Call to Action
Ender was tense, as he, Kanan and Serah were on their speeder bikes, being chased by Imperial combat drivers on their speeder bikes through the grasslands of Lothal at night, as well as an ITT.
"Any ideas on how to get rid of them?" Ender asked Kanan.
"Yep! Follow me!" Kanan replied, leading Ender and Serah towards the town of Jalath.
"They're making for town." Aresko pointed out, as he and Grint, were in the ITT. "Order out units to split up. We'll box them in."
The combat drivers all split up just as they reached Jalath, two of them still pursuing Ender, Kanan and Serah through the streets.
Noticing this, Serah split up from Ender and Kanan, turning left into an alleyway, with one of the drivers following her, only to crash into a wall and fall off their speeder bike, which exploded.
The driver chasing Ender and Kanan started firing at them as they continued riding through the town.
Eventually, Kanan pulled out his blaster and turned around on his speeder bike, firing a shot at the driver, knocking him off his speeder bike, which crashed into a stall.
"Gotcha." Kanan grinned as he turned back around and continued driving.
Soon, Serah joined up with them moments before they were being pursued by another combat driver, along with two more.
All three turned and headed down an alleyway.
"Stay on 'em. I'll cut 'em off." The one in charge told the other two before taking a turn while the two pursued the three down the alleyway.
The driver in charge made it to the other side and aimed his blaster, only to be taken aback to see the two speeder bikes without their drivers coming to a stop next to him.
Now on edge, the driver got off and entered the alley, looking for Ender, Kanan and Serah, soon finding his two drivers, making him jump back in shock, seeing that they were knocked out.
He then heard someone clearing their throat behind and above him. He turned to see Ender, Kanan and Serah standing up on a small roof and got shot by Ender, being stunned and fell on top of the other two drivers.
"Told you it would work, didn't I?" Ender told Kanan, who grinned before jumping down.
"You've gotten the hang of it." Serah complimented him with a pat on his shoulder before the pair jumped down as well.
They got on their speeder bikes and left Jalath, making their way back to the Ghost.
Upon making it back, they got off their vehicles and pulled them into the cargo hold.
The three then entered the common room, where they noticed Hera, Zeb and Chopper around the table, watching a HoloNet broadcast of an Imperial talking with Gall Trayvis.
"Senator Trayvis, now that you've recommited yourself to the Empire, will your followers do the same?" The Imperial asked.
"Most will, Alton. These were good people who simply wanted to make the Empire a better place, peacefully. But I'm afraid these…" Gall said, a holographic image of the Ghost crew appearing, all looking threatening. "...insurgents have twisted my message into something violent and frightening."
Everyone glared, Serah taking off her helmet and Kanan shaking his head.
"Of course, I can't abide that. So I'm personally offering a reward for their capture." Gall said, holding up some credits in his hand.
"Karabast." Zeb scoffed. "Shut it off."
Hera did as he asked, shutting the broadcast off.
"Still makes me sick to think that Trayvis is working for the Empire." She spat.
"Not to mention the fact that every time we win, we lose as well." Ender pointed out.
"Well, I have a plan that might just even the score." Kanan spoke up. "If Trayvis can do it, we can do it, too."
"What, we're gonna send out some kind of inspirational type messages?" Zeb questioned, thinking it was ridiculous.
"Exactly." Kanan replied, making Zeb realise he wasn't joking.
"Exactly." Hera repeated with a grin.
"What are you thinking, exactly?" Serah asked, looking at Kanan.
"Yeah, we can't simply send out a signal, not with what we have with us." Ender pointed out. "Along with the fact that the Empire will track it down in seconds."
"Not if the signal comes from one of its own towers." Kanan argued, making Serah snap her fingers.
"Now I understand it." She said just as Ender realised what Kanan was suggesting.
"You're seriously thinking of taking control of an Imperial communication tower, which is considered impossible, and use it to send a message out to the people of Lothal?" He questioned Kanan's sanity.
"Not just Lothal. One of those big towers can reach a few systems." Kanan pointed out.
"This plan's just all kinds of crazy." Ender shook his head.
"That's why you like it." Kanan smirked.
"What exactly would we say in this message?" Ender asked.
"Something the Empire never says. The truth." Kanan replied, earning an agreeing chirp from Chopper as everyone grinned at the idea. "We have to let people know what it's really like out here." He then turned to Ender. "Now, are you in?"
"Showing the Empire's true colours? How could I not be?" Ender replied.
Ender, Kanan and Serah scouted the communications tower, which was far out from the Capital City, laying on an arch over the highway leading to the tower.
"There it is. The Empire's main communications tower on Lothal. It routes comm from every Imperial operation on the planet, including the Empire's HoloNet broadcasts." Kanan told Ender before Serah got to her knees and looked through her viewfinder, where she saw some stormtroopers next to a couple of anti-ship batteries.
"We have bucketheads on the perimeter, as well as at least three anti-ship batteries surrounding the base." She said before looking at the door to enter the tower, which had four stormtroopers guarding it. "Definitely won't be easy to get to the front door."
"Don't underestimate yourself." Kanan told her as she lifted her viewfinder up, holding his macrobinoculars.
"Serah, just try to be optimistic. Say we do get to the front door. What then?" Ender then said.
"Well, I could upload a data spike into the central computer and have the transmitter operational in, say, five minutes." Serah replied.
"I thought I told you to be optimistic." Ender replied with sass and a raised eyebrow.
"Five minutes is optimistic." Serah snapped back with an equal amount of sass.
"Three is better." Kanan told her.
"Oi, you can either have it good or fast, not both. It doesn't work like that." Serah snapped at him.
"Alright. Scan us a holomap and let's get out of here." Kanan ordered.
Serah pressed a button on her gauntlet just as the three heard a vehicle approaching from behind.
They turned before laying down as an ITT drove towards the tower. When it was now in front of them, they saw that something detached from the back, limbs popping out, revealing itself to be a probe droid.
"I don't like the look of that thing." Kanan frowned before looking through his macrobinoculars, having a butter look at the probe droid as it moved in their direction, looking around.
"Just as I feared, an Imperial probe droid." Serah said grimly as she looked at it through her viewfinder. "It hasn't seen us yet, thankfully."
She moved the viewfinder up and all three lay their heads back down while the probe droid continued looking around, speaking in a droid language.
"We need to move." Kanan told Ender and Serah as it got closer.
When the droid was under the archway the three were on, they got up and moved to the other end to continue keeping an eye on it as it continued moving and looking around.
"I hate to ask, but remind me where we kept the bikes." Ender said to Kanan.
"Next to the road." His master replied.
"Which means that thing will see them." Ender gulped as he, Kanan and Serah turned to look at the speeder bikes, which were placed by the road ahead of the probe droid.
"I really hope one of you has an idea, because the plan will be dead in the water if you don't." Serah gravely begged.
Kanan pondered on a plan, but he heard the distinct humming of the Force being tapped into, making him turn to see Ender with his eyes closed and his hand out.
Kanan and Serah assumed he was going to use the Force to destroy the probe droid, which was getting closer to the bikes, but he was actually reaching out to summon a Loth-cat in the grass near the bikes.
Its ears popped out, sensing Ender's presence, also sensing what he wanted it to do.
And so, it leapt onto one of the bikes and then onto the probe droid, slashing at it, making it go crazy and spin wildly until it crashed right into the border of the highway, sparking as it was now heavily damaged. The Loth-cat then jumped off and screeched at the droid before jumping off into the grass and running away.
All three then stood, looking at the smoking probe droid.
"You know, I could've shot it and gotten the same result." Serah pointed out.
"Maybe, but you would've drawn the Imperials' attention, therefore, making them suspect something was up." Ender argued.
"Good thinking, Padawan." Kanan praised Ender, patting his shoulder,
"Look, it's nice seeing you two bond, but that probe more than likely has friends, so we need to get moving." Serah rolled her eyes.
The three then slid down the archway onto the ground and ran up to their bikes, which they got onto and rode off, heading back to the Ghost.
However, none of them were aware that the probe droid was still functioning and watched them ride off.
Upon making it back, everyone, except Kanan were in the common room, with Ender, Serah and Hera working on the device Ender's parents used for their broadcasts.
"If this works, we should use it to transmit directly through the tower." Ender told Hera and Serah, smacking the device slightly before Kanan entered.
"How we doing?" He asked.
"Well, Chopper has the spike." Serah replied, patting Chopper, who took the Q-bazik computer spike from her. "We get him into the tower and he can upload it right into the computer core from any terminal."
Chopper then spun his head and warbled in his droid language.
"Stop complaining, bolt brain. You have the easy job." Zeb snapped at him.
"What's the range of this spike?" Kanan asked.
"We're good to go, as long as the tower's transmitting. Anyone who's listening will hear what we have to say." Serah replied, making a look of concern start to creep on Ender's face.
"Once the spike is uploaded, we'll signal." Kanan said.
"And I spirit you away in the Phantom." Hera said the next part of the plan.
"That's the plan." Kanan said as he folded his arms.
"Though things don't always go to plan with us." Serah reminded them.
"She's not wrong, you know." Ender sided with her, Kanan noticing that he seemed down.
"What's with you?" He asked his Padawan.
"Can we talk elsewhere?" Ender requested.
"Sure." Kanan shrugged and led Ender out of the common room, leaving Hera and Serah a bit concerned.
Ender and Kanan stood on the ramp, looking out at the fields of Lothal as the sun was setting.
"What's on your mind?" Kanan asked Ender.
"I'm just thinking about what would happen if this plan goes wrong." Ender said with a sigh. "My parents were taken for speaking out, and… I'm worried that'll happen again with you and the others. I don't know if I can live with it."
"Hey. All of us have lost things." Kanan reminded him softly. "And we will take more losses before this is over. But we can't let that stop us from taking risks. We have to move forward. And when the time comes, we have to be ready to sacrifice for something bigger."
"I understand that, it just doesn't sound as easy as you make it seem." Ender replied.
"It's not easy for me either." Kanan sighed. "My master tried to show me, but I don't think I ever understood it until now, trying to teach it to you." Kanan then sighed again. "I guess you and I are learning these things together."
The two exchanged glances, coming to an understanding, before looking out at the horizon.
Now nighttime, at the communications tower, the troopers guarding the doors and the perimeter heard the sound of a speeder bike approaching, making them look to see Serah on a speeder bike with a barrel of rhydonium.
This made all of them, as well as the turbolaser battery, fire at her.
However, they just kept missing her, partly because she kept moving and not riding in a straight line.
Upon reaching the tower, she swerved up to a turbolaser and jumped off before it crashed right into it, making it explode.
Upon rolling to a stop, Serah wielded her blasters and started firing at the stormtroopers.
Meanwhile, Zeb snuck up to one of the troopers on one of the turbolasers and hit them so hard they were knocked out. He then threw them off and took over the turbolaser, blasting at the remaining troopers and taking them down.
He peeked his head out and saluted at Serah with a grin while Ender and Kanan showed up on their speeder bikes, with Chopper attached to Ender's, detaching when they parked.
He then spoke to Serah and they approached the door to enter the tower, Kanan following them, Ender holding his lightsaber hilt and standing guard in case any more Imperials show up.
Upon entering inside, Serah blasted at the two stormtroopers that remained as an alarm went off.
"Okay, Serah. Three minutes." Kanan told her as he ran past her and jumped over a terminal and pressed a button to turn the alarm off.
"Chopper, install the spike." Serah told Chopper, who approached the computer and inserted the computer spike into it.
Meanwhile, Kanan looked at the computer monitors and saw something that made his heart sink.
"What? They're here? That's impossible." He said.
He then ran for the door while Serah ran to the computer terminal as the spike continued inserting further,
Kanan joined up with Ender, the pair seeing three ships with their spotlights on approaching the tower.
Kanan looked through his macrobinoculars, seeing that they were LAAT/Ie patrol gunships. He then looked at the highway, seeing a couple of ITTs approaching, as well.
"Serah, we got targets incoming." Kanan informed Serah through his communicator. "Let's move!"
"You said I'd get three minutes, remember?" Serah retorted through her comms.
"Well, now you get one, so hurry up!" Kanan snapped back, making Serah shake her head.
Chopper grumbled.
"I know, right?" Serah agreed with him as the spike inserted further.
Zeb, still on the turbolaser, turned and fired at the gunships, managing to shoot one of them down.
"Go get Zeb." Kanan told Ender.
"Got it." Ender nodded and jumped onto his speeder bike and zoomed off towards Zeb.
"Spectre-1 to Phantom. We're gonna change our pickup." Kanan informed Hera through his communicator.
"Not a good idea, Spectre-1." Hera replied as Kanan pulled out his blaster.
"Plan's changing. Just get your eyes on the sky. We'll meet you up there." Kanan replied back.
"Copy that." Hera acknowledged.
The spike had now fully inserted itself into the computer, doing its job, then Chopper pulled it back out of the computer as Serah joined his side.
"Got a signal. Let's move." She told the astromech before they both ran to join up with Kanan.
Ender had just reached Zeb, who kept firing at the gunships.
"Zeb, Kanan wants us to move!" Ender informed the Lasat.
"But I like this gun." Zeb groaned.
One of the ITTs then fired at Zeb.
"We'll get you another gun, now come on!" Ender insisted just as some shots hit the turbolaser, nearly hitting Zeb himself.
"Yeah, I can get another gun." He agreed with him before jumping onto the speeder bike in time as the turbolaser then exploded before Ender headed back to Kanan, just as Serah and Chopper joined up, as well.
"Not this way. Back inside." Kanan told Serah.
"Seriously?" Serah snapped in annoyance, running back inside the tower with Chopper, Ender and Zeb.
"Take the lift. Hera will meet you at the top." Kanan told everyone.
"But what about you?" Ender asked concerningly.
"I'll take the next one." Kanan replied.
"Let's go." Zeb told Ender before they ran inside the tower while Kanan put together his lightsaber hilt and activated it.
"Ender." He called out to his Padawan, who turned to him. "I'll be right behind you."
The two looked at each other, Ender suspecting that he may not keep to his word, before Kanan turned as the ITTs arrived, making him shut the door.
Out from one of the transports came Kallus with some stormtroopers, all approaching Kanan.
"Now this is a familiar situation." Kallus pointed out.
"Same situation, same ending. You lose." Kanan retorted, holding his lightsaber ready.
"I don't think so." Kallus sneered, glancing up at the gunships.
This made Kanan look up at them as they neared. One of them hovered above him, where he saw the Inquisitor appear before jumping down onto the ground, next to Kallus.
Kanan, realising the severity of this development, turned his lightsaber and stabbed the panel for the door, keeping it closed, before properly holding it as he readied himself for a fight.
High up on the tower, everyone else reached the top and Ender looked down from the railing, his eyes wide with horror upon seeing the Inquisitor, seeing that his fear was about to come true.
Then the other gunship hovered right in front of them and turned for the stormtroopers inside to fire at them, making Chopper blast off to the side and Ender to pull out his lightsaber hilt and fire some shots while Serah and Zeb ducked.
"What did you hope to gain by coming here?" The Inquisitor questioned Kanan, not having a clue of their plan.
"You're clever." Kanan retorted before he launched some attacks on the Inquisitor, who dodged the slashes before igniting his lightsaber to block Kanan's. "Figure it out."
The Inquisitor then went on the offensive, sending slashes and strikes, which Kanan blocked and jumped over before he kicked the Inquisitor in the chest, knocking him back.
"You've been practising." The Inquisitor noted.
"Nice of you to notice." Kanan replied.
"There's someone who wants to meet you. If you surrender now, he might let your friends live." The Inquisitor then told Kanan, who deactivated his lightsaber and folded his arms with a frown and a raised eyebrow, which took the Inquisitor aback. "Unexpected."
"We're full of surprises." Kanan replied with a smirk before his communicator started beeping.
This made the Inquisitor look up to see the gunship being shot at and explode, courtesy of the Phantom, which flew in towards the top of the tower.
Kanan then reactivated his lightsaber and attacked the Inquisitor, who reactivated his lightsaber, keeping him busy.
The Inquisitor blocked him and made him skid backwards and pressed him against the wall next to the door into the tower.
Ender kept firing at the gunship that hovered in front him, Serah, Zeb and Chopper, distracting the stormtroopers enough for Serah to pull out a thermal detonator, which she threw at the gunship, sticking to it before exploding and damaging the ship, making it spiral and descend out of control.
Kanan shoved the Inquisitor's lightsaber away to duck as the Inquisitor then thrust, stabbing right into the wall.
He then started backing away from the Inquisitor and swung at him, but was blocked and was soon pushed against the door via the Force, his lightsaber thrown out of his grip and deactivating.
"KANAN!" Ender yelled out with worry, seeing all this happening from the railing.
Hera then piloted the Phantom up against the railing with the back facing everyone and opening up.
Knowing he can't do a thing to help Kanan, Ender joined everyone in jumping into the Phantom just as the ITTs below started firing at the shuttle.
Kanan, seeing that everyone was onboard, struggled to grab his communicator.
"Spectre-2, get out of here!" He told Hera.
"Not an option, Kanan." Hera told him as the Phantom shook from the shots that missed the shuttle.
"No time! GO!" Kanan insisted, making Hera conflicted, because she cared too much for Kanan, yet if she didn't go, everyone would be killed or captured. "HERA!"
Ultimately, seeing no other choice, she closed the back of the Phantom and took off, leaving everyone inside in a defeated state, as they left one of their own behind.
Meanwhile, the Inquisitor let go of Kanan, who fell to his knees, watching the Phantom fly away, dodging some shots from the ITTs before vanishing among some clouds.
The Inquisitor then pointed his lightsaber at Kanan's throat, a seething anger washing over his face.
"Looks like I have time to meet your friend, after all." Kanan remarked.
Later, in the early morning daylight, another gunship flew towards the tower, this one transporting Grand Moff Tarkin himself, an older man with sharp features, grey hair and grey-blue eyes.
The Inquisitor stood, waiting for Tarkin as Kanan was forced onto his knees behind him, handcuffed behind his back.
The gunship then landed in front of the Inquisitor and Tarkin walked up to him with a couple of stormtroopers with DLT-19 heavy blaster rifles by his side.
"Well done, Inquisitor. These are the results I expect." Tarkin told the Inquisitor, who handed him Kanan's lightsaber hilt. He then turned to Kanan. "So, you are the Jedi in question?"
"Whatever you want from me, you won't get it." Kanan frowned up at him.
"Sir, we have a problem." Kallus told Tarkin as he walked up to him.
"Explain." Tarkin requested.
"It appears the insurgents have gained control of the tower's transmitter." Kallus revealed before holding up and activating a communicator.
"The Empire has branded us criminals, which isn't the truth." Ender's voice said, making everyone look up at the tower. "We're simply rebelling against the Empire's fascism, fighting for the people…"
Back onboard the Ghost, everyone gathered in the common room as Ender spoke through his parents' device to speak to all of Lothal and the neighbouring planets.
"...fighting for all of you." He continued his speech. "I was three when the Empire formed, so I remember when things were actually better on Lothal."
Elsewhere on Lothal, people heard Ender speak through the broadcast.
"It may not have been great, but at least it wasn't like how things are now. Look at all the bad that the Empire has done to all of us, to our families and our freedom."
Back at the tower, Tarkin got back on the gunship with Kanan, Kallus and the Inquisitor alongside him.
"So, unless we stand up and fight back, it'll get worse and worse."
The gunship then took off.
"It won't be easy, for there will be loss and sacrifice. But we can't back down simply because we're afraid. That is when we need to stand the tallest. That is something that I learned from my parents. And that is something that my new family reminded me."
A couple of gunships faced the tower and fired some missiles at it., making Kanan look on with horror before turning to the stern and cold look on Tarkin's face.
"You have to stand up together! Because that's when we're at our strongest! As one!"
The missiles soon made contact with the tower, destroying it.
"You do not know what it takes to win a war." Tarkin sneered at Kanan as the tower fell. "But I do."
Back with Ender and the others, the device went static, which made them all aware that the Empire stopped the broadcast.
"Do you think anyone heard that?" Ender asked everyone, especially Hera.
"I have a feeling they did." Hera replied.
"Either way, this isn't over." Ender then said with a determined frown.
"No, it isn't." Hera agreed with him, leaving the common room silent.
In fact, this may be the start of a new phase, the start of a war.
Things are about to get even more difficult and tense for our band of rebels.
