Wars Amongst the Stars: Rebellion: Vol. 2

Chapter Twenty-Seven

*Ahsoka & Kanan*

Ahsoka glances out of the viewscreen, as the Rebellion ship comes into view, the Ghost, with the Phantom secure in the hangar.

Kanan looks down to find his Twi'lek lover standing with her arms crossed, almost glaring at the ship. "I guess Rex told her."

"I'd say some others know as well," the Togruta nods to the Alderaanian viceroy standing near her.

"Right," Kanan grunts, spinning his chair around quickly, "Lets go. We gotta brief 'em, and then head for Jedha."

"We can take the Corundum, it's less known by the Empire."

The Knight nods, as he heads for the ramp. The two Force-sensitives exit the ship, spotting Ezra, Zeb, and Leia talking in hushed tones with Rex. "What do we know?" Hera asks, once she sees Kanan.

"Not a whole lot. Vader has her, somewhere," he mutters, scrubbing a hand down his face, "And we've gotta go to Jedha."

Rex starts to make his way over, as Hera comments, "Because of the Jedi youngling."

Kanan starts, looking at her, "You knew? For how long?"

"Keen contacted me, looking for a safe space for the youngling, she requested I keep it between the two of us."

"Of course she did," Kanan grumbles, rolling his eyes.

"You can complain once we get her back," Rex says. "She told you to go to Jedha for a reason, so let's go."

Bail nods, "Ahsoka, you and Kanan should take the Padawan's, as well as Rex, to Jedha. The rest of us shall remain here, and try to think of a plan to save her."

"Sounds like a good plan," Hera smirks.

***

The four Force-sensitives, and Rex, pile aboard the Corundum, Ahsoka taking the pilots seat, setting a course for Jedha. The Clone Captain quickly sends a message to his friends, letting them know to meet him on the planet.

"So, what do you think awaits us?" Leia asks the group.

"Imperials," comes Kanan's staunch reply. "But that's to be expected. Hopefully a Jedi youngling, and some answers."

"I have a feeling the General wouldn't send us here, unless it would be helpful in finding her."

Ezra scoffs at Rex's words, "She doesn't want to be found, remember. She sacrificed herself to keep us safe. She doesn't want us to just sprint full speed into danger."

"And we won't," Ahsoka responds, "We'll have a plan, a solid one to save our friend." The Togruta is leaning in the doorway dividing the cockpit and the common area, everyone else sitting around a table.

"Did you manage to find anything out about her whereabouts?" the Jedi Knight inquires of the Clone.

"My sources are looking, I'll know as soon as they do."

*Keen & Vader*

The door to her cell slides open, and the ever-composed elegance of Darth Vader stands, darkening the small doorway. The Jedi Master doesn't bother to lift her head, feeling the exhaustion that has been weighing on her for days finally begin to settle into her bones. Vader, ignoring the lack of attention of his prisoner, glides forward toward her, and her cell.

The Sith Lord would be lying if he said the somehow soothing presence of the Jedi Master didn't unnerve him. No matter what he does, he can't seem to break through her resolve. A memory of his old Master, from back during the Clone Wars pricks at the edge of his mind. Obi-Wan had told him that Quinara was trained in a different era of the Jedi, and not just that, she spent years on her own after becoming a Knight, exploring, learning, and training herself to withstand anything, from the cold, to heat, to pain. His old self, the weak fool known as Skywalker had refused to believe that she couldn't be injured, but it was just beginning to make Vader worry just a bit.

Yet, even knowing all of this, the fear of failing his Master, Darth Sidious, worries him more. So, he perseveres. And, even he has to admit, the screams that the Jedi elicits bring a smile to his face.

Keen snarls as Vader stops the droid from going any deeper into her mind, and she can taste iron on her tongue from where she accidently bit it. Vader leans in close, and she can smell the musty durasteel suit that coats his entire visage. "All of this can so very easily stop, all I ask is you tell me one simple, almost miniscule detail. Where is Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi?"

She lets out a shaky breath, finally lifting her head to look into the cold, unfeeling eyes of Darth Vader. "Go. To. H*ll. I've said it so many times I'm surprised you haven't made a holo-recording yet just to play when you're done with your sadistic torture. As far as I know, Kenobi died, along with the other Jedi. So you can take your stupid question and shove them up your mechanized *rse!"

Vader would smile, were that possible. She's becoming testy, as well as irritated, which is exactly what he wants. An idea snakes it's way into his mind, and he turns quickly, leaving the cell, and Master Jedi, behind.

*Jedha Crew*

The crew of five land near the Holy City of Jedha, each ready for the task at hand. "Do we know where this youngling is? Or are we just supposed to guess?" Ezra asks.Ezra asks.

"They're with the Guardians of the Whills, wherever they may be."

"Great," Kanan mutters, rolling his eyes, "What are we supposed to do, wander around the city, asking if anyone has seen some Jedi Guardians?"

"I recommend not doing that," a vaguely familiar voice calls from deep within a cloud of fog, "You'd probably get arrested, maybe just killed on sight?"

"I'm sorry," Leia calls out to the figure in the fog, "But who are you?"

"Me?" he asks, stepping out of the cloud, revealing a man maybe ten years younger than Rex, and yet, the face could be the spitting image of him, with long hair and a red bandana tied around his head, "The names Hunter." The stranger gestures behind him, where five more individuals step into view, all bearing an eerie resemblance to the Rebellions Clone Captain, "And these guys are my crew."

Standing directly behind Hunter is a tall, rather muscular man, whose face looks as if an explosion happened very near to it. Beside him, to his left is a man with glasses, and a very inquisitive demeanour about him. To the muscular man's left is a very pale man, with mechanized legs, as well as a droid probe for an arm, and ports in his head. To the left of the glasses man is another man, whose demeanour seems to warn others away, he's thin, clutching a rifle, with burn scars littering his face, and a toothpick clenched tightly between his teeth. The last member of this motley crew isn't even a man, rather a woman, maybe around the age of thirty, with platinum coloured hair cut in a scraggly bob. 

Each person is wearing armour of Clones, and yet, it's almost hard to distinguish them as such, with how eclectic the batch look, and yet, they seem strikingly familiar to Kanan, and he can almost see himself as the scared, little Caleb Dume who's Master was just shot down right in front of him. He shoves those feelings away, locking them up tightly, instead deflecting his pain with, "And do your crew members have names?"

Each clone, for Ahsoka concludes that they must be clones, introduce themself. Their names seem to be Wrecker, Tech, Echo (who she can barely recognize, and thought dead), Crosshair, and Omega, respectively. "Could you possibly tell us why you're here?"

"That would be on me," Rex states, "I figure we can use all the help we can get, and they like Keen."

"Rex!" Wrecker cheers, barreling over to pull him into a hug, forcefully lifting the captain off the ground.

"It's good to see you too, Wrecker, now can you please put me down."

Begrudgingly, the Clone lowers him to the ground. "The Guardians of the Whills, eh?" Echo asks, trying to get back to the subject at hand.

"Yeah," Kanan grumbles, "It's a Jedi thing, I don't expect you to understand."

"Actually," Tech states, pushing his glasses up farther on his nose, "It appears the Guardians are Baze Malbus, and Chirrut Îmwe, who are both wanted by the Empire."

Ahsoka glances over at Kanan, a small smile on her face. "Okay, we got a name. Now, we just have to find them."