"Do be careful you three," Threepio nervously spoke over the comm link as Wyb, Soni and Chewbacca climbed aboard the transport into the waste management area. It was darkly lit, the air fowl with the stench of garbage, and the floor filled with scattered piles of refuse. Wyb's heart raced as he followed Chewbacca's beneath hanging metal crates moving above their heads toward the incinerator. He had never extracted anyone on his own before. As a boy, he had always been the getaway transport. He never doubted Lenore and Jord not succeeding, so why should he doubt himself? He took a deep breath to calm himself and felt Soni's hand touch his shoulder.
"You ok?" She asked with a concerned look on her face.
"I'm fine," Wyb replied as he continued to follow the rookie through the narrow passageway.
"Arwar raw ra," Chewbacca spoke as quietly as he could manage.
"What?" Wyb whispered, puzzled trying to match his town. Soni smiled and shook her head.
"Clearly you didn't pay attention to our linguistics course during academy," She teased and took a step in front of the two and peaked around the corner to scope out the area.
She saw two men sorting through the trash and tossing scrapes into the incinerator and the rest of the debris into bins destined for the trash compactor.
"There's two of them. We'll need a distraction to slide past them," Son reported. Chewbacca, impatient, decided he was going in. He quickly approached the two workers hoping the element of surprise would work in his favor. It always had on his jobs with Han.
"Chewie no!" Wyb protested.
"Wargh!" Chewbacca roared at the workers. He quickly picked one of the workers up and knocked him unconscious. The other raced toward the intercom.
PEW PEW!
Soni shot the control panel, cutting the communication from the area without hurting the worker.
"Your uniform," Wyb demanded, raising his blaster and pointing it at the worker. He glanced over to Chewie who was helping Toni into her disguise and dragging the unconscious man into the supplies closet.
"Rebel scum," the worker growled. Wyb frowned in confusion. Did this worker not know the war was over? Did he not know the Empire lost? Wyb held his stance and motioned with his blaster for the worker to hurry up. "Your New Republic doesn't stand a chance against what the Empire has in store for you."
"Wyb quickly," Soni called out as she finished zipping up the work suit.
"I'm not going to repeat myself," Wyb said, moving his blaster closer to the worker's face.
"The reckoning is coming, the Empire will emerge from the shadows–" the worker fell to the floor with Chewbacca standing over him after landing a blow to his head.
"Rwarr rwar," Chewie complained and motioned to Wyb to hurry up and change his clothes.
"Chewie's right. We need to hurry," Soni agreed and opened the waste management doors. "Make sure he keeps his friend company. Comms are live."
"Rwar raw rrra," Chewbacca replied to Toni and went behind the waste management computer looking for a layout schematic.
"Let's go," she said to Wyb and the two entered the halls of the transport toward the detention level access.
"There," Soni alerted Wyb as she nodded her chin toward the lift that would take them to the detention level. As they approached the lift open it was filled with one unit of stormtroopers and a commanding officer. Soni's eyes grew wide, but Wyb was unaffected by the sight of stormtrooper armor thanks to his association with Unit 56. He boarded nonchalantly as Soni followed his lead.
"Floor?" one of the troopers asked.
"Detention," Wyb replied and nodded respectfully. His stomach turned wondering if not specifying a floor number was suspicious. The trooper looked at him and slightly tilted his head. He then pushed the number six on the keypad and fell back into line. Soni and Wyb stood tensely as the lift ascended.
Chim!
"Your floor," the trooper said and took a step out of the lift to hold the door for them. Soni and Wyb exited hoping they could proceed without further interaction. As Wyb nodded in thanks the trooper placed a hand on his chest stopping him. Soni froze, prepared to reach for her blaster concealed beneath the work suit."The bunkers haven't been cleaned in two weeks."
"Oh… sorry," Wyb stammered. "We'll get right on that after we finish here."
"See that you do," the trooper remarked and removed his hand and stepped back onto the lift. "Long live the Empire."
"Long live the empire," Wyb replied as the doors to the lift shut. He looked at Soni who had a terrified expression on her face. "Let's hurry and get out of here."
"Here," Soni directed as they walked to the end of the long stretch of the cold, well lit gray hallways.
"You sure?" Wyb asked, lost in the uniformity of the architecture. It was going to be a hassle escaping without any identifying marks.
"Raghh," Chewie replied over the comm links assuring them that his directions were correct, finally cross checking them with the computer's schematics.
"Alright," Wyb said and buzzed the heavy duty blast doors. He could see out of the corner of his eye Soni fidgeting. "Hey…it'll be alright. We're in this together."
She nodded and tried her best to calm herself. The blast doors opened and an officer stepped out to meet Wyb's eyeline. Peering quickly into the quarters, Soni spotted what looked like two scientists, three stormtroopers and the officer that stood in front of them.
"Waste Management," Wyb announced as professionally as he could. He was uncertain how to address an officer in the Empire so his next best guess was to act as subordinate as possible.
"The droids usually do that on this level," The officer raised an eyebrow suspiciously.
"Malfunction," Soni interjected quickly. "Most of the cleaners are offline. Captain wants us to quickly clear out debris by hand to improve lightspeed efficiency."
Nicely done Soni, Wyb thought.
"Come back later. We're busy," The officer turned to reenter the quarters.
"But we need to follow the deployed fleet," Wyb said and regretted it instantly. The officer paused and turned.
"Since when does a trash picker give an officer orders?" The officer's voice was sharp, his eyes narrowing.
"I'm not…just trying to do my part, Sir," Wyb said.
"By collecting trash?" The officer smirked.
"Whatever it takes," Wyb replied. "For the Empire."
"You will address me as sir."
"Yes Sir," Wyb replied.
"As I said, we are busy. Come back later." The officer turned and entered the quarters without looking back. Wyb looked down at his boots frustrated. They needed to get in and off the transport quickly.
"Chewie," Soni spoke into her comm link and pulled Wyb into the alcove of the entryway. It was a tight fit, as she needed to press up against him to remain concealed. Soni's eyes met Wyb's as they huddled together in the tight alcove, their faces inches apart. "We need you to deploy a pressure alert alarm."
Wyb looked down at her realizing how much the two of them had grown. He was nearly a foot taller than. Wyb could feel the warmth of her breath with their faces inches apart. Soni's breathing was quick and shallow, her hand lightly brushing against Wyb's chest as she spoke into the comm link.
"Chewie…did you find the alarm?" She whispered
"Rwar," Chewie replied, telling her to hold on.
Soni lowered her hand with the comm link and brushed Wyb's hand. She looked up at him once more.
"Sorry," she said, pulling her hand away and shifting her weight to not lean on him. Wyb pulled her toward the wall to shield them from the sight of a trio of troopers passing by. She felt a rush of emotions boil up in her as he held her.
"Just like old times at Brix's. Hiding in the corner after putting a smoke bomb in the lavatory." Wyb smiled, hoping to ease the suspension.
"I missed you," Soni admitted as she felt her heart race. What was she doing? This was no time to lose focus. But after months apart and feeling regret she didn't follow him to the jail she couldn't help but fill the emotions she had been ignoring. Wyb Tersu, inches away from her, looked so different from the boy who had been dropped off by a Mandalorian at the academy all those years ago. She had been so cross with him ditching him to join the Rangers. But now huddled together in the dark corner she finally realized why.
"Soni," Wyb said softly, feeling slightly intoxicated by the moment."Thanks…for…com–"
"I know," Soni whispered, cutting him off and instinctively leaned closer, giving into her curiosity of what it would feel like if their lips met.
BUZZ! BUZZ! BUZZ!
The two stopped and watched the blast doors open automatically and the Imperials evacuated.
"What about the children?!" one of the scientists exclaimed looking back at the cells.
"We're losing pressure!" The officer yelled. "Are you seriously suggesting we put our lives in danger to save those freaks?!"
"But–" the scientist protested as a trooper grabbed her and forced her to go forward with the others.
"We'll find new specimens," the other scientist explained. "Our survival is essential to the Empire Doctor. Let's go."
Once the Imperials cleared the room Wyb and Soni entered the quarters.
"Everything is locked," Soni reported, trying to unlock the computer to open the individual rooms to the children. Her cheeks were flushed and her voice shook by the swirling chaos.
"Not a problem," Wyb took out a key screw and began to undo the control panels of each room. "Little trick I picked up in the forgotten."
One after one the rooms opened revealing a total of nine children with solemn faces looking at Wyb and Soni.
"We're with the new republic," Soni explained. "We're here to rescue you."
The children looked among themselves uncertain.
"I don't think they know what the New Republic is," Wyb said to Soni.
He turned to the children. He didn't know what they had been through, but he couldn't help but see himself in them. Remembering being sold and put on a freighter by his mother, being kept in the dark headed toward an unknown destination.
"We need to evacuate. It isn't safe here anymore. Is this all of you?"he asked.
"No Kelzen is on the experiment table," one of the younglings said, pointing to the closed laboratory where the young rodian was strapped to the table.
"I got this," Wyb replied. "Get Chewie on the line to direct us back to the waste management sector. We'll need to move quickly."
Soni nodded and watched Wyb enter the lab.
"Kelzen?" Wyb called out. The child slowly tilted his head toward him with empty eyes. Wyb felt his pain. Who knows what sort of experiments he had undergone. "I'm Wyb Tersu. I'm here to help you."
The rodian turned away. Wyb walked over and unfastened the restraints and helped the child sit up. Kelzen looked down at his feet.
"Wyb hurry up," Soni called over.
"You're one of Jin's kids aren't you?" Wyb asked. Kelzen raised his head slowly. "Where's your sister?"
Kelzen lowered his head at the mention of his sister. Wyb knew she was either dead or somewhere else among the Imperial hideouts. Wyb unfastened the straps and helped the young rodian sit up.
"Look, I can't imagine what you've been through," Wyb repeated the words Lenore had first spoken to him the day she pulled him from the slaver's freighter. "But you've got a choice to make. Stay here and we both die, or come with me and get a second shot."
"We?" Kelzen spoke puzzled.
"Your choice. " He said. The rodian took a deep breath and then reached out to take Wyb's hand.
"LOOK OUT!" The child yelled.
Vwumm!
Wyb dodged to his right, catching the red glowing light of a lightsaber striking the exam table. He rolled underneath the table as the child jumped off the table taking cover alongside him. Wyb wrapped his arms around the child and waited for the wielder to strike once more, giving them ample time for him to kick them toward the door of the laboratory and lock the doors.
"Wyb!" Soni screamed seeing the flash of the saber as he and the child narrowly escaped. Wyb released Kelzen who ran to the oldest youngling of the group and embraced her. "Who was that?"
"The enforcer," the eldest said as she comforted Kelzen. "Devoted to the pursuit of the darkside. Determined to awaken his abilities…even though he has none. But nevertheless he is trained and dangerous."
"We need to move," Wyb said.
Ksssshhhhhhh!
The conversation was silenced by the high-pitched hiss of the enforcer's crimson blade slicing through the laboratory doors. Wyb's heart pounded as he glanced back at Soni and the children, their faces filled with fear.
"Now!" Wyb shouted, grabbing Soni's arm and pulling her towards the hallway. The younglings dashed ahead, guided by Soni's directions. Wyb turned with his blaster ready as he fired at the enforcer on sight.
Pzztt!
Wyb heard the low buzzing of the saber dragging alongside the walls and floor gaining on them. He turned and unloaded his blaster on the enforcer.
PEW PEW PEW!
The enforcer deflected each shot with ease, his blade moving with a precision that was both intimidating and graceful. With a sudden, powerful swing, he sent one of Wyb's blaster shots ricocheting back toward him. Wyb flinched as the blast grazed his arm, the pain momentarily staggering him.
"Ugh," Wyb clenched his teeth and activated his whistling birds. The tiny missiles darting towards the enforcer who activated his shield flared, repelling most of the attack but taking two minor hits. He grimaced as the missiles bounced off his shield, with his focus remaining unwavering.
"Go!" Wyb commanded, turning toward Soni and the children. "I'll hold him off!"
Even though the odds were stacked against him, he didn't care. He was a ranger, and he would do everything he could to get the children to safety.
The enforcer advanced with a menacing stride, his lightsaber humming ready to kill. Wyb braced himself, preparing for a strike he knew might be his end.
As the enforcer's blade descended, Wyb shut his eyes, memories of his friends and allies flashing before him. His thoughts landed on Sashee and her bravery, Jord and all his teachings, Lenore and her determination, but to his surprise the last thing he thought of was Soni and her smile. That he would miss the most.
To his shock, the anticipated pain didn't come. Instead, he opened his eyes to see the enforcer frozen in mid-swing, his blade suspended in the air, as he struggled to deliver his intended blow. Kelzen stood bravely with his hand extended with intense concentration. The other younglings gathered around, and joined with him to combine their efforts to channel the Force to hold the enforcer at bay.
Soni's eyes widened as she watched in awe. How long could they hold out?
"Tell him to move," the eldest said to Soni. "We aren't that strong because of the experiments. We can't hold much longer."
"Wyb move!" Soni called out.
"No, I have an idea, " Wyb looked down at his vambrace.
"It's made of cortosis. So in case you come across any lightsaber wielders you'll be able to disarm them for a moment."
He needed to act quickly. With a decisive move, he aimed his vambrace at the enforcer's lightsaber. It was risky. But he had to disarm this man, he could at least level the stakes and fight him hand to hand.
"I can't hold it any longer," Kelzen said and let go.
Wyb held his forearm directly under the lightsaber. As the enforcer's moment returned the saber stuck the vambrace immediately short circuiting.
Bzzt!
The enforcer staggered back studying the saber flickering. Wyb seized the moment of distraction, and lunged at him landing a powerful kick to the enforcer's midsection. The enforcer grunted in pain but retaliated by grabbing Wyb and pressing down on his injured arm.
"Ah!" Wyb cried out, his pain amplified by the enforcer's grip.
"Thief," the enforcer spoke in a deep voice. "These children are the Empire's property. They are the key to restoring order. We will build an army of Force users and learn the secrets of the Jedi."
"Roar!" Chewbacca's battle cry filled the room, his blaster fire forcing the enforcer to release Wyb.
Wyb collapsed to the floor, his arm throbbing with agony. As the enforcer turned towards him with a menacing glare, an orange streak of light cut through the air.
Zzpt!
"You are no jedi," Sashee appeared, her saber glowing brightly. Without hesitation, she thrust the saber through the enforcer's midsection. The enforcer fell to the ground in two.
"Hello, little brother," Sashee said with a faint smile as she deactivated her saber.
"Sashee!" Wyb scrambled to his feet and embraced her, relief and gratitude to see her.
"Quickly this way," a blue haired man in his early thirties wearing a battle-worn stormtrooper outfit motioned toward their exit route. Wyb paused and looked at Sashee for confirmation.
"He's with me," Soni assured him.
"So you're Soni's brother," the man greeted as Chewie and Soni loaded the children aboard the transport with Civa and Besa helping them aboard.
"And you are?" Wyb asked as Chewie and Soni boarded next.
"Ezra. Ezra Bridger," he said and smiled at Sashee. "But I'm afraid we'll have to keep this brief."
"Yo Wyb!" Civa called out. "You coming?"
"What about the blue haired guy? If he's coming, not sure if we're gonna make weight to jump," Besa said.
"I'm not. I have an old friend I need to see," Ezra explained. "Just glad I could stop and help Sashee."
"See you soon Master," Sashee said and boarded the transport with Wyb. The younglings crowded into the passenger quarters and held hands as Chewie took the ship into light speed.