It only took a couple of hours, but Jena, Tucker, Simmons, Griff, and Caboose made it to their destination. The only thing standing in their way was a large, metal wall surrounded by snow and ice.

"This is it." Simmons said. "According to our data, the Federal Army base is just on the other side of this wall."

"About time!" Tucker said. "My ass was asleep for so long, I thought it slipped into a coma."

"Uh… Thanks for the comment, Captain Tucker." Jena said. "Now, we just need to get in. Any ideas?"

"We could try scaling the wall." Simmons said.

"That's a little too obvious." Tucker said. "Think dumber."

"We could knock on the door." Grif suggested.

"Too dumb."

"I was joking."

"We could knock on their door."

"Caboose, I just said that."

"Yeah, but you were joking. I felt the plan deserved more serious consideration."

"Let's think." Tucker said. "How do you break into an evil ice fortress?"

"You melt it! Like evil ice cream!" Caboose declared.

"Holy shit! Caboose is right!" Tucker said. "We melt our way in!"

"You can't be serious." Jena said.

"We can't go through the wall, and going over is what most people would do. So let's just go under it."

"Melt the ice we're standing on and attack them from below?" Jena asked. "Well, it could be dumber and our friends don't have a lot of time, so let's get to it."

"Now, let's start melting!" Caboose said. He crouched down and began breathing heavily.

"Caboose, you're wearing a helmet." Tucker said. "That's not doing anything."

"Fine. Then how do you explain my sudden light-headed… ness. Ooh! Jena! You don't wear a helmet. Why don't you breath on the ice?"

"That won't work, Caboose. We need a more immediate plan."

"What about friction?" Tucker asked. "All the ladies say I light a fire between their legs."

"That's chlamydia." Grif insulted.

"Friction won't work." Simmons said. "It's gotta be negative forty degrees Celsius out here. …That's negative forty degrees Fahrenheit."

"Ooh! I got it!" Tucker said. He unsheathed his energy sword and lunged it right into the ice beneath his feet. It was only a moment before the ice shattered and the five of them plummeted down below.

"AAAAAHHH!"

When they returned to their feet, a voice echoed from the corner of the tunnel they were in. "Hey! What was that noise?"

"I think bad guys are coming." Caboose said.

"Leave it to me." Jena said.

"I swear, I heard something just around the corner. Just a few more feet, and I'll be there."

"Wait." Grif said. "I have a better idea."

The Fed emerged from the corner instantly only to find five snowmen in the tunnel. He approached them curiously.

"What the? Well, would you look at that. Just a couple of harmless snowmen. You guys wouldn't happen to be the ones making all that racket now, would you? Hehe… Well, time for some target practice." He was interrupted by a blue lightsaber that shot out of the snowman and right into his stomach. "But… Why, snowman?"

Shortly, the dead Fed was buried under snow and everyone shook the snow off their bodies.

"I cannot believe that worked." Jena said.

"You're welcome." Grif said.

"How did you do that?"

"I used the same trick to hide from Sarge all the time back at Blood Gulch."

Tucker looked at Grif curiously. "You constructed… and hid inside of… a snowman… in the middle of a hot canyon."

"It wasn't always the perfect plan."

"Alright. Enough fooling around." Jena said. "Simmons, what does our intel indicate?"

"From what I can tell, there's not much standing between the end of this tunnel and the detention facility."

"Well, that's not so bad."

"No, I mean, there's literally nothing between us."

Simmons lead the others to the end of the tunnel that lead to a wide open field. The place they seek waited at the far end of the courtyard.

"I see your point." Jena said. "There's no way we can get across without getting spotted."

"I don't know." Tucker said. "Doesn't look like anyone's around to me."

All of a sudden, an alarm sounded followed by a voice on the loudspeaker. "Alright. Lunch break's over. Back to your stations, people." Suddenly, the entire base became swarming with Federal foot soldiers, snipers, and even jeeps and tanks.

"I hate my stupid mouth." Tucker said.

"I hate it more." Grif added.

"How are we going to sneak past that?" Simmons asked.

"Hmm… I may have one idea." Jena said. "It definitely falls into the stupid theme we've been following."

"What do you have in mind, fearless leader?" Tucker asked.

Jena lead the boys down the tunnel and stopped near a bunch of exposed pipes. "These pipes must connect all over the base. If we make a mess here, the Federal Army will notice and send many of their guards to attend to it. Once they're distracted, we'll make our move."

"We have to run?" Grif asked.

"It's only a dozen meters, Grif."

"Exactly. It's a dozen meters. That's the problem."

Jena sighed. "Caboose, do your thing."

"Time to clean the pipes!"

Just as predicted, the news alert about the sewer created quite a stir among the Federal Army. Every last soldier rushed over to the far end of the base where the mess was going on, and once the courtyard was clear, Jena and the others made their move.

One sprint later, and the five of them made it to the front of the electronic door. There was only one problem.

"It's locked." Simmons said.

"Then do something about it." Tucker said. "Hack the door controls or something."

"What makes you think I can just hack a door?"

"You're the smart one. All you're good for is hacking things, and making me look more handsome in comparison."

"I don't have any intel! I don't have any tools! I can't just do it! I need time!"

"We don't have time!" Jena said. "Look, just move away! I'll slash the door controls and it'll open! It worked all the time back at the Clone Wars!"

Jena raised her lightsaber ready to strike, but just before she swung it down, the door opened up. And much to their surprise, the people they found on the other end were the ones they were looking for.

"Tucker?"

"Wash?"

"Jena?"

"Strike?"

"What the Sam Hell are you people doing here?" Sarge asked.

"We came to save you." Simmons said.

"But… we were supposed to save you." Donut said.

"What?" Jena asked. She turned off her lightsaber and put it back at her belt. "What's that supposed to mean? Aren't you imprisoned?"

"Imprisoned? By these knuckleheads?" Strike chuckled. "I think we got some notes to compare."

"Why? What the hell is going on?" Tucker asked.

"Well, after we lost consciousness," Washington asked, "We were brought to the leader of the Federal Army, a man named General Donald Doyle. And he's… Well, how do I put it?"

"He's a coward." Strike said. "He fainted when he first met us. He never really earned his rank. It was given to him after every last person above him died or ran off."

"You're kidding." Jena said.

"I wish." Washington said. "He then told us that the Federal Army were the real victims of the war, and that the New Republic were the ones who started it."

"And you believed him?" Grif asked.

"We weren't exactly in the best position to shoot him in the face and make it out alive." Sarge said. "But I admit, he did bring up some good points. Basically, the only reason they made any progress at all was because Locus carried them."

"Hold up." Tucker said. "You're telling me that the Feds are just as hopeless as the New Republic? I thought they were evil."

"Well, we thought you were being brainwashed by terrorists." Donut said.

"Terrorists?" Grif asked. "Our soldiers are a bunch of harmless morons."

"Your soldiers?" Strike asked.

"The leader of the rebels, General Kimball, promoted us to captains." Jena said. "They gave us squads and everything."

"Blue Team for life." Caboose said.

"…Clearly, or enemy isn't as cunning as we once thought." Sarge said.

"We don't have an enemy." Washington said. "As far as I can tell, both of these forces have reasons to fight, and neither are particularly guilt-free. We've just been caught in the middle."

"But the rebels aren't bad." Tucker said. "Some of them are our friends."

"And we managed to make a few allies within the Federal Army. None of this makes any side any better. The New Republic started this war with extremist attacks on the capital."

"Only because the government was screwing them."

"Look, guys," Jena said, "From what I can tell, both sides are justified and they have every grounds to come to a peace."

"What are you thinking, Sunshine?" Strike asked.

"Perhaps we can get the two sides to talk to one another?"

"Doyle's at the capital at the moment," Washington said, "But maybe he can get this Kimball woman to agree to a meeting. If they can come to some sort of understanding, we might be able to end this thing and go home."

"That sounds risky." Strike said.

"This isn't right." Simmons said.

"Believe me, there's plenty wrong with this situation," Washington said, "But I think this is our best move. I'm just glad you guys made it."

Strike chuckled. "Well, look at you, Sunshine. Your first ever military rank. Congrats."

"Thanks, Strike."

"No, seriously, I mean something doesn't feel right." Simmons said. "I just can't figure out what it is."

"Is it a false sense of superiority?" Sarge asked. "That's probably a side-effect of the false promotion."

"Minutes of reuniting, and you're already starting shit." Grif said.

"What did you expect? Breakfast in bed?"

"I hate you."

"I hate you more."

"Wait, guys. Do you hear that?" Simmons asked.

"Uh… No." Jena said. "Are you okay, Simmons?"

"What happened to the alarms?"

The sudden realization hit everybody. Before their reunion, the base eas echoing with alarms and panicking soldiers, but once they returned outside, they found that it was barren, quiet, and basically lifeless.

"Uh… Is it lunchtime again?" Caboose asked.

"HELLO!" Wash shouted. "DR. GRAY! ANYBODY!"

"I got a bad feeling about this." Jena said nervously. She kept her hand on her lightsaber holster preparing for the worst.

The group passed by a jeep when its radio turned on. A call on it had the sound of a panicking man under fire.

"ENEMY CONTACT! FALL BACK! WHERE'D HE GO? NOOOO!"

"SARGE!"

"Way ahead of ya!" Sarge answered taking a jeep and driving it.

"What's happening?" Simmons asked.

"We're under attack." Washington said.

"By who? The rebels?" Strike asked.

"No. It's impossible." Jena said. "The New Republic aren't equipped enough for an attack on this compound. This is something else."

Just then, a Fed ran out with fear in his voice. "HELP! RUN! IT'S THE…"

He was interrupted by a sudden red beam that sent him to the ground. Just a second after hitting, his whole body vanished into thin air. Everyone else was speechless.

"Did everyone else see that?" Tucker asked.

"You mean a man disintegrate right in front of us?" Grif asked.

"Really wish I hadn't." Simmons said.

All the way from across the base, screams of despair echoed along with the sound of gunfire. Everyone regrouped around the jeep keeping an eye on every possible direction.

"We have to do something!" Strike said.

"We could run! Running is something!" Grif suggested.

Just then, a sticky bomb was shot at them landing right on the jeep. Once it started beeping, Washington knew what was about to happen. "GET AWAY FROM THE CAR!" Everyone ran away just in time to be clear of the explosion.

"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!" Strike asked.

"WE DON'T KNOW!" Donut replied.

"Well, it ain't the rebels! That's for sure!" Sarge said.

"Then who the hell is it?" Tucker asked.

Suddenly, red beams of light were pointed at Tucker followed by everyone else. After that, they heard a familiar voice from above.

"Like sheep to the pen, you're ready for slaughter."

Locus stood above the Reds and Blues. Beside him were several Stormtroopers and the Thirteenth Sister.

"The Empire goons?" Simmons asked. "I thought they were with the Feds?"

"Those ain't our guys." Sarge said.

"Locus, what is the meaning of this?" Strike asked.

"I told you, I am a professional. I complete my missions at all costs. But you and your comrades have put a blemish on my record. This is unacceptable."

Behind his back, Tucker readied a grenade to throw.

"What are you talking about?" Washington asked. "You just killed the men you're working for?"

The Thirteenth Sister gave a sudden laugh. "That's rich. You thought Locus was working for these fools? No. He was under the Empire's contract the whole time."

"Why is the Empire here?" Jena asked. "And who are you anyway?"

"You haven't heard of me?" Thirteenth Sister asked. "I'm honestly hurt. Well, let me put your mind at ease. I am the Thirteenth Sister, a proud member of the Inquisitors, a task force of hunters with only one job: to hunt Jedi. And guess what. You're on my list now."

Jena felt a sense of dread, but she was put in a short moment of ease when Felix showed up suddenly just in time to stop a blast with his light shield.

"Felix?" Tucker asked.

"Tucker, grenade!"

"Oh! Right!"

Tucker tossed his hidden grenade over to Felix, but instead of throwing it, Felix just chuckled, dropped his shield, and kept it for himself.

"That was close. Nice throw, Tucker." Felix laughed again putting the Reds and Blues on edge. "How many times have a jumped in front of a bullet for you guys? Three? Those are some pretty good reflexes, right? Most people would have to… plan that sort of thing."

"Felix, what are you doing?" Washington asked.

"Just helping out a couple of acquaintances." Felix replied tossing his grenade to Locus. "You missed a spot, partner."

"Are you done?" Locus asked.

"Not even close."

"Dude! This doesn't make sense!" Tucker said. "That's Locus, your enemy!"

"Right. And I'm the charismatic mercenary with a gruff exterior, but a heart of gold. A little too romantic, don't you think?"

"But Locus shot you. We all saw it." Jena said.

"Yeah. Funny how an act of sacrifice like that buys you so much trust. And so much information. Remember when I asked about the other Freelancer and her AI, or the list of supplies I needed, or when I asked about the high tech armor, or when you, Jena, opened up to me about your cute braid tradition? Oh, that was precious."

"But you're supposed to hate each other." Simmons said.

"Oh, we do. After all, you should never mix friends with business. But we just work so well together. Like at Tucker's botched mission where two of his men died. Remember when I said get down before the big explosion? I secretly radioed Locus to warn him of the bomb."

"You dirty liar!" Sarge yelled out.

"Hey, whoa. I never actually lied to you idiots. Well, except for one. 'You're some of the galaxy's greatest soldiers'. Pfft! Now, that couldn't be farther from the truth. But you know, it did make you the perfect candidates to lead the people of Chorus."

"But why? Why the capture?" Strike asked. "Why make us part of this war?"

"Well, you see…"

"Felix!"

"No, Locus! I had to put up with these morons every day! So you let me have this!" The orange bounty hunter turned back to the gang. "You see, the Empire has their eyes on this planet. The only problem is the inhabitants. Now, if it was me, I'd just nuke this place from orbit, but our employer, Emperor Palpatine himself, has other ideas."

"Palpatine?" Jena asked. "Palpatine hired you?"

"Oh, he's especially invested in Chorus. Don't know why, and frankly, I don't care. Just as long as I get the biggest check in the galaxy. Now, the Emperor wants to play this thing smart. If an entire planet dies overnight, people ask questions. But if you stumble onto this rock and find that the settlers killed each other… Well, that's just a tragedy."

Jena's mind suddenly flashed back to her conversation with General Kimball, including the topic of the previous leaders. "Our first leader was killed in action. The second was assassinated in what we had been told would be a peace treaty, and the third was blown out of the sky while trying to leave Chorus for help."

"It was you. You started this war."

"EHHH! Wrong!" Felix returned. "These people hated each other way before the Empire started looking at this place. We just had to keep the hate-train a'going. Of course, the only real issue was the Jedi. Once we told our client about you, Jena, we were given our very own Inquisitor to take care of you."

"Consider yourself lucky it's just me." Thirteenth Sister said. "Some of the other Inquisitors would make you suffer before killing you. Me, I just want to get this done and over with."

"And the rest of us got involved because…" Grif said.

"Because you people endanger others every time you pick up a butterknife." Felix answered. "Imagine what would happen when you're put in charge of entire armies. You guys racked up a body count long before you joined anyway. It was a real riot to watch. I could barely keep myself from laughing."

"ENOUGH!" Locus shouted. "How many times must I tell you, if you want your victims to suffer, you do it quickly and efficiently."

"Too bad for you fools." Thirteenth Sister said. She pulled out a lightsaber which had a red light in contrast to Jena's blue. "There will be no rescue for you. You will die here along with the rest. No one will find your bodies. No one will know the truth. And no one is going to stop us from killing every last person on this planet."

"All right." Said a voice from the side. One of the Stormtroopers held up Tucker's grenade in her hand removing its pin. "That's all I needed to hear." She dropped it and jumped off letting it blow up. While Locus, the Thirteenth Sister, and the other Stormtroopers were disoriented from the blast, she landed on the ground to confront Felix.

"Who the eff are you?" he asked before engaging in a fist fight with the traitor. One of the Stormtroopers unique guns flew across the field and landed at Grif's feet.

"WHAT IS GOING ON?" Grif asked.

"JUST GRAB IT AND SHOOT!" Strike shouted. He and the others began shooting at the Stormtroopers before they could open fire.

While the Reds and Blues were defending themselves, the female Stormtrooper and Felix exchanged blows. While she had the advantage, Felix suddenly surprised her with a knife to her calf. She returned to the Reds and Blues just as the Thirteenth Sister picked herself up and held out her lightsaber. She then revealed a second beam on the other end. The two blades spun like a fan and she prepared to throw it.

"Can yours do that?" Tucker asked Jena.

"EVERYONE, STAY CLOSE!" the female Stormtrooper yelled out.

"WAIT! HOLD ON!" yelled a Federal doctor who ran in.

Suddenly, the female Stormtrooper held up an orange cube and threw it to the ground. The Thirteenth Sister threw her lightsaber, but it was too late. In a flash of light, the Reds and Blues were all gone leaving everyone angry.

"Call Vader." Locus growled.

When everyone found themselves at the top area of a mountain cliff, they felt dizzy and nauseated.

"What just happened and why did it hurt?"

"Where am I?"

"I think my insides were just outside."

"Is everyone okay?"

"You know…" the female Stormtrooper's armor turned bright blue revealing who she really was. "I never thought I'd be so happy to see you idiots again."

"Carolina?" Jena asked.

"That's not all." Church said as he appeared in his miniature, holographic form right next to his Freelancer partner. "Miss me, assholes?"

"…YOU EFF!" Tucker yelled out as he tried to tackle Church, but he just went through him.

"Huh. Wasn't expecting that."

Author's Note: Sorry for skipping the flashback of the Federal Army, but there wasn't much editing to be done there. Instead, I combined episodes 8 and 10 into this chapter. Not only is everyone reunited, they had their first encounter with the Empire, and Carolina and Church are back. More to come. Any and all comments are welcome.