Disclaimer: I own nothing. Nerdcorps owns Max Steel and Disney owns Star Wars.
Max Steel: Rebels
Chapter 3: Droids In Distress
Being in a Rebellion, Max and Steel weren't expecting much in terms of supplies, but honestly, even after a few days or so, their expectations were still too high for what some missions were going to be like. Case in point, the mission they just tried to pull off: a high-jacking of the cargo from an Imperial Star Destroyer. After a failure to get said cargo, the Specters were now on the run from a squadron of TIE Fighters which were bearing down on the Ghost.
Green laser bolts were fired from the chasing TIEs at the Ghost, but thankfully with Hera's expert piloting, many of those lasers missed the light freighter. However, it did make it a little hard to fire back, with how much the ship was moving.
"I don't have a shot!" Shouted Kanan from the turret positioned on top of the Ghost.
He returned fire, letting out a few bursts that while didn't hit any TIEs, did force them to pull off from their attack run. Meanwhile, all the Specters were seated in the cockpit, though Max had to stand since there were only four seats. The hero did his best to brace himself against the doorway into the cockpit while Steel hovered beside him.
"Chopper! Do you have the coordinates?" Shouted Hera from the pilot seat.
"Wah bah wah!" Warbled the astromech, spinning his head around to wave at the Twi'lek.
"What did he say?" Asked Zeb, not understanding how astromechs speak.
"He said 'Hello Hyperspace,'" translated Hera as she pulled some levers and flipped a few switches. The Hyperdrive aboard the Ghost began charging up soon after.
"Yeah, no, he said something vulgar, and Hera's just censoring it," translated Steel, causing Max to laugh as the Ghost jumped into Hyperspace.
Blue lines stretch around the ship before becoming a blue tunnel of light. Once safely out of danger, the Specters relaxed, Max unbracing himself from the door just in time for Kanan to enter the cockpit.
"Told you we'd get away," said Kanan confidently as he folded his arms.
"'With the shipment,'" corrected Sabine as she swiveled her chair around to look at the Jedi, "You said 'We'd get away with the shipment.'"
"We might have if Steel and I could have helped," commented Max, leaning against the wall behind him as he folded his arms.
"You know you and Steel need to lay low for the time being, Max," reminded Hera looking back over her shoulder, "The two do you draw a lot of attention, and showing off inside a Star Destroyer is a really good way to get noticed even more by the Empire."
Max sighed as he knew that she was right. For the time being, he and Steel have been laying low, helping act as tactical support from the Ghost. Not to mention, he was still getting to know the galaxy at large. Steel had an easier time because he was a robot and had bits of his memory come, but Max had some trouble learning about standard things in the Galaxy. The Ultralink did help the crew a lot when they were teaching Max Galactic Basic and how to read and write in the language. They also briefed him on basic knowledge that when he was in the field, he wouldn't stick out as much with his lack of knowledge about the Empire and the galaxy as a whole. But until he was ready, Max and Steel had to stay put on the Ghost.
"Kanan, we're low on everything," said Hera, reminding the Jedi that the objection of their recent mission failure was to secure supplies for the Ghost.
"Food," listed Ezra.
"Explosives," added Sabine.
"Fuel," finished Hera, not even sure how many times she checked the fuel levels for her ship, but she knew they were low, "We need to make some money, or we may as well put the Ghost in storage."
"Well, if you'd let me-," began Steel, however, Hera quickly cut him off.
"No, you aren't messing with my ship," she stated sternly, giving the Ultralink a hard look.
"If you'd just let me install a T.U.R.B.O. interface, Max could power the entire ship," protested Steel, trying to give them a solution to their fuel problem.
"We'd need to completely rewire the Ghost to handle the amount of energy Max puts out and that alone would cost more than refueling, food, and explosives put together," Hera pointed out, "I appreciate the suggestion, Steel. But right now, it isn't a practical solution."
Steel sighed dejectedly, wanting to help out the Specters because even he was starting to get a little stir-crazy from being cooped up inside the ship.
"Okay, with Steel's suggestion off the table, what other options do we have?" Asked Max, wanting to know what their choices were at the moment.
There was a brief pause among them, but Kanan eventually spoke up, "There's always Vizago's job."
"So we're arms dealers again?" Inquired Zeb in a skeptical tone.
"More like arms 'redistributors,'" corrected the Jedi.
"Come on," scoffed Zeb, "we don't even know what kind of weapons we're talking about here."
"Hey if it puts food on the table and frees up some time for, oh I don't know, Jedi training, then I'm in," interjected Ezra, wanting to learn about becoming a Jedi.
Kanan just rolled his eyes as he stepped forward, shoving Ezra back into his chair before turning to Hera, "You game?" He asked her.
"Say that I am," Hera replied, her tone conveying some interest, "What then?"
"I already know the mission," revealed Kanan, "let's head for the spaceport."
"Looking forward to it," said Max, unfolding his arms, however, Kanan was quick to shut him down.
"Sorry, Max, but with that suit, you'd stand out quite a lot," he stated, though Steel was quick to jump in, having a feeling that Kanan would object to them joining in on the mission.
"Actually, I have a solution to that," interjected the Ultralink hovering over to the Jedi, "Basically, Max had the same problem on Earth, the Steel Suit stands out way too much. So, I used Security Protocol Z795."
"What's that?" asked Sabine, her interest always piquing whenever Max and Steel showed off what the two were capable of.
"On Earth, I scanned all of Max's clothing to replicate his unique look," explained Steel, "Since taking off the suit is dangerous, but through the use of sophisticated holographic refraction process and advanced tactile warping algorithms, and I can make it look like Max is wearing standard everyday clothing."
Max immediately noted the lost expressions of the Ghost Crew, though Sabine seemed to have a better grasp of what Steel just explained. So, he decided to break it down to easier terms.
"Basically, it's Camouflage Mode," elaborated Max, "Steel can create a hologram around the Steel suit and make the hologram look like normal clothing."
To show what they were talking about, Steel flew over to Max and the hero got into position, before Hera or anyone else in the cockpit could object, Steel's arms locked into place and he flew into Max's chest. A bright blue flash followed as the suit broke apart for a moment before reforming.
"Really hate it when you do that," snapped Zeb, rubbing his eyes as bright spots dotted his vision.
"But it definitely works," noted Sabine as she saw that Max was now wearing an exact copy of Kanan's attire. The only difference between the two was the coloring and the red shoulder pad having Max's 'M.'
"Not too bad, huh?" Said Max showing off Camouflage Mode, even Kanan was impressed by the look.
"Gotta say, it's pretty convincing," stated Kanan as he came over, "Though you might wanna pick out something different."
"Fair enough," shrugged Max as he glanced at the shoulder pad, "Steel, got anything else?"
"I got some other outfits, but I think this one might look best," commented Steel, the 'M' flashing as the Ultralink spoke, "You may want to shield your eyes again."
After another flash of blue light, Max was now wearing something that was rather fitting. It appeared to be a flight suit of sorts, with a dark blue leather jacket, undershirt, fingerless gloves, belt, black pants, and boots. On the back of the jacket, was a white 'Steel' symbol(1).
"Not bad, Steel," noted Max looking at his outfit.
"Yeah, I was going for a 'galactic pilot' style," commented Steel as he unlinked from Max in a burst of energy. The hero then turned to look at the crew.
"So, how do I look?" He asked.
"Like a smuggler," commented Sabine, smirking as she knew that this sort of style was most common with smugglers.
"Really?" The young man gave her an unamused look, meanwhile, Zeb and Ezra chuckled at his expense.
"You asked," replied the Mandalorian.
"You'll be fine, Max," assured Hera as she adjusted the Hyperspace coordinates for Lothal's spaceport, "But just don't touch anything technological."
Max sighed while Steel rolled his eyes, however, they were still ultimately glad they were able to do something other than sit in the Ghost while everyone else gets to do something.
Outer Rim, Lothal, Spaceport
It wasn't long before the Specters were back on Lothal and were making their way to the planet's spaceport. Truthfully, Max didn't really know what he was expecting to see, but he did notice how similar it was to airports on Earth. The hustle and bustle was quite noticeable, but he did note that the security was way more lax compared to some airports on Earth. This did make the mission easier to accomplish, though some parts didn't sit quite right with Max.
All they knew about the job was who they were stealing weapons from, an Aqualish by the name of Amda Wabo. He was traveling with an Imperial Minister for Lothal and two droids. One was a protocol droid, who would translate everything for the Imperial who didn't understand Amda's language. The plan was pretty simple; first, they had to board a shuttle that was set for another planet, Garel, which also happened to be the same shuttle their target was riding.
Boarding the shuttle was pretty simple, though Chopper was acting way more testy at the moment, grumbling and acting pretty flippant. The astromech shoved Max, knocking into his leg.
"Hey! Watch it!" Snapped Max, but Sabine took hold of his arm.
"Just ignore it," she suggested as he took his place beside her in the second row.
In the middle aisle, Chopper warbled something, prompting Zeb to give an annoyed look, "How rude."
Ezra, following after Chopper, walked up and smacked the droid to show how annoyed he was at "his" droid. The plan was pretty simple, as part of Imperial rules for interplanetary shuttles, droids who acted out or were an annoyance were sent to the back of the shuttle for the duration of the journey. Chopper would act out, get into trouble, and cause the pilot to have all droids sent to the back of the shuttle.
Since the Imperial traveling with their target couldn't understand him, Sabine would act as the good imperial citizen and help translate what Amda was saying and get the location of the weapons while giving the Imperial a fake location of the weapons. Not a moment later, the Specters' target entered the shuttle, an Aqualish is a humanoid species native to Ando, distinguished by round, black eyes and large tusks. With Amda was the Imperial Minister, Maketh Tua, a human woman from Lothal herself.
"This way," she ushered the Aqualish to the front row, "We have seats in the front."
Taking their seats in the front row, Amda spoke to Tua, though Max had no idea what was being said. In a moment like this, he hoped Sabine knew what the guy was talking about.
"Ugh, where is that translator!?" Demanded Minister Tua, and as they guessed, she had no idea what her client was saying.
"Right here, madam," said a gold-colored droid boarding the shuttle, followed by a blue and white R2 Astromech, "Come along, R2."
Letting out a series of beeps and whistles, the droid rolled beside the protocol droid, a third leg extending to help steer itself. Once the droids were beside the Imperial Minister, Kanan rushed in last, giving the illusion that they were all strangers to one another. He made it in just as the door closed and the seal locked, "Sentients, please prepare for takeoff," the droid pilot, RX-24, tells the passengers.
A fun fact about most shuttles for interplanetary transport, most pilots used are droid pilots, specifically the RX-Series droid pilot models. These types of droids handle quite a bit that some organic pilots might be able to, ranging from monitoring the shuttle's systems, performing micro-adjustments, and piloting the shuttle all at the same time. It should also be noted that droids like these are also more likely to adhere to Imperial protocols, making the mission all the more easy for the Specters.
Slowly, the shuttle began taking off, prompting Max to grip his armrest slightly as he recalled the last time he was in space. He and Steel nearly became lost in the void after the Turbo Star malfunctioned aboard Makino's ship, the Alphalink.
"We're good, Max," said Steel in Max's head, "Just relax."
Sabine, who was sitting beside Max, noticed his tension, and also he was partially warping the armrest. Resting her hand on his wrist, she gave him some reassurance, looking over to her, the Mandalorian gave him a look, telling him to relax. Letting out a sigh, Max loosened his grip a bit but was still tense. Despite spending most of his time on the Ghost, planetary travel still put Max on edge.
It didn't take long for the shuttle to leave Lothal's atmosphere and jump into Hyperspace. Max tensed up again, taking a deep breath in as it was still an experience for the hero who had never been through hyperspace before. While the Terran was dealing with some anxiety, Chopper was fulfilling the rest of the mission, acting like a total annoyance, poking Ezra's shoulder repeatedly, doing everything he can to be banished to the back of the shuttle.
Amda was speaking with Minister Tua, the weapons dealer saying quite a bit, too which the protocol droid translated with ease, "Amda Wabo is most honored you are joining him on Garel, Minister Tua. And, if I may add a personal note-"
"Will you cut it out!" Snapped Ezra, putting on a show with Chopper, getting the attention of everyone as he was pushing the astromech back, "You have plenty of room! Stop crowding me!"
It was then Chopper retaliated by shocking Ezra twice, the second shock knocking him down on the floor.
"Kid!" Spoke up Kanan, standing up from his chair to look into Ezra's row, "How about you get that rustbucket under control?"
"Mind your own business!" Ezra retaliated, getting up to look Kanan in the eyes as Chopper sent some threatening shocks at the Jedi, before giving the Lothal native one more shock for good measure. As Ezra collapsed back into his seat, Kana turned his attention to the droid pilot.
"Pilot, isn't there some rule against droids in the passenger area?" He asked, looking at RX, who let out a tired sigh, seemed like even droids didn't like jobs such as this.
"I'm sorry, sir," said RX, addressing Ezra, "But your Astromech must proceed to the back of the craft."
"Hey, if my Astromech's banished, then those two Astromechs are banished too!" snapped Ezra, pointing at the two droids with Minister Tua and Amda Wabo.
"Astromech?! Me?!" Said the gold protocol droid, seemingly aghast at being called an Astromech, "I have never been so insulted! I'll have you know that I am a protocol droid, fluent in over six million forms of-"
"Pilot, these two droids are with me," cut off Minister Tua, shutting up the droid in the process, "And I am on Imperial business."
"I'm sorry ma'am," replied RX as his vizor dropped down, "but these are Imperial protocols."
Hearing that things were going to plan did have Max relax a bit, because it meant they were almost done. Also, for this next part, he had to act calm and collected for what they had to do next.
"But, minister…," started the protocol droid, not wanting to have to be banished to the back of the shuttle, however, Minister Tua spoke up.
"I can't risk an incident spoiling these negotiations," seethed Minister Tua through clenched teeth as she crossed her arms, "Go!"
"Oh, this is so humiliating," Moaned the protocol droid in disdain as he followed the R2 unit to the back of the shuttle, "Trust an Astromech to ruin everything."
It was then the same R2 unit let out a series of beeps to the Protocol droid, "Secret mission," inquired the gold-colored droid, "What secret mission?"
"Wonder what that was about," commented Steel, his natural curiosity piquing when he translated what the R2 unit had said. Max ignored what Steel was saying, wanting to stay in character for the next phase.
Minister Tua was having no luck at all understanding Amda, "I'm sorry, Mr. Wabo. I… I don't understand you." She apologized, feeling so useless in the situation.
It was then Max made his move, "Pardon me," he spoke up, tapping Minister Tua on her shoulder, "I'm sorry that your protocol droid got sent to the back. That kid needs to get better control of that astromech of his."
"Indeed, I'm sure to have words with that boy after the shuttle lands," stated Minister Tua, frowning at the situation.
"Well, if it's any help, this girl here has got quite a talent for translating," offered Max, placing his hand on Sabine's shoulder, directing the attention of Tua to the Mandalorian.
"Oh, I would never presume," Sabine said, putting on an image of modesty.
"Come on, you said you needed some practice for that level five exam at the academy," pressed Max, as he gestured to both Tua and Amda, "What better practice than by getting real experience?"
"You're a level five Academy student?" Said Tua, amazed that her luck had turned around, she let out a chuckle as she remembered her days at the Imperial Academy, "I was too, once upon a time."
From the back of the shuttle, the protocol droid was seething at the upset, "That young creature can't possibly take the place of a fully programmed protocol droid such as I," he stated, upset he had been replaced so easily, "The odds of our mission becoming a complete debacle-"
It was then the R2 unit let out a beep and bumped into the protocol droid's leg, "Don't you shush me!" Reprimanded the golden droid, "It hardly matters to you what they're saying."
Chopper then interjected, rolling over to the astromech and bumping the R2 unit. Letting out a series of warbles of his own, defending the protocol droid.
"Well, thank you," The Protocol droid then pat Chopper's head in gratitude, "There, you see, Artoo? Here is an Astromech who understands etiquette."
Hearing the preference, R2 then began arguing Chopper, a series of beeps and warbles followed. As this ensued, the protocol droid was starting to like Chopper.
"You could learn a lot from this old C1-10P," the golden droid proclaimed to his companion.
Back with Max, Sabine, Minister Tua, and Amda Wabo, things were going swimmingly. Both for the Minister and us.
"Now, please ask Mr. Wabo where the shipment is being held," Minister Tua asks Sabine to translate for her.
Then Sabine turned towards Mr. Wabo as she translated her question into his alien language. The alien answered in the same language and answered where they could find the weapons. Max gave her an impressed look. He didn't think she was that good at translating, but given how easy it is to travel in the galaxy, it made sense that people would know multiple languages. Earth was no different with how many countries it has and by extension the number of languages.
After Sabine finished speaking, Mr. Wabo responded in his own language, telling hell exactly where the weapons were being held.
Sabine smiled as she directed her attention back to the good Minister, "He said bay 17."
This caused Minister Tua to let out a sigh of relief, it seemed things were going well for a change. Just in time as well, a chime went out over the shuttle's microphone, "Sentients, we are approaching Garel," informed RX, "Please prepare for landing."
Sure enough, the shuttle exited Hyperspace with a judder, and the planet, Garel, came into view. It still amazed Max how easy it was in this galaxy for people to get from one planet to another. Granted, he kept his amazement hidden so as not to raise suspicion. The ship made a steady entry into the planet's atmosphere and headed for the spaceport in the capital city. The surface of Garel reminded Max of the deserts in the United States, just way more sci-fi.
Moments later, the shuttle landed in one of the bays at the spaceport and all the passengers began to disembark from the transport. Ezra was the first off the shuttle with Chopper, followed by Kanan and Zeb and then by the two droids that accompanied Minister Tua and Mr. Wabo. Pausing in the exit, Minister Tua to Sabine and Max with a grateful smile.
"My dear, you did great service to your Empire today," she congratulated the Mandalorian artist, "Now focus on those level fives."
"Don't worry, I'll make sure she stays on top of them," assured Max, resting a hand on Sabine's shoulder and giving the Minister a kind smile, who just chuckled as she gave the girl a smile of her own.
"It's quite refreshing to see a young couple so committed to the Empire's future," noted Minister Tua, causing both teens to pause in surprise. Sabine's face heated up while Max did a double-take
"'Couple?!'" They said simultaneously, Sabine's face turning slight red while Max nearly did a double take before the two both began denying it and scooting apart from each other, "We're not seeing each other!/He's just a friend from the academy!"
Hearing the two young adults stumble over each other in embarrassment, caused Minister Tua to chuckle a bit more, "In any case, I wish you both the best and may your level fives go well."
With that, the Minister turned to leave and join Mr. Wabo, the two droids, and a squad of Stormtroopers waiting to escort them to Bay 17. Both Max and Sabine began leaving together, walking a bit further apart from each other. However, as they passed Ezra who was waiting by some containers, Sabine whispered under her breath as she put on her helmet, "Bay 7."
Hearing which bay to go to, Ezra ran off to go unlock the door to Bay 7. While he was doing that, the other Specters were making their way to the door leading into the aforementioned bay. Max and Sabine were walking beside each other, trying not to appear suspicious. Though, Steel wasn't exactly making it easy for Max.
"So," inquired the Ultralink teasingly, "You and Sabine are dating now?"
This accusation nearly caused Max to trip, "Knock it off, Steel." Hissed the teen quietly to himself.
"What's wrong?" asked Sabine, noticing how Max nearly tripped over himself.
"Just Steel being a pain," replied Max, having informed the other Specters that when connected to the Steel suit, the Ultralink can speak directly to Max, but only the teen can hear him, however, he did want to bring up what his friend was poking fun at, "Sabine? Do we look like a couple?"
"What? No, no, of course not," said Sabine, shaking her head, her face turning slightly red behind the helmet.
"So why'd Tua think we were?" Inquired Max, not seeing how they could be mistaken for an item.
"Trying to figure out how Imperials think is not worth the trouble, Max," informed the Mandalorian as they approached the door to Bay 7.
"I guess you're right," he agreed, as the two joined up with Zeb who was waiting outside the door.
"Nice work back there with the Minister," complimented Zeb, noting the impressive act Max put on for the mission.
"Glad I could be convincing," replied Max as he and Sabine stopped in front of the entrance to where the weapons were being held, "Where's Kanan?"
"Unlocking the other bay for Hera to bring the Ghost in," informed the Lasat as he jerked his thumb over to where the Jedi was, "Just need the kid to open up the bay."
As soon as Zeb said that, the massive door began sliding up revealing Ezra standing by the controls to the bay area.
"Well, open sesame," noted Steel, who disconnected from Max's chest in a flash of light.
Seeing that he pulled it off, Zeb began to clap for him, "Well, kid, you pulled it off."
"Was there ever any doubt?" Asked Ezra confidently.
"Yes," Sabine and Zeb said together.
"Max and I were already planning a way to open it ourselves if you couldn't," stated the Ultralink honestly.
Max just chuckled and shook his head, "Come on, let's get what we came for."
With that said, they entered the bay, and headed straight for the containers in the middle of the area. However, there were still a few details that didn't sit quite right with a few members of the crew, most notably Hera who just landed the Ghost the moment Kanan opened up the door for bay 6, "Do we know what exactly Vizago has us stealing, yet?"
While the Specters were in desperate need of money, she wasn't ready to do something terrible that might have severe consequences in the long run. A sentiment shared by Max, who knew being in a Rebellion that had limited resources meant some compromises had to be made, but still, not even knowing what they were getting didn't sit right with him. Having been in this same position before when his Uncle Ferrus had him and Steel bypass the security measures on a downed Makino ship in the arctic a few years back.
"Hey Steel, think you can take a peek inside of the crates?" Max asked his best friend.
"Was planning a scan anyway," replied the Ultralink as he began scanning the crates.
On first look, the weapons didn't appear that much different from weapons on Earth but looks can be deceiving. Upon further review, Steel noted the advanced circuitry and high charge capacity each weapon possessed.
"Okay, this might be concerning, but upon initial scan, these weapons are capable of producing a massive ionized blast," informed Steel in a worried tone.
Hearing the mention of ionization, Zeb carefully removed the lid from one of the crates, but the moment he saw the weapons, he dropped the lid in shock and fear, "Karabast…"
"Whoa!" Sabine was the first to find her voice as she picked up one of the blasters, "They're T-7 Ion Disruptors. These were banned by the Senate. You can short-circuit an entire ship with these."
"That's not why they were banned…," said Zeb quietly, prompting Max to look over at him with a confused look.
Kanan approached the group from behind, noting the look from Zeb, but they still had a job to do. Taking the Disruptor Sabine was holding, he put it back in the crate before placing the lid back on top, "Get them aboard before company comes."
Max and Steel gave each other a weary look before getting to work with the other Specters.
Everything was going to plan for a change, and now, it had all fallen apart again! Minister Tua was standing in Bay 17, which was noticeably empty of any crates containing the promised weapons. With her, Mr. Wabo and the Stormtroopers who were their escorts stood at attention.
"There is nothing here," noted Tua as then turned to ask the group, "Where are my disruptors?"
Hearing the mention of such weapons, R2-D2 let out a series of beeps and whistles directed to the protocol droid, C-3PO.
"Yes, she said disruptors," confirmed the protocol droid, "Now hush."
It was then Mr. Wabo spoke up in his native language. Based on his tone, he sounded confused and annoyed, something C-3PO picked up on and translated.
"Apparently, the cargo is in Bay 7," revealed 3PO, "So Amda Wabo wonders why we are here."
"But, the girl told me 17," recalled Minister Tua in confusion.
"In Aqualish, a translator can easily confuse seven with seventeen," informed 3PO, however, he felt inclined to throw in his own personal jab at Sabine, "If she is an amateur."
"Well there's no time to waste," declared Minister Tua as she directed her attention to the Stormtroopers, "Take us to Bay 7."
"Yes ma'am," nodded the commander as they began to leave.
However, watching them affair was Chopper, who was performing his part of the job: being the lookout. Since he wasn't suited for carrying cargo, his job went from being the cause of the droids being sent to the back of the shuttle to look out and to warn the other Specters of any incoming problems. And this was definitely a problem. Accessing the comms, Chopper grumbled through it, informing Hera that Minister Tua and the Stormtroopers were on their way.
"Well, stall them!" Hera ordered the droid when she heard about the incoming danger.
Letting out an annoyed warble, Chopper went in, his plan was pretty much this: ram into the other Astromech and go from there. Wheeling out as fast as he could, Chopper collided with Artoo and entered a new argument with each other.
"R2-D2, I told you before to watch where you are rolling!" 3PO demanded his counterpart," You appear to be malfunctioning again. Really, R2-D2, apologize."
"Wait," realized Minister Tua, recognizing Chopper from earlier on the shuttle, the one that caused so much trouble, "This is the C1 droid that caused our translator…"
The Imperial official trailed off when she put the pieces together. It was a setup! The boy and his droid, the two adolescents who helped her when her translator was sent to the back. She had been played a fool!
"To Bay 7," she ordered the Commander, "Double time!"
Without any argument, the Imperials all charged off, heading straight for Bay 7. Chopper let out a whirl of objection before sighing and chasing after them. At the very least he can get on the Ghost before they got into a shoot-out.
Back at Bay 7, Max, Sabine, Ezra, and Zeb were rushing from Bay 7 to Bay 6, wanting to get the Disruptors on the Ghost before any Stormtroopers came back. They had a pretty small window of opportunity to make this work. Even Steel was working hard, carrying one crate by himself over his body.
"How much time before they realize they've been punked?" Asked Max, helping Sabine push the repulsor bed towards the Ghost.
"Not much," replied Sabine as she glanced over at him.
"Hurry!" Shouted Kanan as he came rushing out of the Ghost, having been warned by Hera, "We're running out of-"
"Times up!" Cut off Ezra, noticing down the hallway a squad of Stormtroopers rushing towards them.
"We're busted!" Squawked Steel as flew back over to Max, dropping the crate he was carrying back on the transport.
Coming to a halt before them, the Stormtrooper Commander switched the safety off on his blaster, his men doing the same as they aimed at them, "Hands up!" He ordered and surprisingly, Zeb was the first to comply and did so with a smile.
"What's Zeb planning?" Whispered Max to Steel.
"Buying us time?" Suggested the Ultralink.
"Well, he won't do it alone," stated Max, as he looked back over at Sabine, "Steel and I are gonna help Zeb. When he makes his move, get the crates on the Ghost."
"Since when do you give orders?" Inquired Sabine indignantly, he just joined their crew so why is he giving out instructions?
"You have any better ideas?" Asked Max as he and Steel began slowly sneaking to the side, keeping out the line of sight with the Stormtroopers.
"Is there a problem?" Asked Zeb casually, maintaining the attention on him and making it easier for Max and Steel to get closer.
Amda Wabo spoke up, his tone sounding close to annoyance and grievance, "Amda Wabo says those crates contain his disruptors," informed C-3PO as he and Artoo finally caught up with the Imperials.
"Must be some mistake then," replied Zeb, maintaining a casual tone, "Can't possibly be disruptors in there, 'cause they're illegal, right?"
While Zeb ran interference, Max and Steel got ready to Ultralink together. Kanan helped Sabine get the crates on her cart to the Ghost before returning to provide some support.
"That's irrelevant," Tua stated, ignoring Zeb's comment, "We're going to search your crates."
"Be my guest," replied Zeb as he moved aside and gestured to the crate that he and Ezra had.
"Forward!" Ordered the Stormtrooper Commander and two troopers broke off from the squadron to inspect the crates.
They didn't get very far past Zeb before he changed his tune, "On second thought…" The Lasat then sprung into action, grabbing both troopers by their back armor and hurling the pair back at the squad. Hearing the Stormtroopers get knocked down, Max and Steel took that moment to make their entrance, running out from his cover.
"Go Turbo: Strength!" He shouted and Steel slammed into his chest. In a bright flash, Max switched into Strength Mode as he ran. Max Steel formed up with Zeb, clenching his fists tightly, "Trafficking illegal weapons isn't a good look for the Empire, guys," goaded Max as Zeb took out his Bo-Rifle, switching it to its electro-staff configuration.
Getting back to their feet, the Stormtroopers fired on the two. Max Steel took the shots and charged forward, Strength Mode's armor easily shrugging off the blast bolts, while Zeb followed behind. The hero attacked the group at large, using his massive fists to punch the soldiers away.
"Not sure this counts as us keeping a low profile, Max," commented Steel, recalling how Hera wanted the both of them to keep under the Empire's radar.
"They were gonna find out sooner or later," retorted Max as he grabbed one trooper by the leg and hurled him down the hallway. Meanwhile, one of the few Lasats left in the galaxy picked off the stragglers Max may have missed.
"You want disruptors, you gotta come through me!" Roared Zeb as he attacked the Imperial soldiers with a fury not seen before. He swung his Bo-Rifle viciously upward, knocking one trooper off his feet before spinning around to swat another trooper across his helmet and throwing an uppercut that knocked him out.
"Never again!" Shouted Zeb as he used the electro emitter on his Bo-Rifle to electrocute another trooper, "Try to shoot me?! You missed!"
By the crates, Ezra watched in surprise at how viciously Zeb was going after the Stormtroopers. He was so invested in the fight, that he didn't notice Kanan join him behind the crates, blaster drawn to provide cover fire for Zeb and Max.
"Get those crates aboard ship, now," ordered Kanan as he fired a few shots at the Stormtroopers.
"Uh, right." Ezra guessed and got to it.
Kanan then started to cover Ezra and help him get the last of the crates aboard so that they could make their getaway. Back with Max Steel and Zeb it was pretty clear the two were pretty much mopping the floor with the Stormtroopers. One trooper even tried shooting the hero in the back, but the blaster bolt had little to no effect against the tough armor of Strength Mode.
"Really dude?" Said Max, turning around to face the offending Stormtrooper.
Not giving the trooper an option to reply, the Human-Takonian hero threw a punch right at the Stormtrooper's chest, the force of the blow shattering his armor and sent him flying back near where Minister Tua and Amda Wabo were taking cover. The Imperial could not believe this was happening, things had been going so well today, but now the worst-case scenario was taking place. Moreover, she was witnessing something she never even thought possible: a giant armored insurgent shrugging off everything that was fired at him.
Her thoughts were interrupted by Wabo who said something else, but at this point, she was fed up with the Aqualish, "Will you please stop talking?!"
As Minister Tua let out her anguish, 3PO and R2 were also watching as Max Steel stomped around the hallway, Strength Mode making mince meat of the Stormtroopers while the other Specters were busy loading the Ghost with the weapons. The two of them were surprised to see that they were stuck in the middle of another impossible scenario. However, the R2 unit was way more collected than the protocol droid.
"Brigands, R2!" 3PO cried in terror as Max Steel grabbed one Stormtrooper by the leg and arm and used him as a makeshift battering ram to bash a few other troopers across the room, "We're surrounded by brigands! The mission is doomed and so are we!"
Ignoring 3PO's melodrama, the R2 unit spotted Chopper as he was just rolling through the chaos, heading right to the Ghost. With the mission he was given still in his memory banks the R2 unit started to follow the old C1 astromech. This confused C-3PO who saw his companion rolling away.
"What? R2? R2!" Shouted C-3PO after the astromech, "Where do you think you're going?!"
Artoo beeped in response as C-3PO just followed his companion.
"Following that droid?" questioned the protocol droid. It was not out of R2's usual behavior to go off on his own like this.
The Astromech beeped in confirmation as Chopper entered the Ghost. Ezra was helping Sabine with the last of the crates as 3PO just missed the thieves running inside.
"Well, he certainly seems to be on a mission," 3PO stated as they followed him R2 onto the Ghost, "So you had better accelerate yourself."
As this was happening, Max Steel and Zeb were just finishing up with the remaining Stormtroopers, the latter had one pinned against the wall, punching him in the stomach while the former hurled a Stormtrooper across the hallway. However, time was up as reinforcements were likely not far away and they had finished loading the disruptors on the Ghost.
"Specter-4, Specter-7, and 8, time to go!" Ordered Kanan as he fired his blaster at some incoming Stormtroopers.
"Ugh, right?" grumbled Zeb as he dropped the Stormtrooper he had knocked out.
"Not before I give them a big hand," stated Max as he charged some T.U.R.B.O. Energy into his hands, stretching out his arms to his sides before he brought them together.
The clap sent a wave of energy and blasted back the remaining Stormtroopers off their feet. With their escape secured, Max Steel shifted out of Strength Mode and back into the Basic Steel suit as he ran after Zeb and Kanan towards the Ghost.
"That was corny and you know it," commented Steel, critiquing Max's quip.
"It was on the fly," admitted Max as he ran after the others.
"Specter-1 to Ghost, we're good to go," informed Kanan through the comms as he, Zeb, and Max ran aboard the Ghost's boarding ramp.
Once inside, Hera closed the ramp and took off rapidly into the sky, not wanting to wait around for the Empire to send any TIE fighters after them. On board the Ghost, Steel unlinked from Max's chest.
"Not bad for our first heist, huh, Max?" Inquired Steel as he hovered beside his best friend.
"Yeah," admitted Max with a shrug, "Just wish it wasn't…"
Max trailed off when he saw the two droids from earlier on the Ghost, "Oh, look, Chopper made some new friends," Sabine commented.
Chopper, who turned around and only just now noticed them, let out a groan of annoyance at the sight. Even Steel wasn't too thrilled about seeing the two droids here on the ship, "Great, we got two stowaways," complained the Ultralink.
"I am C-3PO, and this is my counterpart, R2-D2," 3PO introduced himself and his counterpart to the two, "I was translating for Minister Tua when we were attacked by thieves like…," Zeb then walked past the droid as did Kanan, Max, and Steel, "You..."
"We have company, Imperial Droids," Kanan sighed, placing his hands on his hips before turning to Max and Sabine, "Specter-5, Specter-7, let's put a couple of restraining bolts on these two."
"Yep, on it," replied Sabine as Max followed her up the ladder.
Climbing up the ladder, the hero followed the Mandalorian to the storage room where they kept the restraining bolts. While they were doing that, Kanan turned back to Ezra, Steel, and Chopper, "Specter-6, Specter-3, and Specter-8, keep an eye on 'em."
"Right, that'll happen," replied Ezra with a shrug, walking off, though C-3PO began to follow the young teen.
"Excuse me, sir, but this is a terrible mistake," Spoke up the protocol droid, following after Ezra, "My partner and I were in service to Minister Tua, but…"
At this point, no one was paying attention to the C-3PO, however, Steel hovered down beside R2-D2, "No offense, but your friend is a serious ninny," commented the Ultralink, to which Artoo whistled in agreement.
"Kanan," spoke up Zeb, wanting to have a chat with Kanan about the weapons they just stole, "A word?"
"Can it wait? If I don't confirm our rendezvous with Vizago, we'll have done all this for nothing," explained Kanan, knowing how stingy Vizago can be, and if there is even a whiff of a deal going bad, he'll back out instantly.
"Yeah. About that," Zeb rubbed the back of his head, but as he and Kanan spoke neither of them noticed that R2 raised an antenna from his head, "Maybe this time we don't sell to Vizago, eh? Maybe we get those disruptors out of circulation instead?"
Steel, however, saw the antenna and made a note to bring it up later, for now, he'd just pretend he didn't notice anything.
"At least we got them out of Imperial circulation," interjected Sabine as she slid down the ladder with a box of tools to put on the restraining bolts, "When I was translating, I found out they were shipping those T-7s as prototypes so the Empire could mass produce them on Lothal."
"Can't imagine what kind of damage more of these things can do," commented Max from above Sabine as she slid down the rest of the ladder.
"See, Zeb?" Kanan decided to take over the conversation. "Perfect crime. We steal weapons meant for the Empire and sell them for credits we desperately need to keep this bird flying."
"Oh, hey!" Sabine spoke up as an idea came to mind on how to deal with their unexpected guests, "If we need credits, maybe Vizago will buy those two droids."
"Yeah, good idea," said Kanan as he climbed the ladder up to the cockpit of the Ghost.
However, while Sabine got to work putting on the restraining bolts, Max noticed the dissatisfied look on Zeb's face. Remembering earlier how he fought the Empire, what he said while going off on the Stormtroopers, plus his reaction to seeing the Disruptors. Recalling when he, Steel, and Sabine spoke together when she asked them to join the Ghost Crew, she mentioned how each member had lost something to the Empire. Were the Disruptors the cause of what happened to his people? He didn't want to pry into the Lasat's business, mainly because he would likely get punched, but also he was still new to the crew and Zeb had no reason to tell him anything.
Letting out a sigh, he would bring it up later with Sabine, who seemed to know more about the situation with Zeb and the disruptors.
Imperial Star Destroyer, Garel
Ever since the appearance of the stranger and his unusual droid, Kallus had been keeping a careful eye out on all events in the Outer Rim. It was released in a memo from the Emperor himself that any sightings of unusual events or individuals, not just Jedi, were to be reported immediately. However, his main objective remained the same; hunt down the insurgents in the Lothal Sector and Outer Rim in general. Which is why he was speaking to Minister Tua of Lothal on board the Star Destroyer via holocommunication. A shipment she was surveying was stolen by a group of thieves, the cargo itself was cause for attention, but the description of the thieves themselves was what interested Kallus.
"Describe the thieves," requested Kallus, speaking to the Minister with his back to her.
"I saw six… an adult male, a juvenile male, a juvenile female, an old C1 droid, and a Lasat," informed Minister Tua, her tone shifting to amazement, "Honestly, Agent Kallus, I didn't think there were any Lasats left."
That detail definitely caught the ISB agent's attention as he turned around to face Minister Tua properly, "A few Minister. Only a few," he explained, however, he shifted his attention noting that she only mentioned five of the six thieves, "And the remaining thief?"
"A juvenile male, with a small probe-like droid," explained Minister Tua, reporting what she saw, "The droid connected to the boy's chest and somehow formed into a hulking suit of armor that decimated the squad of Stormtroopers accompanying me and Mr. Wabo. It was unlike anything I had ever seen, Agent Kallus. Just who is this boy?"
Now that complicated things for Agent Kallus, recalling the last time he encountered this individual. The unknown combatant displayed unparalleled strength and durability against him and his squadron, displaying the ability to shift forms, one from brute force to aerial superiority. He wouldn't be caught by surprise this time, "A person who has gained the full attention of the Empire," explained Agent Kallus as he turned to the Star Destroyer's captain, "Prepare two Gunships with heavy weapons troopers."
Back aboard the Ghost Max was in the common area, sitting on the couch as Steel helped the Terran learn how to read Galactic Basic. So far, it had been slow, the letters, if they could be called that, were just too random for Max to make sense of. Like, how can some symbols be the same as letters from Earth's alphabet?
"Think we can take a break, Steel?" asked Max, letting out a tired sigh as he leaned back against the couch.
"Might as well, we're almost back to Lothal," replied the Ultralink as he shut off the hologram he was using to help Max with his spelling.
It was at that moment Sabine entered the common area, her helmet tucked under her arm, "How's school going?" She asked teasingly.
"About as well as you can guess," replied Steel as he hovered up a bit.
"Hey, I'd say I'm doing pretty good," objected Max, not exactly enjoying the subtle dig from Steel.
"Either way, we're almost back to Lothal and Kanan needs us to get ready to offload the Disruptors," informed Sabine as she jabbed her thumb in the direction of the cargo hold.
"Hey Sabine, mind if I ask you something?" Spoke up Max as he got up from the couch with Steel in tow.
"Sure," shrugged Max as the two began making their way to the cargo hold.
"Why were Disruptors banned by the Senate?" He asked point blank, causing the Mandalorian artist to pause.
"You saw how Zeb reacted to them," said Sabine carefully as they were in the hallway for the crew quarters.
"A little hard not to, especially when we were fighting the Empire," replied Max, recalling how haunted he was when he saw the weapons, "Those weapons, they don't just disable vehicles and ships, do they?"
"They don't; they have a different effect on organic beings," explained the former Imperial student.
Both Max and Steel were pretty good at putting together pieces of a puzzle, much of that expertise came from uncovering the latter's origin and what N-TEK was hiding from them, and eventually, what they were hiding from Max about his father. Steel was the first to put together the pieces, having also seen how Zeb reacted to the weapons and from what Sabine told both him and Max earlier about each crew member.
"The Empire used them on Zeb's people," realized the Ultralink grimly, "That's why they were banned by the Senate."
"You can only imagine how he feels about this job," sighed the young Mandalorian as she resumed heading to the cargo hold.
Both Max and Steel looked at each other for a moment, both having some ideas of their own about how they could help their crew mate. While Max didn't know what a Disruptor did to a living person, he had a feeling it wasn't pretty. The dup made a silent agreement to find a way to help make things right by Zeb, if only to show that they have his back no matter what.
Lothal
Getting to the location for the deal was pretty easy, a small clearing between some rocks in the middle of nowhere among Lothal's grassy plains, and well away from any cities or settlements that may have any aerial traffic to have them get caught. It seemed as though this Vizago character was already at the agreed deal location. Several droids were acting as muscle for the Devaronian dealer and smuggler. There were also some makeshift tents, crates, and two speeders meant for transporting the cargo. Looking up in the air when he heard something approaching, Vizago saw the Ghost coming in close to the deal site.
Onboard the Ghost, the entire crew had gathered in the cargo hold, Max in the full Steel Suit with the helmet covering his face however, it seemed like there might be some issues that needed to be sorted out.
"Can we discuss this later?" Kanan asks Hera, knowing that she was right, but now wasn't the best time for an argument.
"That's fine, love," Hera replied, "but we will discuss it."
Max was a little confused by the nickname and looked to Sabine for answers, "Are they dating or something?"
"I think it's more like a fond relationship," guessed the Mandalorian as she was leaned against the wall, however, R2 then beeped and got everyone's attention, "Oh, yeah, this R2 unit, he said its real mission was to make sure the T-7s never reached the Empire, and that his master will pay handsomely for their return."
Kanan saw that was something to consider, "I'll think about it," he replied scratching his beard.
"So, we're not selling the droids, but we're selling the T-7s?" Zeb objected, not liking the idea of selling the weapons to Vizago, "We don't even know who Vizago's buyer is."
"We know it's not the Empire," Kanan shrugged, "And I already made a deal with Vizago. So, let's get these crates off the boat."
"These weapons were banned for a reason," muttered Max to himself, folding his arms, "Would be better if we destroyed them."
"I'm with you on that Max," said Steel in agreement, knowing just what these weapons do the organic life, "But this isn't N-TEK, we don't have the resources they have from private funding. Sometimes we gotta compromise."
Max sighed, knowing that his best friend was right, but he still didn't like it. Reluctantly, he helped unload the weapons for the deal with Vizago and mostly tuned out the usual smuggler shtick as the T-7s were being inspected. At the moment, Max was leaning against one of the rocks across from Zeb as the deal went down. While the hero didn't want the Empire to have these weapons, he didn't feel good about giving them to someone like Vizago to sell to someone else.
"Oh, I can make some beautiful music with these," noted the Devaronian, inspecting one of the T-7s himself.
"They're not that kind of instrument!" Growled Zeb from the far back of the group, he really hated this deal.
"Ah, you just have to know how to play them," corrected the arms dealer as he glanced up at Kanan, "And how to play those who want to buy them."
"You still have to buy them from us first," interjected Ezra, prompting both Kanan and Vizago to glance over at him.
"Finally!" Said Vizago with relief, "Someone on your crew who understands business!"
However, his gaze then went over to Max, taking note of how advanced the suit was, "Max, he's staring at us," commented Steel.
"Now that is a unique suit," noted Vizago, approaching the Terran, "It could no doubt fetch an even more unique price."
"You couldn't afford it or me," stated Max, not impressed, "Just buy the Disruptors so we can go."
"Max…," cautioned Kanan, not wanting this deal to fall through because they desperately needed the money.
"Now that is hardly an attitude for business," admonished the arms dealer in a disappointed and semi-hurt tone.
"You're not buying our courtesy," corrected Max, maintaining his gaze with the Devaronian. It was then Vizago let out an amused laugh after hearing the response.
"And another one who understands how business works!" Chuckled the arms dealer, "I like this one Kanan."
"Great…," groaned Max, rolling his eyes behind his mask.
Even Kanan looked like he was reaching his limit for dealing with Vizago. As Vizago's droids began collecting the cargo, the Specters watching carefully, however, Max's vision was obstructed when Steel suddenly brought up the radar, showing several targets approaching.
"Max, we have incoming!" alerted the Ultralink.
"What? How?!" Asked Max in shock as a familiar noise filled his and the other's ears.
Making a beeline right for the deal location, the Rebels saw a Gozanti-Class Cruiser carrying two strange vehicles beneath it, At-DPs. With the cruiser were two Imperial Dropships(2), which Max only guessed carried several other Stormtroopers with it.
"What is this?" demanded Vizago as he used the scope on the T-7 he was holding, "You were followed!"
"It's not possible!" Protested Hera, she knew they weren't followed.
"Tell it to the Empire!" Snapped the arms dealer as he and his droids and men scrambled to grab whatever they could to escape before the Empire touched down, "Leave the rest! We're gone!"
"Are you kidding me!?" Shouted Max as he ran over to Vizago with Kanan who grabbed the arms dealer by the arm.
"You haven't paid us!" Stated the Jedi, knowing they didn't go to all this trouble for nothing.
"Cikatro Vizago doesn't pay for half a shipment, and he doesn't pay for trouble with Imperials," he retorted pulling his arm out of Kanan's grip as he hopped onto the back of one of the loaded speeders, "My friends, I hope you live to bargain another day. And if you don't...Eh!"
He and his men then shot off on the speeders with whatever Disruptors they could fit. Max groaned as he and the other Specters ran over to see the Imperials closing in, "Shouldn't we be going to?" Pointed out Sabine.
"We can't let these disruptors fall into Imperial hands," Kanan saw that they weren't getting paid for it, they might as well destroy them, "Sabine, go get the explosives."
"I get the feeling those additional ships are for Steel and me," commented Max as he stood at the front of the group, "We'll distract them and the walkers."
Crossing his arms Max got ready, "Go Turbo: Flight!" In a bright flash of energy, Max switched to Flight Mode and hovered up into the air a few feet.
"Max, no!" Objected Kanan as he grabbed Max's wrist, "There's too many of them for you to handle alone and those Gunships will shred you to pieces."
"He's right, Max," said Steel in agreement, having finished a quick scan of the armaments on each Imperial vehicle, "I'm going multiple laser cannons and missile launchers."
"Good thing there's more than one of us," replied Max looking back at Kanan.
"I'm sorry, what?" Asked Sabine, not sure what he meant.
"Steel, care to give me some backup?" Requested Max, knowing exactly how to handle this.
"You got it!" Answered the Ultralink, following his best friend's train of thought.
"Go Turbo: Clone!" The hero shouted again and six bursts of light followed as they formed into perfect duplicates of Flight Mode, though these ones had some extra blue coloring to the armor, but it was still surprising for Specters to see.
"You can clone yourself?!" Asked Ezra, amazed by what Max and Steel can do.
"We can do quick a lot," answered Max as he hovered up a bit higher, "Just make sure you destroy those weapons."
"Okay, but after this, we're sitting down so you can show me what else that suit of yours can do!" Demanded Sabine as she ran towards the Ghost to get her detonators.
While she was doing that, Max and his clones flew towards the approaching Imperial Forces which had already landed, the AT-DPs making their approach while the Dro[pships had flown closer to release their Stormtrooper passengers. Flying overhead, Max paused when he noticed that some of the troopers were carrying different weapons other than the usual blasters he had seen Stormtroopers carry, "Guys, we got a problem," informed Max through the comms.
"What problem?" Inquired Kanan.
"The Bucketheads from the Dropships aren't using their usual weapons," explained the hero, but quickly had to blast off to avoid a rapid volley of red laser bolts and some rockets, "Yeah! No! These guys got rapid-fire blasters and rocket launchers!"
"Empire must've sent heavy weapons troopers," guessed the Jedi, "Alright, Max, take care of the heavy weapons and Dropships, I'll handle the walkers."
"Just as long as you blow up the Disruptors," requested Steel through the comms as Max flew down and began targeting the heavy weapons troopers while the six other clones split up to either distract the Dropship pilots or handle other troopers.
The hero swooped down low, using Flight Modes wings, to sweep the legs out from several Stormtroopers, some of the other Turbo Clones doing the same. One of the clones even flew over to a Dropship, flying right up to the cockpit of one of the pilots and broke the canopy open before yanking him out. Thankfully, the Dropship wasn't too far off the ground, so the pilot wouldn't die from hitting the ground. The clone did the same with the other pilot, yanking him out and leaving the Dropship to careen away before crashing into the ground.
"You guys went to all this trouble just for us?" Joked Max as he grabbed another Stormtrooper by the shoulders, lifting him into the air, "You shouldn't have!" Finished Steel as Max hurled the trooper at a small group of other Imperial soldiers, knocking them all to the ground.
While Max dealt with these forces, the Empire was closing in on the deal location, the walkers getting closer as they began firing on the Specters. A few close shots forced Hera, Ezra, and Zeb to cover from the explosion. Kanan, armed with a Disruptor, was hardly deterred as he took aim with the banned weapon and fired at the offending walker. A glowing red orb shot out of the barrel of the weapon and collided with the head of the AT-DP, immediately it began stumbling around, its systems shutting down before it collapsed.
However, the second walker was a bit quicker, aiming at Kanan and firing before the Jedi could. The laser bolt struck the ground right in front of him, the following explosion sending him flying back, the Disruptor tumbling out of reach. Wanting to take attention of him, Hera flanked around the rocks, her own blaster pistol drawn as she fired at the walker. Due to the small size of the blaster, its shots wouldn't pierce the armor, but it did get the driver's attention who immediately swung the head around to fire at the Twi'lek pilot.
Hera immediately turned around to run for cover, dodging two shots from the walker, using the smoke to mask where she dove behind one of the clearing's rock formations. With the walker distracted, Zeb helped Kanan back to his feet, the man just a little dazed from the explosion, but unharmed and ready to resume the fight. He, the Lasat, and Ezra ran over to the edge of the clearing, the Jedi drawing his blaster as they watched the Gozanti land not too far away and let out multiple Stormtroopers and a familiar face: Agent Kalus.
"Advance and fire," Kallus ordered to the troops as they charged forward, "Heavy weapons and Dropships, keep the targets' attention."
Just as ordered, the Heavy Weapons Troopers kept Max Steel's attention, the Dropships firing at a higher rate. Some shots strike the hero's clones, causing them to vanish in a burst of Turbo Energy.
"We might wanna change strategies, Max," advised Steel as Max flew upwards, dropping a Stormtrooper back down to the ground.
"I'm open to ideas!" Replied Max as he had to take off, the Dropship giving chase after the hero.
While this was happening, back on the ground, 3PO had emerged from cover, he was the one who gave the Empire their location, "Thank you! Thank you! I knew some form of rescue would arrive. I told R2, but he thinks so ill of Stormtroopers."
Though it seemed like R2's beliefs were well founded because the Stormtroopers immediately began firing on the droid, their blast bolts missing the gold target completely, "Wait! Don't shoot! Don't shoot!" He pleaded as he turned around to head back to cover as quickly as his droid body would permit, "You're here to rescue me!"
"So that's how the Empire found us," realized Steel, knowing they were never followed, but wondering how the Empire knew where to look.
"Think we should help him?" Inquired Max, as they flew over the deal site, the Dropship still on their tail.
"Just don't hang on to him for too long, remember Max?" cautioned Steel as Max sighed, knowing it was the right thing to do.
Changing directions on a dime, the hero immediately halted his aerial momentum and shot back in the opposite direction. Steel disconnected from Max's chest so the hero could grip the Ultralink by the arms. Charging up a beam, Max fired at the Dropship, the shot striking one of the ship's engines causing it to dip to the ground as smoke poured out from the damaged spot. He flew down to the ground, targeting the Stormtroopers that were firing at C-3PO. He fired two quick shots, the Turbo bolts knocking the troopers that were hit down. Flying lower to the ground, Max used Flight Mode's wings to swipe the legs out from the Imperial Forces.
Slowing down, Max Steel shifted out of Flight Mode and back into the Base Steel suit, he sprinted back to cover. While the troopers were recovering the other Specters began firing on them, taking the advantage while they could. As they fired on the Stormtroopers, Max ran over and tackled the protocol droid into cover, making sure to keep contact as short as possible.
"My word!" gaped 3PO as he picked himself back up as Max Steel was ready to head back into the fray, "You… saved me?"
"Despite you calling the Empire, we did," replied Steel as he disconnected from Max's chest in a flash of energy.
"Don't take it personally, Steel, he thought he was doing the right thing," said Max as he peeked out from cover, just in time to see Agent Kallus approaching.
"You! Lasat!" Called out the ISB Agent as he stepped over a downed Stormtrooper, drawing a new weapon from his back, something worryingly similar to Zeb's Bo-Rifle.
"FACE ME!" Shouted Kallus as he twirled the modified Bo-Rifle in his hands, which Zeb immediately took notice of.
How did that Imperial have one of his people's weapons?! Only select members of the Honor Guard of the Lasat Royal family were permitted to carry such weapons! With a growl, Zeb shifted his own Bo-Rifle into it's staff form and charged towards Kallus.
"Wait!/Zeb!" Shouted both Kanan and Ezra as they watched their friend charge towards the ISB agent, letting out a battle cry as Kallus matched the charge himself.
Both of them met at the edge of the clearing, clashing their Bo-Rifles against one another. It was clear that Zeb had more experience than Kallus, going on the offensive while the agent defended himself. The Lasat warrior put the pressure on, attacking harder before one swing from his Bo-Rifle tagged the imperial, knocking him with a cry.
"Only the Honor Guard of Lasan may carry a Bo-Rifle!" Declared Zeb furiously.
"I know! Ahahah!" Laughed Kallus as he readied himself to strike back, "I removed it from a Guardsman myself!"
The Agent swung at Zeb, who blocked the strike, but Kallus quickly rolled on the ground past Zeb and into the clearing, using the momentum he gained from rolling to get back to his feet while the Lasat pursued in fury. Hearing that fact clearly got under Zeb's skin as he was now attacking wildly.
"I was there when Lasan fell," revealed Kallus, smiling sinisterly, goading Zeb to attack, "I know why you fear those Disruptors. I gave the order to use them!"
That sent Zeb over the edge as he began swinging without any direction, just blind rage. The warrior and agent kept attacking each other, but any advantage the Lasat had in terms of weapon skill just vanished and Kallus knew this as he was blocking each attack from Zeb easily. He then countered the Lasat by kicking him in the stomach.
"Steel, we gotta help him!" Said Max, realizing this is gonna end badly for Zeb.
"Don't have to tell me twice," said Steel in agreement.
"Go Turbo: Strength!" Shouted Max as he entered Strength Mode in a flash of energy.
"By the maker!" Gasped 3PO in shock at what he just witnessed.
"Get to the ship and wait there, it's not safe here," ordered Max, looking back at the protocol droid.
"I certainly don't want to be blasted to pieces!" Stated the golden droid as he rushed over to the ship.
With C-3PO out of danger, Max was about to run over to help Zeb, but a volley of red bolts and a close explosion prevented the hero from aiding Specter-4. Looking to the source, Max saw the Heavy Weapons Stormtroopers approaching them. Now that he had a better look, he saw the troopers carried what appeared to be rifles or miniguns, while other troopers carried rocket launchers.
"Forgot about those guys," realized Max, remembering that there were just a few of them left.
"If you wanna take em out, give us a hand!" Shouted Sabine from a different direction.
Looking over, he saw the Mandalorian and R2-D2 with the crate of Disruptors.
"You finished arming the detonators?" Asked Max as he switched out of Strength Mode and ran over to her.
"This guy gave me a better idea," revealed Sabine, gesturing to the Astromech, "Instead of using detonators, we set all the disruptors to overload!"
"That way the empire can't use them if one survives a detonator," realized Max, glad to hear they are destroying these things.
"They should also provide a much bigger explosion," added Steel, a quick scan revealed each disruptor had the explosive potential equal to a stick of C4.
"The Empire wanted these back," stated Max as he grabbed the handle for one repulsor bed, "Let's give them back."
Sabine nodded as she went over to the other repulsor bed, Kanan and Ezra joining her to help push it. Max, using the extra strength provided by Turbo Energy, shoved the overloading Disruptors towards the AT-DP while the others shoved their bed towards the approaching Stormtroopers. Running to a safe distance, Max and the others managed to get out range of the explosions, which completely blasted the walker's legs out from it, causing it to crash to the ground. The shockwave from the explosion also shook the ground and knocked anyone close by off their feet. Max was thrown face first on the ground, while the others were also knocked down.
Kallus and Zeb were the furthest away, but still, the explosion knocked their balance off, which gave the ISB agent the perfect opening to land another blow on Zeb, bring him to his knees. During their fight, he had landed several other strikes, the electro emitter shocking the Lasat each time, and this last tag had finally brought him down.
Getting to his feet first, Ezra saw Kallus about to kill Zeb. The kid's eyes widened in shock as he believed Zeb was about to die. Acting on instict the young boy thrust his hands out, "NOO!" He screamed and somehow, Kallus was thrown off his feet and sent flying back, dropping his Bo-Rifle in the process. He tumbled across the ground before slamming into one of the rocks in the clearing.
Kanan, who witnessed the whole thing, was shocked and amazed to see Ezra, who had no training at this point, was able to use the Force to save Zeb. Even Max and Steel were surprised to see that.
"How did he…?" trailed off Steel, not sure what he witnessed, as his sensors didn't pick anything up at all.
"We'll figure it out later," answered Max, as he got to his feet, "Kanan, we gotta go now!"
"Agreed," nodded Kanan as he turned to Hera, who was also knocked down by the explosion, "Specter-2, get the kid aboard!"
"Right," nodded Hera as she rushed over to Ezra, who was looking at his own hands in shock, she grabbed one and began pulling him along, "Move! All of you! Now!"
Sabine and Max did just that, running towards the Ghost.
"Zeb! Come on, big guy, we gotta get out of here!" Kanan said as he ran over to his friend, "Zeb?"
The Lasat was pretty out of it, but he was still conscious enough to grip his Bo-Rifle. Helping him to his feet, Kanan threw one of Zeb's arms over his shoulder and helped him up the boarding ramp.
"Will our torment never end?!" Wailed 3PO out loud.
"Steel's right, you are a ninny," commented Max as he stayed by the entrance to help Zeb up.
Once everyone was on board, Hera activated her commlink as she shut the ramp, "Chopper, get us out of here!"
Moments later, the Ghost began taking off into the air, not wasting any time to let the Cruiser Kallus arrived in to give chase. However, that wasn't their main concern, what was was the health of their injured friend.
"Will he be okay?" asked Sabine as she removed her helmet.
"Steel, can you take a look?" asked Max, prompting the Ultralink to detach for a moment.
From his eye, Steel began giving Zeb a careful scan, making sure to check everything, taking into account the biological differences between a Lasat and a human.
"Other than some bruises and a few shock burns, Zeb's vitals are looking good," informed Steel, shutting off the scan, "With some rest, he'll be back busting Stormtrooper helmets in no time."
"You can scan lifeforms too?" Inquired Sabine in curiosity, a smile a forming.
"At this point, it's just best to assume Steel and I can do everything," advised Max, patting Sabine on the shoulder.
Zeb let out a pained grunt as he glanced up at Kanan, "Thanks mate," he thanked the Jedi as he was helped back up to his feet, "Appreciate the save."
"It wasn't me," admitted Kanan with a smile as he looked over at Ezra, "It was Ezra."
This caused Zeb to look at the kid in disbelief. This kid used the force to save him? Regardless, the Lasat gave Ezra a nod of thanks and a small smile. The young kid returned the smile.
"And Ezra," spoke up Kanan, getting everyone's attention, "Your formal Jedi training stars tomorrow."
Hera patted Ezra on the shoulder, glad to see him begin learning to become a Jedi like Kanan. Max, Sabine, and Steel gave the boy a look of approval.
In the end, the Specters did end up making some money to fuel the Ghost and put some food on the table. Turns out the man who owned the droids did in fact pay quite well for their safe return. Meeting in deep space, Kanan returned both C-3PO and R2-D2 personally to Senator Bail Organa of Alderaan.
"That's very generous of you, sir," noted the Jedi as he saw the credits that could have bought ten of these same droids.
"Well, I'm very fond of these droids," answered Bail as he looked over at the two droids.
Kanan nodded as he gave R2 a few pats on the head to say farewell, "Then I'm glad we could return them."
"'The simplest gesture of kindness can fill a galaxy with hope,'" recited the senator, catching Kanan's attention. He had heard that many years ago, when he was at the Jedi Temple.
"Isn't that a Jedi saying?" He asked carefully, not sure if he heard him correctly.
"Safe travels, my friend," Bail said in reply, not answering his question.
"Safe travels," replied Kanan, leaving it alone to head back to the Ghost, with enough credits to cover most of their needs.
"You didn't tell them my name?" Bail asked C-3PO.
"Of course, I didn't, Senator Organa," the protocol droid replied, "But this entire ordeal has rather stressed every one of my circuits. Permission to shut down?"
The Senator of Alderaan nodded and patted his shoulder. "Granted."
As C-3PO walked off to get a well-earned rest, Bail knelt down to R2, "You recorded everything, old friend?"
R2 beeped in confirmation as Organa smiled at the confirmation.
"Good. We'll focus on the Imperials later. For now, show me what you have on your rebels and these special individuals."
With the money earned, the next stop for the Ghost was a fueling station and the closest market to get some food put on the table.
"Well, looks like things turned out pretty good," admitted Max, reclining back on the couch.
"Looks that way," said Steel in agreement, folding his arms, "Just wish we got rid of all the disruptors."
"Take what you can get, Steel," suggested Max as he placed his hands behind his head, "But I feel like we're forgetting something."
"Actually, you two are," spoke up Sabine, leaning against the doorway into the lounge area, "You two and I are gonna finally discuss what you and Steel are capable of."
"Oh yeah," remembered Max, knowing that that was something Sabine was dying to learn more about, "almost slipped my mind."
"If it makes it any easier, I'll help you and Steel with learning galactic basic," offered the Mandalorian, knowing that exclusively talking about what the two are capable of may get old after a while.
"You'd do that for me?" asked Max, kinda surprised to hear that Sabine would offer to help him with learning the galactic standard language.
"I did take level five languages at the academy," reminded Sabine with a playful smile.
"You saying I can't teach?" Interjected Steel, placing his arms on his hips.
"More like you can't make it simple and straightforward," corrected Max, prompting the Mandalorian to chuckle at the Ultralinks expense.
Steel just grumbled as he folded his arms. He'd make fun of them for acting a like a couple later.
To Be Continued…
Hope this chapter was good. Sorry if most fights seemed a bit dull or not as action packed with Max and Steel. Any interaction with the Empire is gonna be a cake walk, at least until more effective assets get involved. Also for that (1), try to imagine the Corellian Flight Suit from Star Wars: The Force Unleashed video game. For (2) think of the Dropships also from Force Unleashed.
Before I get into some possible ideas and such, there is one question I wanna ask and it has to do with a canon book called "Rebel Journal by Ezra Bridger" and it introduces an old friend of Ezra, Moreena Krai. For this story, I wanna pair Moreena with Ezra and have her become a Jedi, because making Sabine a Jedi seemed a little random.
However, I'm having some trouble picking a point in the Rebels timeline to introduce Moreena and could use some help. What would be a good time to introduce Moreena into the story?
With that question out of the way, let's move on to some other things and ideas I'm considering. I'm planning on having Mara Jade enter the story, as the Emperor's Hand to specifically target Max and Steel, sort of like how the Inquisitors target Jedi. I'm not sure about this idea, but I'll hold off it for a little while.
Another thing I'm considering is drawing some inspiration from Legends to make Darth Vader more powerful and make his fight with Max Steel more dramatic and such. Some other ideas include bringing in characters/enemies from the Force Unleashed, possible making some changes to the timeline of Star Wars to include Kal Kestis and his allies, the inclusion of some other characters and some other ideas. Let me know what you think of some of these ideas.
Other than that, I hope you liked the chapter.