Wars Amongst the Stars: Rebellion: Vol. 2

Chapter Thirty-Six

Hera leads them to a briefing room, and the team gather around a holo-table.

"The Empire has a light carrier in orbit over Ryloth they use to bomb the Twi'lek rebels," Hera says, bringing up a hologram of the Imperial ship. "The ship's well defended but we can get aboard using the stolen bomber while the squadron is away. One team secures the hanger, the other storms the bridge. Then we jump out before they figure out what hit them."

"No," Cham argues vehemently, "this monstrosity has rained destruction and death on the citizens of Ryloth. It is not enough that it simply disappears. My people need to see it fall from the sky in flames as a symbol of our strength." The Clone War veteran slams a fist into the palm of his hand, as his passion for his people shows itself very clearly through his words, "So I recommend a change in plans.  Using my bomber, schematics and timetables we can destroy the carrier when it's most vulnerable."

Hera scoffs, rolling her eyes. "If you could have destroyed it you would have done so already. You need us...and we need the carrier."

Keen sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose, "We need each other. Cham has the intel. Hera has the plan. It's a mutually beneficial arrangement."

"Very well," the Twi'lek general agrees, surprisingly quickly. "With Jedi on our side, how can we fail?"

***

A little while later, the Ghost crew, as well as the Twi'lek freedom fighters all cram aboard the stolen Imperial bomber. Zeb, Sabine, Ezra, Kanan, Leia, Keen, and Numa sit in the back, while Gobi and Hera remain in the cockpit of the bomber.

Kanan, still being incredibly awkward around the Twi'lek general, leans forward to Cham, who's sitting across from him, "Master Windu spoke highly of your heroics at the battle of Lessu," the Jedi Knight grins.

Leia, who is sitting beside Kanan, glances up at his face out of the corner of her eyes. Looking away, she squints her eyes, purses her lips, and cocks her head, while she stares at Ezra, who's face almost completely mirrors hers.

"Ah," Cham reminisces, "Mace Windu," he hums.

Keen bites her lip, her eyes looking up at the ceiling. "Master Mace Windu. The Battle of Lessu. Haven't thought of that in a while."

Cham looks at the Jedi Master, "We were outnumbered one-hundred to one. We charged across Lessu's energy bridge to certain doom. We would not be stopped. They named that attack in songs. 'The Hammer of Ryloth'."

"Oh, yeah, fun times."

"I seem to recall your Troopers having to referee many a disagreement between you and General Windu."

"Well, Mace and I had different ways of doing things. At least Ponds and Raven got along well enough that the plan succeeded. If it was just Mace and myself, I fear it may not have."

Kanan glances over at Ari'abel. "I didn't know you and Master Windu didn't get along."

"It wasn't that we didn't get along. In the Council setting, we often thought the same. I was simply not a fan of the Jedi fighting in the war to begin with. I missed the peace, and tranquility of the old days."

"Yeah, that I can see."

Cham goes back to detailing stories about his days fighting in the Clone War, which most of the ship's occupants dedicate their complete attention to. Keen on the other hand lets her thoughts wander back to the war, and the toll all the battling took, not merely on her, and the Council, but on the Clones as well. She remembers when the ARC Trooper, CT-5555, or Fives, had found out about the inhibitor chips, and yet, no one believed him, choosing instead to think that he had lost his mind.

Her thoughts are snapped back to the present when Kanan stands, walking to the cockpit. He turns his head tossing over his shoulder, "General Syndulla, I could listen to your stories all day."

"Oh sure!" Keen jokingly shouts. "You listen to his stories, but when I start to tell one you tell me we don't have time."

"That's because we usually don't! It's not as if you try to tell them all that often," the Knight says, laughing. The door to the cockpit slides shut, leaving the others in the, now silent, bomb bay.

"Y'know," Ezra starts, "I always forget that you fought in the Clone Wars. That seems weird, until I realize that the reason I forget is that you never talk about it."

"Yeah," she mutters. "I find that when one places too much focus on their past, it becomes detrimental to further development of themselves, and to the future."

"Okay, I understand that," Leia says, as Cham rolls his eyes, making his way to the cockpit. "My main issue is, if we don't talk about the events of the past, then we can't learn from them, and we'll end up making the same mistakes."

"You make a good point, my young Padawan. We can't completely ignore the past, or we would just continuously remake the mistakes that caused the issues we're dealing with today, but at the same time we shouldn't glorify the past."

Gobi slides into the room, taking the seat that Cham just recently vacated. Just as he sits down, the ship begins to maneuver around the cannon fire from the rebel ships. Hera continues to pick up speed, as one of the wings of the ship explodes, trailing smoke behind them into the vacuum of space.

"Might consider slowing down," Kanan shouts, his voice carrying into the bomb bay.

"This has to look good," his Twi'lek lover responds, matching the volume of his words. Slightly louder, she shouts back to the rest of her crew, "Hang on!"

Zeb grunts, clinging to one of the racks on the wall behind his head, "I hate it when she says that."

Sabine, Numa, Gobi, Leia, and Ezra each grab onto the rack, and Keen plants herself, using the Force to remain balanced on the bench. The ship suddenly violently shakes, clearly scraping against the metallic flooring of the Imperial ship. The entire crew all fall from their benches, Ezra hitting his head against the wall. Keen, who was the sole person not to fall from her bench, assists both of the Padawan's to their feet, just as Sabine notices what spilled from Numa's bag. "Explosives?" she questions softly.

Keen's gaze moves from the bombs, up to the Twi'lek's face, only to find a blaster pointed at her face.