Droids in Distress
Out in the middle of space, the Ghost was being chased by several TIE fighters and a Star Destroyer, the former firing shots at the ship.
Kanan was up in the dorsal turret, unable to fire back at the moment.
"I don't have a shot!" He informed Hera before he attempted some shots, which missed the TIEs.
Everyone else onboard sat in the cockpit, Ender sitting in the co-pilot seat with Serah sitting behind her, and Zeb sitting behind Hera in the pilot's seat, naturally.
"Chopper, do you have the coordinates?" She asked her astromech. He turned his head to her and beeped in response as he waved one of his mechanical arms.
"What did he say?" Zeb asked Hera.
"He said 'hello, hyperspace'!" Hera grinned as she flicked some switches and pulled a lever.
"That's not what he said." Zeb muttered.
"How would you know, you don't understand binary." Ender retorted.
The Ghost then entered hyperspace, leaving the Imperials behind, unable to follow them.
"Told you we'd get away." Kanan grinned as he entered the cockpit.
"With the shipment, Kanan. And guess what? We don't have the shipment." Serah pointed out, making Kana look at her slightly affronted.
"Kanan, we're low on everything." Hera reminded him, as the crew haven't had luck lately in terms of getting restocked in essentials.
"Which includes food." Ender said.
"And explosives." Serah said.
"And fuel. We need to make some money, or we might as well put the Ghost in storage." Hera then said, folding her arms, dreading the idea of putting her beloved ship in storage.
"There's always Vizago's job." Kanan reminded everyone after a moment of silence.
"So we're arms dealers again?" Zeb groaned, as they've done that kind of job once too often to Zeb's liking.
"Mm, more like arms redistributors." Kanan rephrased it to try and make it sound better than it was.
"Come on. We don't even know what kind of weapons we're talking about here." Zeb grumbled.
"Well, as long as it puts food on the table and frees up time for Jedi training, I'm willing to do this job." Ender said, because even though he's been with the crew for a while now, he and Kanan have yet started any lessons for him to be a Jedi.
Kanan playfully shoved Ender's head back as he walked and stood between him and Hera.
"You game?" He asked her.
"Say I am, what then?" Hera replied.
"I already know the mission. Let's head to the spaceport." Kanan replied back.
They arrived at the Capital City on Lothal, and most of them arrived at the spaceport, where they approached a shuttle that other passengers were heading for.
"Now boarding Star-Commuter Shuttle ST-45, bound for Garel." A male announcer said through speakers in the docking bay.
As everyone got onboard, Zeb and Serah sat next to each other in the seats behind the front seats on the right.
Just as Zeb sat down, Chopper zoomed in, beeping.
"How rude." Zeb frowned at the astromech.
When Ender approached the third row of seats on the left, he hit Chopper's head before he sat down.
"This way, Mr. Wabo." A woman with blonde hair, brown eyes, tanned skin and wearing formal clothes, including a hat said as she entered the shuttle with an Aqualish. The woman was Lothal's Imperial minister Maketh Tua.
Both Ender and Zeb shared a quick glance, as Tua and Wabo had significance for the job they're in the middle of at the moment.
"We have seats in the front." Tua said before she and Wabo sat in the seats in front of Zeb and Serah.
Wabo then spoke to Tua in his native Aqualish language, making her sigh in frustration, as she didn't understand the language.
"Where is that translator?" She said impatiently.
"Coming, minister." A gold protocol droid with a silver right leg named C-3PO said as he entered the shuttle, accompanied with a blue and white astromech named R2-D2. "Come along, R2."
The ramp was about to shut when Kanan came in at the last minute.
"Final call for Star-Commuter Shuttle ST-45, bound for Garel." The male announcer said, then again in an alien language.
Kanan walked past Zeb and Serah and past Ender, who was in the middle of a physical tassel with Chopper, sitting in the seat behind him.
"Sentients, please prepare for take off." The RX-24 droid pilot in front of the shuttle said to all the passengers.
R2 beeped as the pilot lifted the shuttle off the docking bay and up into the sky.
It soon reached outer space and entered hyperspace, heading right for Garel.
As Ender sat and chilled for the rest of the way, Chopper started nudging his arm with one of his mechanical arms like a child, which was getting on his nerves.
Up front, Wabo spoke to Tua.
"Amda Wabo is most honoured you are joining him on Garel, Minister Tua." 3PO translated him for Tua. "And, uh, if I might add a personal note -"
"Will you stop?" Ender's loud voice cut off 3PO, making everyone turn to see him stand up and try to shove Chopper away. "You already have plenty of room, so stop crowding me!"
This made Chopper beep at him angrily and electrocute Ender twice, making him jump and fall onto the floor.
"OW!" Ender groaned loudly.
"Kid, how 'bout you get that rust bucket under control?" Kanan told Ender in annoyance.
Being called a rust bucket made Chopper beep angrily at him and try to electrocute him, but Kanan reared back in time to avoid being struck, but he did glare at the astromech.
"Mind your own business!" Ender snapped at Kanan as he got on his seat, only to get electrocuted again by Chopper, making him groan in more pain.
"Hey, pilot!" Kanan then called out as he stood. "Isn't there some rule against droids in the passenger area?"
This had the pilot sigh.
"I am sorry, sir. Your astromech must proceed to the back of the craft." He then said before turning to face the front of the shuttle.
"Then if my astromech's banished, so should those two in the front!" Ender pointed out, making Serah grin.
"Astromech? Me?" 3PO scoffed in offence. "I have never been so insulted. I'll have you know that I am a protocol droid…" Tua facepalmed and shook her head in annoyance. "...fluent in over six million forms -"
"Pilot, these two droids are with me, and I am on Imperial business." Tua cut 3PO off, explaining to the pilot their significance.
"Sorry, ma'am, but these are Imperial regulations." The pilot replied, lowering its glass shield over its eyes.
"But, minister -"
"I can't risk an incident spoiling these negotiations." Tua cut 3PO off again in frustration, folding her arms. "Go!"
"Oh, this is so humiliating." 3PO groaned as he and R2 started making their way to the back with Chopper. "Trust an astromech to ruin everything." As they passed Zeb and Serah, they grinned to each other, while R2 beeped to 3PO just as they passed Ender and Kanan, the former grinning as they did so. "Secret mission? What secret mission?"
Wabo then said something to Tua, making her sigh.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Wabo. I-I don't understand you." She told him.
"Hello, excuse me." Zeb caught their attention. "I couldn't help noticing your predicament. If it's of any help…" He turned to Serah, making Tua turn to her, as well. "...my ward here is quite fluent."
"Oh, I'd never presume such a thing." Serah replied, trying to come across as humble and shy. "Even if it would be good practice for my level five exams at the Imperial Academy."
"You're a level five academy student?" Tua asked, surprised to hear this, even chuckling fondly. "I was too, once upon a time."
As Tua faced the front, Serah and Zeb glanced at each other and winked, knowing that the plan was going smoothly at this point.
At the back, with the other droids, 3PO heard the conversation that just happened.
"That young creature can't possibly take the place of a fully programmed protocol droid such as I." He scoffed as he talked to R2. "The odds of our mission becoming a complete debacle -"
R2 then slammed into 3PO's legs with angry beeping, telling him to shut up.
"Don't you shush me!" 3PO retorted. "It hardly matters to you what they're saying."
Chopper then slammed into R2, knocking him back, chirping at him to back off.
"Well, thank you." 3PO said to Chopper, even patting his head, before turning to R2. "There. You see, R2?" R2 beeped and shook his head. "Here is an astromech who understands etiquette." Chopper nodded and spun his head fully. "You could learn a lot from this old C1-10P."
This made R2 beep out a sigh and turn his head away.
"Now, please ask Mr. Wabo where the shipment is being held." Tua requested from Serah.
Serah nodded and spoke to Wabo in Aqualish, to which Wabo replied.
"He said bay seventeen." Serah told Tua.
"Sentients, we are approaching Garel." The pilot informed all the passengers. "Please prepare for landing."
The shuttle soon exited hyperspace and made its way to a planet that looked purple.
Upon entering the atmosphere, Ender looked out the window, in awe of the gorgeous purple sky and desert landscape with huge rock formations that surrounded a city that the shuttle was heading for.
The shuttle soon landed in a docking bay and when the ramp opened up, Ender was the first to exit, followed by Chopper, Kanan, 3PO, R2 and Wabo.
Tua exited before stopping and turning to Serah, who was behind her.
"My dear, you did great service to your Empire today. Now focus on those level fives." She told Serah before she turned and continued walking.
"Oh, I will, minister, it has been quite an honour." Serah said brightly as Zeb came up behind her and shoved her forward, making her glance at him with a grin.
All the other passengers then got off.
Ender and Chopper went towards some crates piled up nearby, Zeb and Serah followed them and Kanan ran past Tua, Wabo, 3PO and R2, who were walking up to a squadron of stormtroopers.
"Take us straight to bay seventeen." Tua told the commanding trooper.
"Yes, minister." He replied before gesturing to the other troopers to move, leading the group elsewhere.
"It's bay seven." Serah told Ender as she walked past him and put on her helmet.
With the needed info, Ender ran up to and climbed up various crates stacked up against a wall until he reached a vent, which he opened up and crawled through.
"So far, Kanan, all I've been doing is thieving and stealing, which I already know. You'd better train me to be a Jedi soon." He said through his communicator as he crawled and then climbed up as the vent now went up.
"Just get to bay seven, open the door, and we all get paid." Kanan replied.
Ender grumbled to himself as he continued climbing until he opened up a hatch, climbing up onto a rooftop, where he watched one of the shuttles lifting off into the sky.
After taking in the sight, Ender turned and ran to the other side of the rooftop, seeing he had to jump across a significant gap to the other rooftop.
Taking a deep breath and stepping back, Ender charged to the edge and jumped off, landing on a small and circular part of a roof, where he rolled, and jumped off that onto another part of the roof, then jumped off that onto another small circular roof, where he had to climb to the top, then he jumped onto a flat rooftop above bay seven.
Turning back for a moment, looking proud of himself, he walked up to the hatch for the vent and slid down with his hands and feet pressed against the vent.
Then he crawled to the hatch into the docking bay itself, finding it to be empty, except for crates right in the centre, before he jumped out of the vent, landing on the floor.
"I made it to bay seven." He informed everyone on the communicator.
Ender then walked up to a panel by the shutter, pressed some buttons, and the shutter then opened up, revealing Kanan, Zeb and Serah, Zeb clapping as they walked up to him.
"Well, kid, you pulled it off." He told the seventeen year old.
"That suggests you doubted me." Ender raised an eyebrow as he placed his hands on his hips.
"Well, I didn't." Serah admitted, which made Ender feel better.
Then Zeb and Serah walked past him, patting his shoulder before he followed them.
Meanwhile, Kanan ran his way to bay eight, which was opposite bay seven and opened the shutter.
"Almost there." Hera informed him through the comlink.
Kanan stepped forward and waved as the Ghost lowered itself down onto the docking bay.
"Do we know exactly what Vizago has us stealing yet?" Hera asked while Kanan ran back to bay seven.
As he joined back up with the others, Zeb opened one of the crates on a hover trolley, gasping in horror upon seeing the contents and stepped back, dropping the lid, confusing everyone.
"Karabast." He muttered as he physically shook, Kanan placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Whoa." Serah muttered as she pulled out a rifle from the crate. "T-7 ion disruptors. These things are supposed to be banned by the Senate. A whole ship can be short circuited with one of these things."
"That's not why they were banned." Zeb grimly told her, making Ender wonder if these things did something to his people.
Kanan grabbed the ion disruptor from Serah and put it back in the crate, which he closed up.
"Get 'em aboard before company comes." He told everyone.
They started loading the crates full of disruptors on hover trolleys and carried them towards the Ghost, while Chopper tried keeping Tua and company busy.
Serah pushed one trolley while Ender and Zeb pushed another behind her, heading for the Ghost, where Kanan was waiting for them on the ramp.
"Hurry!" He called out to them. "We're running out of -"
"Time's up!" Ender said with worry, looking to his left, where he and Zeb saw Tua, Wabo, 3PO, R2 and the stormtroopers arrive. "We're about to be busted."
"Hands up!" The commanding stormtrooper ordered as he and the rest lined up and aimed their blasters at Ender and Zeb.
Zeb raised his arms up with a grin and walked up to the stormtroopers.
"What the hell are you doing?" Ender questioned his sanity, something that Kanan and Serah, who were out of sight from the stormtroopers, also did as they watched him.
"There a problem here?" Zeb asked.
Wabo spoke in Aqualish, pointing at the crates.
"Amda Wabo says those crates contain his disruptors." 3PO translated for him.
"Uh, must be some mistake. Can't possibly be disruptors in there, 'cause they're illegal, right?" Zeb pointed out.
Kanan pulled his blaster out and signalled Serah to push her trolley to the Ghost before running to join Ender's side.
"That's irrelevant. We're going to search your crates." Tua brushed off the fact that the disruptors are illegal.
"Be my guest." Zeb said, gesturing to the crates, which Ender still stood next to.
"Forward!" The commanding stormtrooper ordered two others, who stepped forward and headed for the crates, moving past Zeb.
"On second thought -" He grinned before grabbing the two troopers and throwing them at the other stormtroopers, knocking them all, except the commanding trooper, down.
Zeb then frowned as he charged at the commanding trooper, who only fired a few shots before being grabbed by Zeb by his blaster and got thrown over his shoulder, landing on his back.
The other troopers got back up and started firing at Zeb.
When one of them got close to him, he knocked their blaster away and headbutted his helmet, knocking him back down, punched another trooper to his left off his feet, and did the same to a third, uppercutting him by the face.
Zeb then growled before he wielded his bo-staff, activating its electrostaff form.
"You want disruptors, you gotta come through me!" He warned the stormtroopers.
He then whacked one in the face before hitting a second with the staff, then punched him in the jaw, before charging at a third.
"Never again!" He roared as Ender took cover behind the crates, shocked by how angry Zeb was, further proving the disruptors had an impact on him previously. "You're trying to shoot me?" Kanan then joined him behind the crates. "You missed!"
Zeb hit a trooper's blaster, knocking it away before sweeping him off his feet with his bo-rifle, then electrocuted another that charged at him from behind.
"Get those crates aboard ship, now!" Kanan told Ender.
"Got it!" Ender nodded before he pushed the trolley to the Ghost while Kanan fired his blaster at the stormtroopers, shooting one down that was near Tua and Wabo, who hid behind a large container.
Wabo then said something to Tua, who now got incredibly annoyed.
"Will you please stop talking?" She snapped at him.
Nearby, 3PO and R2 hid by some crates and other pieces of cargo, watching a stormtrooper move past them.
"Brigands, R2. We're surrounded by brigands." 3PO told the white and blue astromech. A stormtrooper then got blasted away, zooming past them. "The mission is doomed, and so are we."
Then Chopper went past them, who R2 followed, much to 3PO's confusion.
"What? R2! R2! Where do you think you're going?" He questioned as he followed after him.
Ender reached the Ghost, and Serah helped him push the trolley up the ramp into the Ghost's cargo hold while Chopper followed them, unaware of R2 and 3PO.
"Following that droid?" 3PO questioned, to which R2 beeped at him. "Well, he certainly seems to be on a mission, so you had better accelerate yourself."
They followed Chopper into the Ghost.
Back with Kanan, he started backing away, moving towards Zeb, who lifted a stormtrooper off his feet.
"Spectre-4, time to go!" He told Zeb as he slammed the trooper against the wall, Kanan firing back at the other troopers.
"Uh, right." Zeb said, snapping out of his anger, letting go of the trooper, who was knocked out.
He and Kanan then ran for the Ghost while the other troopers fired at them, but kept missing.
"Spectre-1 to Ghost, we're good to go!" Kanan informed Hera through the comlink as he and Zeb neared the ramp, firing back at the stormtroopers.
"Going." Hera replied as she started the Ghost up for lift off.
Zeb stood on the ramp as the ship lifted off the ground.
Kanan still fired back at the stormtroopers before he jumped up and into the Ghost before the ramp closed up.
The Ghost lifted out of the docking bay and flew up to exit Garel's atmosphere.
In the cargo hold, Ender and Serah looked at Chopper, who rolled up to them.
"Would you look at that, Chopper made some new friends." Serah told Ender, making Chopper turn to see 3PO and R2, making him groan.
"I am C-3PO, and this is my counterpart, R2-D2." 3PO introduced themselves. "I was translating for Minister Tua when we were attacked by thieves, like…" Zeb and Kanan walked past him, making him stutter. "...uh, you."
Soon, Hera flew the Ghost out of Garel's atmosphere and flew away from the planet.
Back in the cargo hold, Zeb was up on the balcony above, leaning on the bannister by the nose turret, looking down at everyone down below.
"We have company. Imperial droids." Kanan noted 3PO and R2's presence on the ship. He then turned to Serah. "Spectre-5, let's get a couple of restraining bolts on these two."
"Got it." Serah acknowledged, walking to the ladder to the cockpit.
"Spectre-6, Spectre-3, keep an eye on 'em." Kanan then told Ender and Chopper as Serah climbed up the ladder.
"No problem." Ender nodded as Kanan then turned to the ladder.
"Excuse me, sir, but this is a terrible mistake." 3PO told Ender, who rolled his eyes as he leaned against the wall. "My partner and I are in service of Minister Tua of Lothal -"
As 3PO kept talking, R2 focused his attention on Zeb.
"Kanan. A word?" Zeb said, making Kanan stop on the ladder.
"Can it wait? If I don't confirm our rendezvous with Vizago, we'll have done all this for nothing." Kana replied, stepping onto the balcony with Zeb.
"Yeah, about that…." Zeb scratched the back of his head as he felt unsure about all this, he and Kanan unaware that R2 let out a recorder to tape their conversation. "Maybe this time we don't sell to Vizago, eh? Maybe we get those disruptors out of circulation instead."
Serah then climbed down from the cockpit with restraining bolts.
"At least they're out of Imperial circulation." She said as she stopped to talk to him. "When translating, I learned that they planned to ship those T-7s as prototypes for the Empire to mass produce them on Lothal."
She then slid down the rest of the ladder.
"See, Zeb? Perfect crime." Kanan grinned before wrapping an arm around his shoulders. "We steal weapons meant for the Empire and sell them for credits we desperately need to keep this bird flying."
"You know, if we need credits, perhaps we can sell these two droids to Vizago." Serah suggested as she made her way to everyone else in the cargo hold.
"Yeah, good idea." Kanan replied before he climbed up into the cockpit, leaving Zeb, who was still uneasy and unsure about selling the disruptors.
R2 beeped as he lowered his recorder back inside himself.
Later, as they entered hyperspace, Ender finished eating a quick snack in the common room, now sitting by himself at the table, thinking about what was going on with Zeb.
Ever since they found out they were stealing disruptors, Zeb has been quiet and distant from everyone, and his anger when fighting those stormtroopers was something he never saw from him. And he's now closed up in their shared cabin, demanding to be left alone, which Ender did, not wanting to face his anger himself.
He felt like he had to know why he's like this, so he got up and made his way to the cockpit, where he joined Hera.
"Hera, do you know why Zeb's been acting up lately? I don't feel comfortable asking him about it." He said, making her turn to him.
"Do you know what a T-7 disruptor is, what it does to an organic being?" She asked him.
"No, but the way you asked that gives me a good idea of what you're suggesting." Ender replied, not liking where this was going.
Hera then gestured for him to sit in the co-pilot seat, which he did.
"Well, Zeb knows full well. Because it's what the Imperials used on his people when they cleared his homeworld." She explained, leaving Ender rather horrified and even more disgusted at the Empire. "Very few Lasats survived. And none remain on Lasan."
"Just when you thought the Empire was already bad enough." Ender muttered as he looked out at the hyperspace lane they're in.
"Anyway, how's the Jedi training going with Kanan?" Hera then asked, changing the subject to not have the mood be grim the rest of the way to Lothal.
"I would tell you if we actually did some training. It's like he's delaying it as much as possible." Ender sighed in frustration, leaning back in the seat.
"We'll see about that." Hera sighed before pressing a button that got them out of hyperspace and approaching Lothal.
Down on the planet, among some mountains was a green skinned Devaronian with red eyes and one of his horns chipped, Vizago himself, waiting among his IG-RM bodyguard and enforcer droids, a landspeeder and a V-35 courier.
He heard a ship approaching, making him turn to see the Ghost arriving, watching it land just outside of the mountains that circled him and his droids.
Inside the ship, Kanan and Hera climbed down the ladder into the cargo hold, where everyone else was.
"Can we discuss this later?" Kanan asked her, having had a discussion earlier, just as Hera got off the ladder.
"That's fine, love. But we will discuss it." She replied as he got off as well, making him sigh.
R2 moved up next to Serah and beeped and chirped.
"Right. This R2 says his real mission was making sure the T-7s don't end up with the Empire." Serah translated. "And there's the fact that his master will pay handsomely for his and the protocol droid's return."
"Sounds like a good alternative if selling to Vizago doesn't turn out well." Ender shrugged, preferring this over selling the disruptors, which he felt should be destroyed.
"I'll think about it." Kanan said, stroking his chin, which annoyed Zeb.
"So, we're not selling the droids but we're selling the T-7s? We don't even know who Vizago's buyer is." He snarled.
"We know it's not the Empire, and I already made a deal with Vizago. So let's get these crates off the boat." Kanan replied, walking up to one of the hover trolleys.
"It may not be the Empire, but it can still be one of the various crime syndicates, for all we know." Ender pointed out.
Everyone, excluding Chopper, 3PO and R2 exited the Ghost, taking the trolleys over to Vizago.
Kanan opened one of the crates as Vizago's droids started taking some to the courier, allowing the Devaronian to examine one of the disruptors for himself.
"Oh, I can make some beautiful music with these." He grinned, making everyone frown.
"They're not that kind of instruments!" Zeb snapped at him as he leaned against some crates with his arms folded.
"Ah. You just have to know how to play them." Vizago replied, earning a contemptuous glare from Ender, who stood by the landspeeder. "And how to play those who want to buy them."
"You still have to buy them from us first." Ender reminded him as he folded his arms.
"Finally, someone on your crew who understands business." Vizago told Kanan, jabbing a finger on his chest, which got swatted away.
"Let's just get this over with." Kanan frowned as the droids continued loading crates on the courier.
But before any business could be finished, everyone heard the sound of a ship incoming. They turned to see a Gozanti cruiser with a couple of AT-DPs, which Vizago noticed as he looked through the scope of the disrupter in his hands.
"What is this?" He said before his eyes widened and he turned to the crew. "You were followed!"
"That's not possible." Hera told him.
"Unless that protocol droid gave them our coordinates!" Ender pointed out, recalling how he considered the crew, no doubt wanting to be saved.
"Leave the rest, we're gone!" Vizago told his droids, one sitting in the pilot's seat on the landspeeder, which had two crates on it, and another piloted the courier, which had two crates on it as well.
Another got in the passenger seat on the landspeeder as another got on the courier.
Vizago was about to get on the courier as well when Kanan grabbed him.
"You haven't paid us." He pointed out.
"Cikatro Vizago doesn't pay for half a shipment." Vizago replied, pulling his arm out of Kanan's grasp and climbing onto the courier. "And he doesn't pay for trouble with Imperials. My friends, I hope you live to bargain another day. And if you don't, eh…."
The courier lifted off and flew away, followed by the landspeeder.
Everyone gathered together as they looked up at the ship, which was getting closer.
"What do we do now?" Serah asked.
"We can't let these disruptors fall into Imperial hands." Kanan replied before he turned to her. "Serah, destroy the guns."
"That shouldn't be a problem." Serah replied eagerly, turning to run to the ship, but saw R2 making his way to the open crate, Chopper and 3PO following him.
"R2-D2, stop! What are you doing?" 3PO questioned, getting a beeping response from the astromech. "Joining the crew?"
R2 beeped as he let a mechanical arm out, grabbing one of the disruptors, explaining what to do with them.
"Overload the disruptors, eh? You are one clever astromech." Serah grinned and patted R2's head. "You're free to join our crew any day."
"Well, short my circuits." 3PO said in disbelief to Chopper, who groaned in jealousy.
"And if you think the imperials are gonna save you from us, you're mistaken, buddy." Ender glared at 3PO. "They'll shoot at you just for being here with us."
"Hera, help Serah open the crates." Kanan ordered as he and Hera ran up to the open crate, where Serah then ran off to the rest, while Ender and Zeb joined up. "Zeb, Ender, line 'em up." Hera opened a crate, allowing Kanan to pull a disruptor out. "Meanwhile, I'll deal with the walkers."
When the cruiser lowered towards the ground, the two AT-DPs detached and walked up to the mountains the crew were amongst, firing shots that hit said mountains and the ground, making it shake slightly.
Ender, Hera and Zeb hid behind a mountain, Hera wielding her blaster.
Kanan aimed the disruptor at one of the walkers, firing a shot at it. It short circuited and shut down, falling off its feet.
Kanan was about to shoot down the other walker, but it fired a shot that hit the ground by his feet, knocking him back and the disruptor out of his hands.
Hera ran around and fired a few shots on its right hull, drawing its attention.
She then turned and ran, jumping from some shots that hit the ground before rolling behind a mountain for some cover.
Zeb helped Kanan up on his feet and they, as well as Ender, gathered together behind a mountain, the former two pulling out their weapons.
They watched as the Gozanti cruiser landed and lowered a platform, where they saw Kallus and some stormtroopers.
"Advance and fire!" Kallus ordered the troopers, who all charged towards the mountains.
Upon seeing them, 3PO approached them.
"Thank you. Thank you." He said as he moved past Ender, Kanan and Zeb, all three rolling their eyes. "I knew some form of rescue would arrive. "I told R2, but he thinks so ill of stormtroopers."
The stormtroopers stopped, some of them kneeling, and fired their blasters at the crew and 3PO.
"Wait! Don't shoot! Don't shoot!" 3PO cried out before he turned and walked as fast as he could for cover, moving past Ender, Kanan and Zeb, the latter two firing their weapons. "You're here to rescue me!"
"Chopper, ready the ship for takeoff!" Chopper heard Hera, making him turn to see her running past a gap in the mountains, still being chased by the AT-DP.
With his orders, Chopper turned and made his way to the Ghost.
Zeb fired a shot from his bo-rifle and took down a stormtrooper, who was knocked back past Kallus, who walked in amongst the other troopers.
"You! Lasat!" He called Zeb out, pulling out, much to Zeb's shock, a bo-rifle, forming it into an electrostaff, having yellow electrical energy in comparison to Zeb's purple. "FACE ME!"
Seeing the bo-rifle made something inside of Zeb snap, causing him to charge out towards Kallus.
"WAIT!" Kanan cried out.
"ZEB, STOP!" Ender cried out as well.
Both Kallus and Zeb charged at each other, their bo-rifles ready, and yelling battle cries.
Upon reaching each other, they clashed their weapons in fast movements, blocking and dodging each other's attacks.
Eventually, within seconds, Zeb knocked Kallus off his feet.
"Only the Honour Guard of Lasan may carry a bo-rifle!" Zeb snarled with eyes wide with rage.
"I know!" Kallus cackled. "I removed it from a guardsman myself!"
He then rolled and got back up on his feet, dodging a few swings from Zeb and backed away from him as he moved in on him.
"I was there when Lasan fell." Kallus sneered. "I know why you fear those disruptors. I gave the order to use them."
Zeb narrowed his eyes before he charged at Kallus, swinging his bo-rifle repeatedly, only to be dodged over and over. He then roared and spun his weapon at Kallus, who blocked his attacks before kicking him in the chest, knocking him back to give him some distance.
Ender and Kanan moved to another mountain for some cover, seeing the fight between Zeb and Kallus happening in front of them.
Kallus blocked some more attacks by Zeb before he found an opening and struck the Lasat with one end of his bo-rifle, electrocuting him.
This angered Zeb, who swung at Kallus in somewhat blind rage, only to get electrocuted again.
"Ah! That fool Lasat's gonna get himself killed!" Kanan frowned after firing a shot at the stormtroopers, who were closing in on everyone.
Meanwhile, Serah just finished overloading the disruptors with R2's help.
"We're ready!" She called out.
Ender and Kanan ran up the trolley as Serah and R2 went for the other, turning it and pushing it towards the stormtroopers.
"Push!" Serah told R2 and 3PO, the three pushing the trolley towards the AT-DP as Hera ran past them.
They then ran after her after shoving it at the walker's feet.
The disruptors all started beeping rapidly, including the ones that Ender and Kanan shoved right among the stormtroopers.
Eventually, all the disruptors exploded, destroying the walker and sending the stormtroopers flying in all directions when they tried to run away.
The force of the explosions knocked Ender and Kanan off their feet and caused the ground to shake, causing Hera, Serah, 3PO and R2 to fall.
Both Zeb and Kallus stumbled in the middle of their fight.
Kallus took advantage of this and electrocuted Zeb a third time, weakening him so much he fell to his knees and dropped his bo-rifle.
Ender got up and saw that Kallus was about to strike Zeb down, who was about to accept his fate.
"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Ender roared as he held his arms out, as he ended up tapping into the Force, telekinetically shoving Kallus back so hard he was knocked out upon hitting a mountain directly behind him.
Kanan, having watched this happen, got up and stared at Ender with shock as he looked at his hands in disbelief.
Hera raised her head, turning to the pair.
"Spectre-2, get the kid aboard." Kanan ordered Hera before he ran for Zeb.
"Right." Hera acknowledged as she got up.
She then ran to Ender, took his left hand, and led him to the Ghost as Serah helped R2 up on, 3PO having gotten up as well.
"Move, all of you, now!" Hera told them, and they all made their way to the Ghost.
"Zeb!" Kanan called as he knelt next to Zeb, who now lay on his back, eyes closed. "Come on, big guy, we gotta get outta here. Zeb?"
He raised his head, worried for him, before noticing his hand reaching for and holding his bo-rifle, letting him know he was alright.
He got him up to his feet and wrapped his right arm around his shoulders, carrying him to the Ghost.
"Will our torment never end?" 3PO questioned as he, Zeb and Kanan were the last to enter the Ghost via the ramp, which Hera closed once they were onboard.
"Chopper, get us outta here!" Hera told her astromech via her communicator on her left wrist.
Kallus managed to gain consciousness and got up in time to see the Ghost lift off and fly away.
"You okay, big guy?" Serah asked Zeb as she took off her helmet, while everyone gathered around Zeb, who sat on the floor.
"Yeah." Zeb groaned in response before getting up with Kanan's help. "Thanks, mate. Appreciate the save."
"Wasn't me." Kanan told him, confusing the Lasat. "It was Ender."
Ender and Zeb glanced at each other, nodding in acknowledgement of what happened.
"And, Ender, your formal Jedi training starts tomorrow." Kanan informed Ender, who grinned eagerly, making Hera place a hand on his shoulder with a grin, which Serah also gave to Ender.
Even R2 beeped and whistled to commemorate this development.
At a later time, they made contact with R2's master and met up with them in the middle of space, connecting the Ghost with a CR90 corvette via their airlocks.
Kanan escorted 3PO and R2 onto the corvette and met up with Senator Bail Organa, of all people, who handed him enough money to restock everything on the Ghost, and then some.
"That's very generous, sir." Kanan told Bail, surprised by the amount of credits he was given.
"Well, I'm very fond of these droids." Bail replied, looking at R2, in particular.
"Then I'm glad we could return them." Kanan said, patting R2's head.
"The simplest gesture of kindness can fill a galaxy with hope." Bail then said, surprising Kanan, as he knew that saying very well.
"Isn't that a Jedi saying?" He asked, wondering how a senator would know of it.
"Safe travels, my friend." Bail then said, placing a hand on Kanan's shoulder, like he didn't want to talk about it, which Kanan understood right away.
"Safe travels." Kanan nodded back before he walked off to get back onboard the Ghost, looking at the credits in his hands.
"You didn't tell them my name." Bail said to 3PO when Kanan was out of earshot.
"Of course I didn't, Senator Organa." 3PO replied. "But this entire ordeal has rather stressed every one of my circuits. Permission to shut down?"
"Granted." Bail nodded, letting 3PO walk off to shut down.
"You recorded everything, old friend?" Bail then asked R2, kneeling next to the astromech, who beeped, whistled and shook. "Good, we'll focus on the Imperials later. For now, show me what you have on your rebels."
He then inserted a disk into R2, which played what he managed to record of his encounter with the Ghost crew.
There's something comforting for me about rewatching Rebels to do this retelling. One of my top favourite Star Wars shows, period, up there with Andor and The Mandalorian.
