Chapter 141: Rebels of Lothal Part 1: A Group of Rebels
About a week went by after the group got back from the Crystal Empire and everything has been quiet for a change, which was basically regular Pinkie Pie version of quiet with her throwing a celebratory party for Twilight having passed the princess's test. As for the princess herself, she was still recovering from loosing one of the ponies she really loved, continuing to wear the ring Spyro gave her that Sombra wanted him to give to her, as a reminder to the mare he loved about the good times they had together before darkness infected him and separated them forever. Twilight however was happy, having passed her mentors test and was catching up on some of her studies as she was a bit behind after having to look for Spyro's heart, pleased to have some downtime to do so, getting letters from her brother and sister-in-law about the Crystal Empire and how everything was coming along, but Spyro however, he wasn't relaxed or happy, but instead was upset and depressed.
In Sweet Apple Acres, in the garage itself, Spyro was in an empty space, meditating as he tried to look into the Force to see what was going on across Equestria, allowing himself to drift and let the Force guide him and to calm himself down. Even though a week had passed since the Crystal Empire and he gave the ring to Princess Celestia, he still couldn't get the fact that he failed to save Sombra out of his head and how upset the princess was, her feelings telling him that she was deeply hurt and upset. As he was meditating, something was walking up behind him, slowly approaching from behind, but Spyro felt something was coming up behind him, feeling darkness coming from it, so he got his saber ready right as a red blade ignited, igniting his own lightsaber as blocking the attack, spinning around and fighting off the intruder, both exchanging attacks until Spyro managed to get the upper hand, slicing off the intruders horn before spinning and plunging the blade into their chest, dropping them instantly when he heard something charging up, igniting the other half of his blade spinning it around as blaster bolts came from the darkness, Spyro spinning the blade around to deflect the bolts into random directions before returning them to the senders, dropping them as they fell to the ground.
This kept on going as he deflected the blaster bolts and sending them back to the senders, taking out any and all enemies that broke into his garage, dropping the last of the enemy soldiers, who looked like they were wearing Stormtrooper armor, wiping the sweat off his head as he deactivated the saber.
"Simulation complete." AIVA announced, the room lighting up and the fallen warriors disappearing in a cloud of data particles, cleaning the room up. "Congratulations sir, you managed to complete the simulation two seconds faster than normal."
"Reset the simulation." Spyro announced, sitting back down. "Level seven this time."
"Sir, you have been at these simulations for over a week now, you have barely rested and hardly eaten." AIVA said. "You can't keep this up forever."
"Reset simulation." Spyro repeated, ready to go again.
"Ah think ya'll should listen to her." Applejack said, walking in. "AIVA's right ya know. Ya'll been at this for over a week. Ya need to take a break."
"I don't need a break." Spyro said, the simulation restarting and allowing him to go through it again, deflecting blaster bolts. "I need to stay focused and practice."
As he was deflecting the bolts back to the senders, an AT-ST came around, aiming it's cannons at him, but Spyro was ready, running towards the massive war machine as it fired it's cannons at Spyro, which he flipped and rolled out of the way, moving underneath the war machine, jumping up and slicing the walkers leg off, causing it to fall and crash into the ground, exploding as it hit the ground, which Spyro wasn't phased, turning to Applejack as she looked worried, walking up to Spyro as he walked to her.
"Spyro, Ah know ya feel responsible for failing to save Sombra, but there was nothin' ya could've done to save him." Applejack said. "Fighting it out every time won't help."
"It helps to get some of the frustrations out." Spyro said.
"Ever heard of a punchin' bag?" Applejack asked.
"Destroyed my last one actually." Spyro replied. "Took it out in one hit."
"Not surprised." Applejack said. "A bag filled with sand doesn't stand a chance against yer strength."
"Actually it was filled with scrap iron." Spyro replied, surprising Applejack. "Had some extra metal that I wasn't using and didn't want to waste the Beskar, so I used what I could scrounge in the garage. That metal was going to the smelter anyway."
Spyro was getting ready to restart the simulation again, but Applejack took his hoof in hers, making him look at her as she seemed concerned.
"Spyro, please stop." Applejack pled. "Ah know ya want to help everyone ya can, but Sombra was surrounded by darkness for a thousand years, consumed by it. If there was still some light left in him, ya helped him to be set free from the pain. Ya'll saved him, just not in the way ya wanted to." She then hugged him, trying to make him feel better. "Yer still one of the most heroic ponies Ah know. Ya'll don't need to be perfect all the time, ya just need to be the best you ya'll can be. Because in the end, that's all you can do is be your best."
Spyro looked at Applejack, not knowing what to say, but he just smiled, hugging her back as he felt a lot better, knowing she was right and decided to give the training a break. However, before he could say anything, AIVA reappeared, surprising them both as she floated in front of them.
"Sir, you have an incoming transmission from Fulcrum." AIVA said. "Would you like to take the transmission in the main hanger?"
"No AIVA, I'll take it here." Spyro replied. A second later, Fulcrums Symbol appeared in front of them. "Fulcrum, good to hear from you again. What can I do for you?"
"Spyro, I have everything you need old friend." Fulcrum said. "Three crates full actually, though it wasn't easy getting them."
"I bet it wasn't Snips." Spyro said, Applejack raising an eyebrow at the nickname. "Where can I pick them up?"
"I'll transmit the coordinates to you now." Fulcrum replied. "But... I have one request to make of you."
"What is it?" Spyro asked.
"There are some Wookiee's that the Empire is transporting for slave labor." Fulcrum responded. "I need you to locate them and get them back to Kashyyyk."
"Hmm, that won't be easy, but I'll see what I can do." Spyro said. The communication ended and the symbol disappeared, leaving Spyro and Applejack alone, which when he turned around, he saw Applejack was smiling mischievously, leaning on her own legs to support herself. "What?"
"Snips?" Applejack asked. "Another girlfriend you want to talk about?"
"She's not my girlfriend." Spyro replied. "Last time I saw her, she was seventeen."
"So, who is this 'Snips' then?" Applejack asked.
"Her name is Ahsoka Tano." Spyro replied. "She was Anakin Skywalker's padawan, his apprentice. I only ever saw her once and that was to help her with defeating Maul on Mandalor when he was in charge. Right before Order 66."
"And what are these crates she's talkin' about?" Applejack asked. "And what the heck are Wookiee's?"
"Wookiee's are a humanoid species found only on the forest world of Kashyyyk." Spyro replied. "These guys are massive. Makes me look like a dwarf."
"A dwarf?" Applejack asked.
"Well I had something else in mind for that, but the other word is highly offensive to people of diminutive stature." Spyro replied, walking out of the room with the farm mare. "And if you saw a Wookiee, you better be on their good side. They're strong enough to rip your arms out of their sockets."
"Seriously!?" Applejack asked, imagining what that would look like and regretting it, shivering. "So, where ya headed to?"
Spyro lifted his bracers up, sliding them down to see where he was heading to, finding the world to be a massive prairie with many stone cliffs and a few cities, a name popping up as he looked.
"Looks like I'm heading to Lothal." Spyro replied. "It's an Agricultural world and also an Industrial world. Perfect for anyone wanting to mine it."
"Well, when we leaving?" Applejack asked.
"Sorry AJ, this is personal." Spyro replied. "I need to do this alone."
"Like heck yer goin' alone." Applejack said, walking to the Dragon's Crest as they got to the main hangar. "Ah'm comin' with ya Sugarcube! Besides, Ah'd like to keep an eye on ya so you don't end up getting yer heart shattered again."
"What's going on?" Rosy asked, she, Midnight, and Twilight walking up to them.
"I was heading off world to get some parts." Spyro replied. "AJ here wants to go with me."
"Well, can we come along?" Rosy asked. "It's boring with nothing to do."
"Wouldn't be so boring if you sparred with me from time to time." Midnight said. "Besides, working in a library has got to be one of the most boring jobs ever."
"Hey, it's not boring!" Twilight said. "You get to read the books, reorganize the shelves, study, trying out new spells-!"
"Hence the boring part." Midnight said. "Where Rosy goes, I'm going too."
"Well I for one would also like to go." Twilight said. "It'll be exciting to visit another world! Hopefully we don't get into any trouble."
"When you're with our dad, you better expect trouble." Rosy said, she and Midnight laughing. "So, where we heading to?"
"We're heading to Lothal." Spyro replied. "It's got a light imperial presence, but let's try not to draw attention to ourselves. Last thing we need is the Empire on our tails."
"Oh come on dad, where's the fun in that?" Midnight asked.
Everyone then boarded the Dragon's Crest and headed for he cockpit, taking a seat at whatever empty seat they could find while Spyro took his seat in the pilot's area, taking off and flying out of the hangar. Once they reached above the worlds atmosphere, Spyro put in the coordinates for Lothal and the ship immediately jumped into Warp Space, going through the passage of lights and color as they made their way to their destination.
"Alright girls, it'll take a little while to get to Lothal." Spyro said, turning to them. "Lothal is a remote world in the Outer Rim with a diverse population. Unfortunately though, it has caught the Empire's eye because it is ripe with ores and minerals that the Empire pans on using for their war machines. All we're doing is finding the crates of parts, locate some Wookiee's and get them home before the Empire notices."
"Knowing you dad, nothing goes according to plan." Rosy said, making Midnight snicker. "So, how will we know if we have the right crates?"
"Fulcrum sent me the coordinates and the markings that will be on them." Spyro replied. "We'll head towards it and then start looking for the Wookiee's."
A second later, the alarm went off, letting them know they were approaching Lothal, the ship coming out of warp space and flying towards the planet, everyone getting a view of the world.
"Wow, amazin'." Applejack said. "And ya said this is an Agricultural world?"
"It is." Spyro replied. "Or, it was actually. A serious drought hit this world, so they reached out to the Empire for help, only to have an Imperial occupation and everyone starting to loose their farms."
"Why would they loose their farms?" Twilight asked.
"For the minerals and ores, that's why." Midnight replied. "Dad did say that this world is filled with those things for the Empire to make their machines."
"And the Empire would either buy them or force the farmers off their land to start mining them." Spyro replied.
"That's just evil!" Applejack said. "Takin' away someponies livelihood, this Empire, or rather their emperor, sounds like a real jackal to me!"
"He's worse than that AJ." Spyro replied. "Believe me, I know. We're about to land. Once we land, stay close to me, otherwise the Empire'll lock you up."
"Wait what!?" Twilight asked. "What for!?"
"For being an animal without a tag." Spyro replied. "They'll take you for being pets and put you in a cage."
"I'd like to see them try." Midnight said, looking ticked off. "No pony locks me in a cage without getting the snot knocked out of them."
"I like the enthusiasm Midnights, but let's try not to start something I'll need to bail you out of, alright?" Spyro asked. "Don't want to draw attention to ourselves this time."
Spyro took the controls of the ship and entered a set of numbers and letters into the computer, piloting the ship towards the local space port where many more ships were coming and going, finding an empty port and landing inside of the empty landing bay. As they landed, the docking bay opened up and allowed the group to walk out and into the streets, looking around to see the building and a few of the buildings, making Applejack whistle.
"Ya know, this place looks a heck of a lot better than that desert world." Applejack said.
"Yeah, Tatooine isn't exactly a tropical resort." Spyro replied, activating his bracers to see a red blip. "Looks like the crates are near the market district. Hopefully no one else took them to make some credits off of them."
They then made their way towards the market district, the ponies half expecting to be drawing eyes walking out in the open, but everyone they walked by just ignored them, acting like seeing a bunch of colorful ponies was normal, which was a relief to them as they can walk in public without being starred at by a bunch of strangers. However, while they were walking towards the market, they walked by a few Storm Troopers who did give them a look, looking to the ponies and wondering what they were and making them feel uncomfortable. A few minutes later, they arrived at the market area of the city where there were a lot of vendors with farmers and people selling their goods to anyone who stopped to have a look, many different vendors of different species selling food, clothing, anything they had to whoever they could to make some money.
"Wow, Rarity would have a hay day with some of the clothing vendors." Applejack said.
"This place is amazing." Twilight said. "I wonder how big their library is!"
"Focus Twilight." Spyro said, looking at the bracer. "We're here for the crates, not to sight see."
"Speaking of, where are the crates?" Midnight asked. "Are they close?"
"Very close." Spyro said, locking in their position. "They're-"
"You there, citizen!" An imperial officer said. Spyro immediately froze, thinking he was talking to him when he saw the officer along with a sergeant and a few stormtroopers harassing a goat like humanoid who had a basket of Jogan fruits. "Your identification, now."
"I-I'm just trying to sell a couple of Jogan's." The goat man replied.
"All trade must be registered with the Empire." The other officer said.
"I remember what it was like before your ships showed up." The goat man replied. "Before you imperials ruined Lothal like the rest of the galaxy."
Spyro could sense the fear coming from the citizens, already knowing what was going to happen before it did.
"This is LRC-01, I'm bringing in a citizen under a charge of treason!" The officer said, speaking into his com link.
"He can't do that!" Applejack exclaimed, Spyro covering her mouth.
"Who said that!?" The first officer asked, scanning the crowd. "And who's gonna stop us, huh?"
"Oh, Ah'm gonna-" Applejack said, Spyro stopping her.
"AJ, shush!" Spyro said.
"Excuse me mister." A boys voice said. Everyone looked to him and saw he was wearing an orange suit with brown shoulder pads and boots, dark hair and blue eyes, wearing a backpack. "Spare a Jogan?"
"Move along Loth rat!" The first officer said.
"Sorry, sorry sir, didn't mean to cause any trouble." The boy said.
Spyro was disgusted with the imperials, getting ready to do something and disregard his own advice when he notice the kid snatch the comm link, smiling as he knew what the boy was up to.
"Why those yellow-bellied, gutless varments!" Applejack said. "Now even giving a kid some food!? Oh, that's it! I'm gonna-"
"All officers to the main square!" A voice said, coming over the comm link. "This is a code red emergency!"
"It's your lucky day, Lothal scum." The second officer said, looking to the two guards holding him. "You two, come with us!"
The two troopers threw the man to the ground, which the first officer threw the basket down on top of him, scattering the fruit everywhere, walking away. When they were gone, Spyro, Applejack, and Twilight rushed up, helping him up and helping to put the fruit back in the basket.
"You ok?" Spyro asked.
"Yeah, I'll be alright." The goat man replied. "Lucky that emergency came in, otherwise I'd rot in a cell."
"I don't think that was luck." Spyro said, looking over to the kid as he walked over with the comm in his hand. "Nice thinking there kid. Got a name?"
"Ezra." The boy replied. "Ezra Bridger."
"The name's Spyro." Spyro replied. "These are my friends, Applejack, Twilight Sparkle, Rosy Hearts, and Midnight Sky."
"Well, it's nice to meet you." Ezra said, scooping up a few Jogans. "Well, catch you around some time."
Ezra then ran in the direction of the imperials, jumping up the side of a building and then using some random items to help him climb, but as he climbed, Rosy felt something through the Force, Ezra feeling it as well as he looked back at her, her clouded eyes meeting Ezra's as he turned and snuck away, Spyro and Applejack finishing helping the farmer to load his fruit and be on his way.
"That fella had guts doin' that." Applejack said. "At least somepony's got the horse sense to help another in need."
"It's how the Empire works AJ." Spyro replied. "The Galactic Empire rules this galaxy through fear, making the people more submissive and easier to handle."
"These people need to stand up for themselves like that guy did." Midnight said. "Maybe then people would have the guts to fight back instead of being sheep all the time."
"No good comes from death Midnight." Spyro replied. "Now, let's find those crates." He then reactivated his bracer to see where the crates were, only to groan in despair as he saw where they were at. "Terrific."
"What's wrong dad?" Rosy asked.
"The crates are in the Main Square, where Ezra sent the Imperials." Spyro replied.
"You're kidding me, right?" Midnight asked.
"Trust me, I make better jokes in my sleep than that." Spyro replied. "Well, looks like we're about to get some unwanted attention. Come on."
They group then went in the direction of where the Imperials went, making sure not to be noticed by the troopers when they reached a building, looking around the corner to see six troopers, three speeder bikes with drivers, and three officers, making Spyro sneer.
"Well, what are we dealing with?" Midnight asked.
"Six troopers, three speeder bikes with drivers, and three officers." Spyro replied.
"Twelve in total huh?" Midnight asked. "This'll be easy."
"They have the crates." Spyro said, watching them load the three crates onto a single bike. "Alright, we'll need to-"
Spyro then stopped, feeling a strong disturbance in the Force and looking up, wondering what was up above them before looking to his right, watching a man in a green shirt with a shoulder guard and blue pants, carrying a blaster on the right side of his hip walk towards them, patting his leg and signaling for a purple hairy alien wearing all green with a bow rifle on his back, walking out of a door way and into the middle of the alley way before moving to a mandalorian with colorful armor, doing the same signal and she responded, confusing him.
"What's going on Spyro?" Twilight asked.
"I think we're about to make some new friends." Spyro responded. He watched as the Mandalorian girl walk around, tossing an explosive onto one of the bikes he failed to notice when he first looked, understanding what's going to happen. "Get ready to get the bike with the crates. And, cover your ears as well. It's about to get loud."
As he said that, the bike blew up, causing chaos within the block as people ran for cover while the troopers were on high alert.
"Get those crates out of here!" One of the officers shouted. "Protect them at all costs!"
"Alright, get ready." Spyro said.
As he said it, the three bikes with all the supplies came around the corner and Spyro stuck his arm out, clothes lining the trooper that had their crates while the other two rode to the exit, only for their path to be blocked by another speeder with the man who signaled his friends at the wheel.
"How's it going?" He asked.
He took out his blaster and blasted the first trooper nearby, taking cover as the other driver got his blaster out while the stormtroopers came rounding the corner, and seeing Spyro smiling at them.
"Hey!" The trooper said.
However, he then got uppercutted and knocked to the ground, the other two firing their blasters at him, but Spyro just dodged them, knocking a blaster out of a troopers hands before punching him, destroying the helmet before using the same blaster and smoking the third trooper, dropping him to the ground. However, there were a few more that got by him, firing their blasters at the guy who stopped the speeders before the big purple guy came out of hiding, running towards them as he picked the driver up and tossed him into another trooper, knocking them out cold before going after the other two, which they aimed their weapons at him, but a couple of ice spikes came out of nowhere, nailing them in the chest and dropping them both. The big guy looked over to where the spikes came from, finding Spyro with three more levitating in his hand before they turned to water, dropping them as he approach them.
"You two ok?"
"Yeah, we're alright." The big guy replied. "Thanks for the save."
"Hey, any enemy of the Empire is a friend of mine." Spyro said.
"Heh, I like this guy already." The big guy said.
"Spyro, the bike!" Twilight shouted.
He turned to see that Ezra had already gotten the bike, backing it up and smiling at them.
"Thanks for doing the heavy lifting!" Ezra said, driving the bike away.
"Are you kidding me kid!?" Spyro shouted. "Those are my crates!"
"What now!?" The purple guy asked.
"After that kid!" The leader said. He and the purple guy got on the other bikes, driving them backwards and stopping next to Spyro. "Need a lift?"
"I don't but they do." Spyro replied, motioning to his friends. "Thing you have enough room for a couple of ponies each"
"I believe so!" The man said.
"Girls, go with them!" Spyro said.
"What about you?" Twilight asked.
"Don't worry about me, I don't need a speeder." Spyro replied.
He then slide the cover off the bracer and deactivated them, feeling lighter than ever, he then sped off after Ezra, running past a couple more stormtroopers and clotheslining both of them as he ran right as the two new friends backed the bikes up, Rosy and Applejack on the purple guys bike with Twilight and Midnight were on the humans bike, riding after Ezra as he sped around a corner. On a nearby building, the mandalorian saw Ezra riding one of the bikes, leaping down and landing on the second crate, getting the kids attention.
"Pretty gutsy move there kid." The Mandalorian said, taking a blaster out and pointing it as Ezra, surprising him. "If the big guy catches you, he'll end you." She then pointed the blaster down at the tether, shooting it off and freeing the crates from the bike, separating them. "Good luck kid!"
When the crates stopped, she immediately took them both down an alleyway, taking them someplace away from all the action right as Spyro and his friends sped by her, going after Ezra. A moment later, a squad of troopers was waiting for them, taking a firing position and aiming their weapons at Ezra, which the young boy was speeding towards them, but the man and Spyro rounded the corner, noticing he wasn't slowing down, so Kansan took out a blaster and fired at the troopers, knocking two of them down while Spyro just sped up, grabbing both and slamming them into the wall of a nearby building, embedding them in the wall as Ezra drove by, seeing Spyro embed the troopers in the wall.
"Who are these guys?" Ezra asked himself, diving past.
However, when he looked back in front of him, he was approaching a heavily populated location, going over and avoiding them as did the man and the purple guy, Spyro just turning without issue as he ran after the kid.
"Who is this kid?" The man asked.
"A darn thief, that's who!" Applejack exclaimed. "Those are our crates the kid stole!"
"Don't worry, we'll get him!" The man said.
They then got outside of the city, Ezra ahead of them while the group of friends were speeding after them, but this time a couple of Imperial speeder pilots spotted them and drove right after them, using the bikes weapons to attack them, bolts flying by the group as man took his blaster out again and fired back, the speeders each avoiding being hit while chasing the group, one bolt hitting Ezra's bike and sending him flying into the air, which the kid managed to land on the other side of the road and avoid being hit by incoming traffic, speeding away. With the others, the imperial pilots were continuing to fire at them, the man returning fire, but the pilots just dodged his bolts, continuing to fire at them when one bolt his Midnight in the shoulder, making her scream in pain.
"Midnight!" Spyro exclaimed.
The big guy took out his bow rifle and it extending into a rod with electricity arching on it, slowing down and hitting one of the bikes, making it crash and explode while the other bike caught up with the man, Twilight and Midnight, the dark purple pony holding her shoulder that was hit.
"Ok, you caught me, I give up." The man said, confusing the imperial pilot. "Just kidding."
He tossed an active detonator at the pilot right as the big guy drove past right as the detonator exploded and took the pilot out, moving up to the ground right as Spyro slowed down to be with them, seeing Midnight's injury.
"Midnight, you're hurt!" Spyro exclaimed.
"It's nothing." She replied. "Just a flesh wound."
"Zeb, take the crates and the pony!" The man said. "Get them to the ship and get that pony medical attention! We'll get the kid!"
"Copy that." Zeb said, though not sounding happy about it. The man then pressed a few buttons and the crates detached, Midnight, being careful not to fall off as she jumped from the bike to Zeb, who slowed down enough to catch her and the crates, coming to a full stop. "If Kanan get's that kid, I'll end him."
"Hey, ah wouldn't go that far." Applejack said. "Now let's get Midnight to a doctor. She's hurt bad."
"I said it's nothing." Midnight replied, wincing in pain.
"You put on a brave face kid, but that ain't no flesh wound." Zeb replied. "Come on, our ship isn't far. We got medical supplies to help fix her up."
Zeb then started the bike while APplejack reached over and got hold of Midnight, the bike speeding off in a random direction where their ship was at. Meanwhile, Spyro and Kanan were still going after Ezra, all three of them speeding down the road when Kanan and Spyro leapt over to the other side, Kanan causing sparks and nearly blinding hi8m when both men stopped, Ezra seeing them in the middle of the road and coming to a halt, breathing in relief before looking back at them.
"Who are you guys?" Ezra asked.
"I'm the guy who's stealing these crates." Kanan replied.
"Actually, it's my crate." Spyro replied, pulling up the markings on all three crates for them to see. "The Empire took them and lord knows what they would have done with the crates."
"Ok look, I stole this stuff, whatever it is, fair and square." Ezra said. "And that holo-screen doesn't mean ownership."
"You will return what is mine, now." Spyro said, waving his hand and using the Force, but Ezra wasn't affected.
"What are you, a Jedi?" Ezra asked, amused by the gesture.
"Hmm, intriguing." Spyro said.
"Well I got plans for these crates." Kanan said. "So today isn't your day."
"Wait, you hear that?" Spyro asked.
Everyone looked to the sky and seeing a tie fighter coming in, Ezra smiling when he saw it.
"Day's not over yet." Ezra said, driving the bike off the road.
Kanan and Spyro both got away from the bike as the fighter fired its blasters, both avoiding the explosion. When they got up after the bike was blown up, Ezra waved his hand and drove away, making them both smile as he left.
"Kids got guts, I'll give him that." Spyro said.
"Heh, yeah, he does." Kanan replied. "Need a lift? We can catch him in my ship?"
"I think that's a good idea." Spyro said.
Kanan then reached down and took out his comm link, activating it to get a signal.
"This is Specter One, gonna need a pick up for two." Kanan said.
"Copy that, already on my way." A woman said, the transmission ending.
"So, who are you guys?" Spyro asked. "You're definitely not pirates."
"We aren't much of anything." Kanan replied. "Just a group of people trying to get by. What about you? What's your story?"
"Eh, just a guy trying to keep his herd safe." Spyro replied.
"Herd?" Kanan asked.
"Long story." Spyro replied.
A second later, a ship flew over head and opened the hatch, revealing it is a modified Corellian light freighter, Spyro and Kanan hoping on as the pilot flew after Ezra. While they waited, Spyro noticed Zeb and the Mandalorian trying to help Midnight by using a syringe filled with Bacta serum, which she was struggling sand fighting back, getting on their nerves.
"Hey, hold stop you big baby!" The Mandalorian said. "It's just one little prick and it'll be all over."
"Get that thing away from me!" Midnight shouted. "I hate needles! I hate them!"
"Seriously, we're trying to help you!" Zeb said, trying to hold her down.
"Here, give me the needle." Spyro said, kneeling down. He then took the needle and leaning in, Midnight attempting to get away, but he kept the needle away from her, making her look at him. "Midnight, this needle is filled with Basra Serum, it'll heal you."
"No way, I hate needles." Midnight replied. "I... I always hated them. Even when I was a kid."
"I get it, they're scary." Spyro said. "But that wound is only going to get worse if we don't treat it. Please, at least let me help you."
Midnight looked at Spyro and then to the needle, feeling her spine crawl, but saw how sincere he was, deciding to trust him and held out her foreleg, Spyro taking it and plunging the needle into her foreleg, making her wince as he injected the Bacta Serum into her, taking the syringe out and letting the Mandalorian help to bandage the wound up, putting a Bacta patch on the wound to go with the bandages.
"Wow, you got a way with words." The Mandalorian said. "Got a name?"
Before he could answer, he heard a turret fire, looking out to see the doors opening and Ezra standing in the middle of the prairie with the crate nearby.
"Want a ride?" Kanan asked him, which Ezra didn't seem to trust him, but then saw the TIE Fighters and made his decision, running to the crate and activating the anti-gravity on it. "Leave the crate, you'll never make it!"
Spyro looked out, rushing to see if he could help when he saw Ezra jump up and land the crate on the loading ramp, impressing them both as he got up. Kanan and Spyro then rushed to bring the crate in as the ramp closed, the ship climbing into the sky to gain altitude as Spyro brought the crate over with the rest of his crates as Zeb opened one of them, revealing they were blasters.
"Wow, those are E-11's." Spyro said. "Sun-machine gun class blasters."
"You have any idea how much these are worth on the black market!?" Ezra said, picking one up.
"Don't get any idea's there kid." Zeb replied.
"Well, they're mine." Ezra said, Zeb snatching the blaster.
"If you hadn't;t gotten in our way, she wouldn't have gotten hurt!" Zeb said, pointing to Midnight.
"Wow, is she ok?" Ezra asked.
"She'll be fine." Applejack replied. "She's tougher than a bull in a rodeo."
"Wow, you talk!?" Ezra asked.
"Of course we talk kid." Midnight replied. "And let me tell you, when I'm vertical again, I'll-!"
"Midnight, calm down." Rosy said. "First, let's focus on getting out of this situation, then we'll kill the kid."
"What!?" Ezra asked.
"She's joking." Spyro replied.
"Keep an eyes on our new friend here." Kanan said. "Spyro, I want you to meet someone. Come with me."
Spyro followed Kanan up a ladder and into the cockpit, where a Twi'lek was piloting the ship with an old Astro Mech next to her, turning to look at them and approach.
"You said this was a routine op, what happened?" The pilot asked, looking at Kanan and Spyro, not recognizing him. "And who's he?"
"His name is Spyro." Kanan replied. "Hates the Empire as much as we do."
"Well, any enemy of the Empire is a friend of mine." The pilot said. "I'm Hera. And this is Chopper." The Astro mech made a few beeping noises, talking to them. "Now what happened down there?"
"Trust me, it's been a difficult morning." Kanan replied.
"Well it's about to get harder." Hera replied. "We got four Tie Fighters on us and they're not exactly happy to see us. And spill it, what happened down there?"
"He happened, that's what." Kanan said, indicating to the monitors behind them to show Ezra.
"A kid tripped you up?" Hera asked. "Must be some kid."
"He is." Spyro replied. "He jumped over fifteen feet to get on board. A near impossible feat to do, without some kind of advantage."
"Spill it, who is he?" Hera asked.
"Aren't you a little busy right now?" Kanan asked, trying to change the subject.
"Spill." Hera replied.
However, as they were busy going back and forth to get details about the kid, a fighter hit them, the shields taking most of the impact, but it was enough of a throw everyone around, knocking them to the ground with Zeb landing on top of Ezra while Midnight fell down after trying to get up, landing on her wound and making her hiss in agony as everyone fell down.
"Get off me!" Ezra exclaimed. "Can't... breathe!"
"I'm not that heavy in this gravity." Zeb said, getting up.
"Not the weight." Ezra replied, sitting up. "The smell."
This got on Zeb's nerves, making his eye twitch as he growled.
"Oh, don't like the air quality do ya?" Zeb asked, picking Ezra up by his leg. "I'll give you your own room then!"
"Hey, let go!" Ezra said, being tossed into a nearby room with Zeb locking the door on him.
"There, that'll hold him for a while. Zeb said.
"Midnight, ya'll ok?" Applejack asked.
"Yeah, don't worry about me." Midnight replied, revealing her bandage was red and soaked with blood.
"Oh, might need to change that." The Mandalorian said. "Here's I'll do it. And don't worry, no needles this time."
In the cockpit, Hera was piloting the ship, avoiding the fighters while Kanan explained everything about the kid and how he held onto the crate after knocking it from them.
"Wow, that's one impressive kid." Hera said.
"You're not thinking what i think you're thinking, right?" Kanan asked.
"He held onto a crate of blasters with a bunch of Stormtroopers on him." Hera pointed out.
"Ok, technically, the crate didn't have blasters in them." Kanan replied. "They had, what was in that crate anyway?"
"The less you know the better." Spyro replied. "Besides, the kid's kinda got my attention. No one can make a fifteen foot jump like that and make it in one attempt. He's..." Spyro then looked to the monitor, noticing no one was on the monitor, only seeing Applejack helping Midnight up. "Uh, where's Ezra?"
"Ezra, that's his name?" Hera asked, Kanan getting on the inter comm.
"Zeb, Sabine, where's the kid?" Kanan asked.
"Calm down chief." Zeb replied. "He's in-"
He then opened the door where Ezra was locked in, revealing he wasn't there anymore, making him groan as they looked up to the vent, realizing he escaped.
"Huh, creative little guy, isn't he?" Applejack asked.
"Zeb, where is he?" Kanan asked.
"Well, he's still in the ship." Zeb replied.
Ezra then moved through the vent, going over the lounge area and making noise, making everyone look up and realize he's in the vents.
"Oh, he's in the ship alright!" Sabine replied. "Kid's in the air vents!"
"Oh there are a lot of Among Us jokes I could make with that sentence." Spyro said, cracking a smile.
"Very creative." Hera said. "Kinda sounds like someone I use to know."
This seemed to annoy Kanan, making him leave the cockpit and head into the hall to get onto the turret, leaving Spyro alone with Hera and Chopper.
"I can see you two have a bit of a relationship going on here." Spyro said, smiling. "So, which base is he on?"
"What do you mean by 'base'?" Hera asked, making Spyro face smack himself. A moment later, they both heard something come out of the vents, looking down to see Ezra on the seat to the nose gun of the ship. "Emergency meeting! Orange vented!" Spyro got a button out and pressed it, making a sound like in the Among us, realizing what he did and getting a Roku remote out, pausing everything to look at the readers. "Yeah, that was one of the lamest joke I've ever done. Definitely need some new material."
He then pressed the play button and resumed everything, watching as the Tie's got in front to attack, moving to them as Ezra looked out the window to see Space, activated by it.
"Wow, I'm... in space!" Ezra said, the Tie's firing their cannons and hitting the shield. "And I'm gonna die!"
"Calm down there ya big baby." Spyro said, getting up. "We're not going to die. "How're the shields doing?"
"They're holding for now." Hera replied. "But I need some time to calculate the jump to light speed."
"Buying time now." Kanan replied, firing the turret at the Tie's to blow one up.
"I'll help." Spyro said. He closed his eyes and put his hands together like Doctor Strange, concentrating as he used his energy to conjure up something special. A second later, some thin clouds appeared with bolts of electricity arching inside of the clouds, one bolt shooting out and destroying a Tie, making the rest back off. "There, that should help buy some time."
"What did you just do?" Hera asked.
"An Ion Storm Shield." Spyro replied. "A little spell I whipped up. It's powerful against vehicles and aircraft. Though not much on the defense, it's perfect for offense."
"Huh, interesting." Hera said, getting on the comm. "Hey Kanan, I think we should add Spyro to the crew. I'm starting to like this guy."
"I might second that." Kanan said, looking down. "This shield got the Tie's to back off."
"But not for long." Spyro said, the Tie's reengaging. "Please tell me you got the coordinates to jump to Hyper space?"
"My name's Ezra, what's yours?" Ezra asked, Spyro and Hera looking down to see the kid try to flirt with Sabine.
"Now's not the time to post office Romeo!" Spyro exclaimed, Zeb grabbing him.
"Calculations are complete." Hera said. "Jumping to Hyper Space now!"
Hera pushed a lever up and the engines started to charge up, everyone in the cockpit looking to the window and watching as the stars moved towards them before they took off, going into a swirling blue light, getting away from the Tie's. Back in the city on Lothal, a small investigative group was in the location where the explosion happened, a pod walker patrolling around while going over what had happened, an ISB agents was standing on a roof top with one of the officers, over looking everything.
"They knew our protocols." The officer said. "They were waiting for us in ambush."
"I have no doubt about that." The ISB agent said. "You're not the first on Lothal to be hit by this group."
"That's a relief." The Officer said, straightening himself up. "I mean, that's why you're here, right Agent Kallus?"
The agent removed his helmet and turned to the officer, revealing he had blonde hair and blue eyes as he glared at the officer.
"The Imperial Security Bureau pays attention to patterns." Kallus replied. "When the Empire's operations are targeted on an on going basis, it could signify something more than a few stolen crates. It could signify the spark of rebellion." He then turned and looked down, continuing to look over the area when he noticed the medical personnel putting the deceased onto gurney's. "The next time they make a move, we'll be ready to snuff out that spark before it catches fire. Now, tell me, what was it that killed those troopers?"
"We have no idea what did this." The officer replied. "All we know is the group had help from person accompanied by a group of equines."
"Equines huh?" Kallus asked, turning to him. "This is the second time this man has appeared in this Galaxy. Did he have purple hair, a purple jacket, and was wearing black pants?"
"Yes, he was." The officer replied. "Who is he?"
"I don't know." Kallus replied, putting the helmet on. "He was last sighted back on Tatooine fighting some kind of creatures with a group of Mandalorians, causing a lot of damage. From what witnesses said, the Elements bend to his will. I suspect that's how he terminated these troopers."
"Then, how do we fight this new threat?" The officer asked.
"Don't you worry about him." Kallus replied, walking away. "Leave everything to me."
He then left the officer alone with the escort of Stormtroopers, looking back to the investigation zone as the the ISB agent left the area to gather whatever kind of information he could while also coming up with a plan to capture them and end the rebellion before it started.