 and K'Kruhk approached.
"The only punishment that will be enacted is the grounding of the Buyer Beware until it has been properly inspected and cleared for flight by Temple Mechanics. We all know this was an accident. In fact, I do have to applaud you for your quick thinking. That ship could've exploded and taken both of you and several others with it." X2 commented.
"So we're off the hook?" Ezra asked as K'Kruhk chuckled.
"Not entirely. You both have a new duty to perform." K'Kruhk said, turning to the Akk pup, making a clicking sound towards it. The pup started yipping and ran towards Ezra, leaping at him. Ezra caught the pup, holding it away from him.
"What's going on?!" he yelped as the pup panted at him happily.
"A little responsibility will go a long way. You are both named the caretakers of this pup until further notice." X2 said as Ezra and Griff both looked at the pup, Ezra a little disturbed but Griff was more amicable.
"Well…it is kinda cute. I think I'll need to get some warmers for my lekku though, if anything to protect them from the little blighter." Griff commented as Ezra set the pup down, the pup quickly running around their feet while yipping playfully at them. K'Kruhk chuckled in amusement.
"Akk dogs are surprisingly Force Sensitive. They will form a powerful bond between them and their masters through the Force. They can be incredibly loyal companions and it seems that this one has already formed a bond with the two of you." K'Kruhk explained as the pup sat down and looked up at its people.
"Well, I guess I've got no choice." Ezra commented, unsure as the pup started sniffing the ground, moving towards the droids.
"Quick question: is it male or female?" Griff asked but got her answer when the pup went towards Chopper and proceeded to hike its leg. Chopper quickly backed away with an annoyed wubbing as Griff glanced away, unamused.
"Question asked, question answered." She mumbled to herself but Ezra snickered at Chopper's reaction.
"I think I'm starting to like the guy." Ezra snickered, Chopper wubbing back at him in annoyance.
"What about that freighter we caught?" Kanan asked.
"According to Zekk, it's been impounded. We signaled a Republic cruiser to come pick up the surviving crew. Most of them were killed by the Akks and the Akks themselves have been rounded up without injury or casualty. The surviving scavengers will be facing illegal smuggling and piracy charges although we understand their Captain had escaped." X2 explained.
"He'll turn up eventually. He can't hide forever." K'Kruhk said as Griff shrugged.
"Well, I guess I better get back to work on fixing the Buyer Beware. Come on Katie." Griff said as Katie beeped affirmatively, following after her as Griff walked towards the hangar. Griff then paused and turned towards Ezra as the pup sat down next to him.
"Hey, Ezra, if you're ever interested in another joyride, just let me know." Griff said with a smile and light salute. Ezra gave a nod, returning the salute.
"I think I've had enough joyrides for now, thank you." Ezra replied. Griff merely shrugged with her hands behind her back before continuing on towards the hangar. Hera however noticed something and allowed a small smile to appear on her face.
"Ezra, I could use a hand on the Ghost. I want to run some calibrations of the sensor arrays and it's more than Chop and I can do alone." Hera said as Kanan stepped forward.
"I'll help." He said but Hera smiled at him and raised a dismissive hand.
"No, I want Ezra to help." She said, subtly sending him a message that there was more to her request than a simple recalibration. Kanan got the message and backed down.
"Alright." He said as Ezra, having missed the clue, shrugged.
"Well I guess I better come along then." Ezra replied as he, Hera, Chopper, and the pup headed for the Ghost, leaving X2, Kanan, and K'Kruhk alone on the tarmac. X2 quietly excused himself back towards the Temple Command Center while K'Kruhk approached the Padawan.
"Patience, Kanan. You'll get your chance to speak with Captain Syndulla soon enough." K'Kruhk said reassuringly. Kanan took a deep breath to clear his mind.
"Right, Master." Kanan replied as he looked up at the Ghost.
…
Inside the cockpit, Hera was sat at the pilot's seat, tinkering with one of the controls while Ezra sat in the seat in the opposite corner, looking at sensor displays.
"The sensors are reading fine so far, Hera. I'm not seeing anything out of the ordinary." Ezra said as Hera turned towards him.
"I know. The sensors are fine. Chopper can recalibrate them all on his own. Actually, I felt that we needed to talk in private about something." Hera said as Ezra turned towards her, confused.
"What are you talking about?" he asked.
"I'm talking about Griff. She's…got a little bit of a crush on you." Hera said as Ezra looked at her, surprised.
"Griff? How can you tell?" he asked as Hera pulled one of her lekku around to drape down her front side.
"When Twi'leks communicate, we incorporate subtle movements in our head tails. When Griff spoke to you, her lekku moved in such a way that she was signaling that she had feelings for you. It's like when someone lifts or bounces their leg a little when talking to someone they care about. It could be a subconscious action or deliberate. So I don't know if it's something she realizes or not. But I thought you should know." Hera explained as Ezra looked contemplative, not entirely sure how to react.
"Oh. So, what should I do?" he asked.
"Whatever you feel is right. Try pursuing it or don't. It's your choice." Hera said as Ezra gave an understanding nod but then looked at her suspiciously.
"You're not trying to have some kind of…talk…with me are you?" he asked but Hera merely allowed a silent chuckle to escape and shook her head.
"No, Ezra. That's not my place. Besides I don't think you need me to explain anything." Hera said as Ezra shook his head with a grateful smile. He then paused.
"Well, actually, there is one thing you could explain to me. Why is it that she doesn't like anyone touching her head tails? Is it a Twi'lek thing or just her?" Ezra asked as Hera absently put a hand to one of her lekku.
"It's a Twi'lek thing mostly. Our lekku store parts of our brain. We could suffer brain damage if pulled too hard or injured in some way." Hera explained as Ezra snapped his fingers in understanding.
"So that's why she slapped me! I didn't know what that was about!" Ezra said as Hera chuckled.
"Don't take it personally. You didn't know. But that was basically it. I felt you had a right to know." Hera said as Ezra stood up with an appreciative nod.
"Thanks, Hera. I appreciate it. And thanks for coming to our rescue." Ezra said as Hera gave a nod.
"You would do the same for me." Hera replied as Ezra stepped towards the door but paused.
"Say, what about you and Kanan? Are you-…" he said as Hera turned away slightly.
"We've…considered something more but…with the old Jedi rules, we always kinda kept it respectful and professional…but now…" Hera replied, turning towards the forward viewports to where Kanan was busily checking some cargo containers full of supplies for the Ghost. Hera's expression was one of uncertainty.
"Well…if you asked me, I think you'd be great together." Ezra said as Hera turned back towards him with an appreciative look on her face.
"Thank you." She said as Ezra headed out of the cockpit, leaving Hera alone to ponder hers and Kanan's destiny.
Meanwhile in Sith Space…
Darth Fenrir entered into the empty communications room of his flagship, the stolen Aggressor Class Star Destroyer: Merciless, the former flagship of the crime lord Tyber Zann. Fenrir knelt before the holoprojector which flickered on, revealing the mysterious hooded figure.
"We've found them at last, my old friend. We now know where the Jedi are hiding." The figure said as Fenrir looked up at the hologram.
"Then the good doctor should be yours to acquire soon." Fenrir said.
"We know where she is, but retrieving her will not be an easy task. She is likely well entrenched amongst the Jedi. A direct assault would be foolhardy even for your own forces. We must draw her out, force her into the open. For that, we might have use of your...allegiances." the figure said as Fenrir pondered for a moment and allowed a smirk to appear.
"We may actually get that chance. Even now, the Republic and the Jedi are playing into our hands. Our next move may lead exactly to the result we have been looking for. Patience my friend. You will have her soon enough." Fenrir said as the hooded figure gave a nod.
"I sincerely hope you are correct." The figure said before closing the transmission. Fenrir waited a few seconds before the console nearby beeped, displaying a holographic recording of Windu Squadron, the Ghost, the Buyer Beware, and the Cavalry attacking the light cruiser and freighter. Information displayed in the lower right corner of the projection displayed the name of the system: Adega. Fenrir noticed this and his mouth curled into a dark smile.
"Ossus." He said before deactivating the hologram, removing a data card from the console and placing the card within a secret compartment in his clothes before turning and leaving, formulating a dark plan against the Jedi.
End Episode 13
And this has been the Season 2, mid-season premiere episode.
I would like to take this time to politely ask readers not to make any Rogue One spoilers in your reviews. Additionally, I would like to remind everyone that only Season 1 and the first couple episodes of Season 2 of Rebels is canon. So, Ezra hasn't met Hondo and wouldn't know who he is at this point.
One other note, at this point the year has finally ticked over from 28 ABY to 29 ABY. It's not that important a detail but a detail nonetheless. The war's been going on now for about three months (since mid-October if you want to go by an Earth Calendar. It'd be mid-January by now.