The mission had gone well thus far, why should it fail now?
Hera thought to herself as she and Ezra crept behind the banners while Chopper continued to distract the two soldiers posted on watch to guard the entryway.
"Is that thing talking to us?"
"It looks like it's malfunctioning."
She suppressed a grin, Sabines art skills and the droids erratic behavior was something that usually wrecked havoc back aboard her ship, but out in the field, she had to admit that it made a pretty good disguise.
Reaching the end of the hallway, they hide themselves behind one of the columns and eyed the door.
They'd made it this far through duplicity and the element of surprise, but once they stepped inside the office, they'd have to rely on their disguises and personas to help them avoid capture.
Casting a quick glance over her shoulder she was once again glad that Ezra's habit of collecting imperial armor and newly found height had covered his true identity and had allowed them entrance into the facility.
Catching her gaze Ezra nodded to her.
"You go first, I'll cover you."
She returned the nod. They'd made it through the opening, now it was time to get into the main act.
Keeping her head low, she walked quickly and quietly as she moved, sparing a glance every other step to make sure Ezra hadn't moved from his position and still kept a steady aim on both stormtroopers. Both of which who had remained engrossed in the odd little distraction that had rolled up before them.
She'd made it to the door, now all that was left to do was to enter the key code, keep the door ajar and give Ezra a chance to move across the gap before they noticed anything was wrong.
She turned around to start towards the door, but stopped short upon turning completely around.
Two figures stood before her, one was an imperial officer, high in rank but nothing considerably dangerous, the other one was the very man that they had been tasked to steal the information from.
Grand Admiral Thrawn.
She'd seen pictures of him back on base, and had read his impressive combat record with the imperial navy, but nothing could compare to seeing him the flesh.
Standing at a towering six foot four, with broad shoulders and a wide striding stance, the man could've been the poster boy for the New Order's idea of a perfect officer and perfect leader, had it not been for his blue skin and glowing red eyes.
The latter of which bored into her person with a slight interest and then turned to a somewhat dismissive stare, his companion however made no attempt to hide his contempt for her and glared at her with an all too familiar racially charged hate stare.
"Out of the way servant!"
Behind her she heard Chopper let out a worried blurb, accompanied with the snap-click of armor as the troopers came to attention.
Dropping her gaze, she bent her back and lowered her head in mock submission, hoping that Thrawn wouldn't recognize her and would simply assume that she was of no importance.
"You are not permitted on these floors. I have told you people to restrict your movements to the kitchen!"
She winced at the least word and responded in her native twileki accent.
"Yes sir sorry sir,"
She turned away quickly, hoping to beat a hasty retreat and switch to secondary route she and Ezra had scouted out on their way in.
"Just a moment."
Thrawn's voice hadn't been raised and carried only a semblance of the authority that he wielded at his grasp, but nevertheless caused her to freeze and wince in place. Tendrils of ice began to worm their way up her spine, and for the first time she could remember, she felt truly afraid.
Had she been discovered? Had Thrawn seen through her disguise and discovered who she was?
It was the reason why he'd risen so high in the imperial navy despite his genetic makeup, that eerie, almost supernatural ability to dissect an opponent through appearance and cultural makeup at a glance.
But from what she'd heard, his talents were primarily used on pieces of artwork, not on individuals, surely he couldn't have figured her out that quickly, and not just from one meeting. Could he?
She braced, waiting to hear the order that would end her life, but was amazingly surprised when he instead said:
"Guards, bring her here."
She felt herself relax at his beckoning tone, and gave just enough of a glance to the columns to see Ezra emerge with his helmet down and shove her towards her captors.
So he hadn't figured it out, and if he did he wasn't going to do anything about it until he was on his terms and his alone.
Glancing up once again, she saw him extend a hand towards her with a congenial smile on his face.
"May I see that?"
His tone was crisp and polite, but still carried a weight of authority that demanded she obeyed.
Glancing down at the trinket she held in her hand, she didn't need to falsify the dismay she felt in surrendering it, it had been hers since she was a little girl and was something that she treasured as one of her most prized possessions, something that she'd swore to herself to never surrender, not upon pain of death or to anyone less than a family member and let alone some imperial despot, no matter how polite. Yet to her comfort, Thrawn actually seemed to treat it with respect and seemed to understand it's value to her as he examined it.
After a moment he raised his eyes from the possession and looked back at her, his eyes now filled with interest, curiosity, and also...respect?
"I'm a visitor to your world...and it occurs to me that it might be beneficial to hear what you have to say in regard to our imperial occupation."
"I don't think I could be of any help to you."
She inwardly cursed at how her voice had wavered when she spoke. He knew, he definitely knew and now she'd unwittingly compromised their entire operation.
"Oh I disagree." Thrawn said, stepping forward with a triumphant smile on his lips, motioning for his assistant to fall in step behind him.
"Bring her to your office for questioning."
To her credit, she kept a straight face, she didn't flinch when the troopers pulled her arms behind her back and cuffed them at the wrists, and managed not to look back as the troopers led her way, but what she couldn't help was the trace of fear that had begun to manifest itself within her upon their meeting, Thrawn had made the first move and had won, now it was up to Ezra to complete the mission, and find away to free her as well.
Well there it is, my take on the newly released clip from the upcoming season of star wars rebels, staring Ezra, Hera, and of course, the almighty Grand Admiral Thrawn. I hope you all enjoyed it, and please feel free to comment on how I did on portraying the story from Hera's viewpoint and how I scripted the scene in contrast to what was scene in the teaser trailer, and as alway's may the force be with you.