Wars Amongst the Stars: Rebellion: Vol. 2

Chapter Twenty-Nine

The team of Force-sensitives and Clones glance worriedly at each other. Is there any guarantee that Keen is even still alive?

"Why would they take her to the Capital, and not Mustafar? You'd think they'd want her as far away from the Emperor as possible," Ezra muses, as the two groups trek back to their ships.

"They'll want to find out what sort of information Ari is privy to," Leia states, starting to feel as if this mission is hopeless. Standing behind the two Padawans, Ahsoka, Rex, and Kanan are in a hushed conversation with the other rebels over the comm. "She is a high-ranking member of the Rebellion. She knows more than most of us."

"That won't matter," Omega insists, coming to stand beside the two, "She won't break. She trained herself to withstand torture."

"But who knows what the Empire will do, they won't stop until they get what they want."

The Bad Batch was listening to the devastating conversation, and Echo takes this chance to butt in, "You postulating what is happening to her will do absolutely nothing to help, so buck up. I believe in the General, she'll hold out until we find a way to get her back."

***

The group of rebels quickly get back to their ship, Rex choosing to take the Havoc Marauder back to the base. "So," Leia begins, the Phantom slowly lifting off the rocky terrain, "Do they have a plan?"

"Mostly," Ahsoka answers. "They're ironing out the final details, now that we have the ship. Chopper and Echo are going to work together to find the coordinates of Vader's cruiser."

"Viceroy Organa is going to cause a distraction of some kind, while a few of us sneak in. Hera is going to stage a Rebel attack on the ship, to cause a further distraction, enough to distract Vader from his new toy."

"The small group will sneak into the prison cells, unlock them, and grab Keen. They'll escape. Senator Organa will stay while 'repairs' are made to his ship, and the small band of Rebels firing at his ship are thwarted, and retreat, all of us safely aboard."

Leia seems a bit worried about her fathers safety, so Ezra takes it upon himself to distract her. "I bet they put me on the infiltration ship, and you'll be stuck with Hera."

"As if, more than likely I'll go with the infiltrators, as she's my Master."

"Yeah, maybe, but who has more training, and known her longer?"

Leia protests the boys statement again, and a smile actually cuts it's way across Kanan's face.

***

The two ships find themselves on the head Phoenix ship a while later. The Bad Batch exiting after the other members of the Ghost Crew, Hera immediately approaching them. She smiles, as the Clones, save Rex, salute her. "Sergeant Hunter, Clone Force 99."

"Captain Hera Syndulla. It's a pleasure to see you again, and I'm glad to have you joining us."

"We owe the General our lives, so there ain't much we wouldn't do for her."

"That's good to hear, Sergeant, as you'll be part of the boarding party."

Hunter nods at Hera, glancing over at the other crew, as they approach the surrounding rebels. "What do we know, Hera?" Kanan asks.

"What I think is the most solid plan we can create, given the circumstances. Ezra, Leia, Sergeant Hunter, Omega, and Echo will board the cruiser in this shuttle that Keen has been working on for weeks to make undetectable to rader., while Senator Organa, and his droids cause a distraction. Chopper will go in on the Senator's ship, undercover, and get us as much information on the Empire's movements as he can. To further the distraction, the rest of us will engage the cruiser in a space battle, because nothing greater than that will cause the Sith Lord to leave the cell."

Ezra and Leia glance at each other, then at Kanan and Ahsoka, then back at each other, silently cheering. Hunter glances over at the kids, and can't help the smile that slides across his face.

***

The mission starts out well. Commander Wolffe accompanies Senator Organa, tasked with making sure Chopper succeeds, although he'd rather kill someone, than have to deal with the viceroy's droids. The beginning of the mission relies to C-3PO, R2-D2, and Bail's ability to come up with excuses, and lies on the spot. Thankfully, one is a politician, one is a politicians droid, and then there's threepio.

Chopper lets out a signal, once the Imperials are well and truly distracted by the appearance of a disgruntled Senator who had recently had his ship 'attacked by insurgents' and having to make an 'unexpected' landing due to the damages.

Once the rebels receive the signal, and Chopper trundles off into the cruiser to download any information he can discover. The other rebel vessels jump out of hyperspace, just out of range of the cruisers missiles, but knowing they're getting the full attention of the ship.

Ari'abel is confused as alarms all over the ship begin to sound, and she can sense the Troopers who had been stationed outside of her cell from run off, and Vader, who had once again been threatening her, turns to glare at the ceiling. He turns dramatically, growling angrily, as he storms from the cell.

The Jedi, although ashamed to admit it, is relieved when Vader leaves her alone. She's not sure how much longer she can hold back on the information he wants so desperately for her to reveal, although, she'd gladly sacrifice her life to keep Obi-Wan, and Luke safe. And death is looking more, and more likely.

It seems whatever distraction pulled Vader away didn't distract him for long, as the distorted Force-signature of her old friend glides back toward the cell. Ari'abel prepares herself for more pain, and torture. He storms angrily back, his heavy breathing causing an assault to her ears. The Sith Lord gets as close to her face as possible, his anger almost strangling. "You will give me Obi-Wan's location. You had an agreement with the Emperor, and you will stick to it."

"Whatever tenuous agreement I made with Sheev doesn't matter here. Sheev Palpatine is a kriffing lunatic, and idiot. And Anakin Skywalker seems to be no better than him. That agreement, it was made under duress, and is therefore not legally binding, and seeing as it was never written down, nor was there an unbias witness. So, run back up your little leash, and tell your Master that no matter what, I can't tell him what I don't know. And, if that little collar you're wearing starts to get to tight, you can always come back to us."

It looks as if Vader is finally going to put her out of her misery, when the alarms increase in pitch, and intensity, and the Sith Lord grumbles tenaciously under the deep, manufactured breathing of his helmet. He marches through the doorway, his anger stifling.

The doors shut behind him, and almost immediately slide open. Although, the Force signatures are different, and familiar. She forces her neck to move to look at the small group of people in front of her. "Now, I may be on the verge of unconsciousness, so correct me if I'm wrong. I'm fairly certain I'm looking at a group of Rebels who went against the orders I gave them."

"Well," Leia says, "They were a stupid set of orders, and we all deigned to ignore them."

She lets out a quiet chuckle. Hunter steps forward, Echo crouching in the corner, working to quickly unlock her binds. She promptly drops as the energy holding her closes off, and Hunter catches her, hoisting her over his shoulder. "I can't say I've ever been in this much pain," she says quietly, "but, I gotta admit, the view ain't bad."

Hunter rolls his eyes, "And that's just the pain talking."