Earthlings 3: RISE

10 (Part I)

4 BBY, Space

Marien listened to Arion, taking in everything being thrown at him over the holotable. So apparently, he and Eli had gone to Garel to confirm intel about alleged kidnappings done by the Empire... only for Eli to be captured by Imperial forces, with no certainty as to his current state.

"And-?" He prompted, his arms crossed. "What were you doing? Did you get any intel on the situation at hand?"

Arion looked down, trying to get the words out. "I-I tried to help, but he pushed me away... t-told me to stay put while he handles the Inquisitor..."

"I told them what I knew about the kidnappings," The orphanage's caretaker added flatly. "The Inquisitor most likely came back for the kid the Empire was after... or at least, she initially did."

"This Inquisitor must have been powerful if she was able to subdue someone like Henderson," Alison mused, twirling a strand of her copper ponytail in thought. "He even managed to land a hit on the Emperor, after all."

"And he was trained by a very powerful Jedi master," Ahsoka added.

"Unfortunately, it's not as simple as a show of strength," Valorum cut in, activating a holoimage of said Inquisitor. "If that were the case, Eli would have eliminated her within the hour. Juana Bantai, better known as Fifth Sister is not particularly strong in physical combat to my knowledge; she relies on Form 4 and 2 a lot when it comes to engaging Jedi. But her Force abilities greatly exceed almost any of her former peers in the Agri Corps... well, with the exception of Kay Hudo."

"First Sister," Ahsoka guessed.

"Indeed," Was her wry response. "Luckily, Hudo is dead now. But back to the topic- Bantai can't have overpowered Eli using her lightsaber alone. It'd be like facing a giant with only a small dagger. She'd have to have pulled some dirty trick with the Force after exploiting a weak point."

"I hadn't known anyone besides a few of my old friends to be able to detect shatterpoints," Alison said in thought.

"Eli's master could," Valorum replied. "And Bantai certainly can."

"Well, can't we send a rescue team or something?"  Arion pleaded. "Please, I don't want to lose him."

"I'm sorry, son," Sato said matter of factly. "But unfortunately, we cannot risk the safety of the Rebellion, especially if we're looking at a fight with the Inquisitorius."

Marien drew in a breath, placing his forehead in between 2 of his fingers. On one hand, he wanted to send a rescue force after Eli as Arion requested. But on the other, Sato was right; Phoenix Cell couldn't risk annihilation at the moment... especially not after the skirmish in the Echiv System last week that decimated 5 Y wing squadrons, 6 A wing squadrons, and 1 CR90 corvette. The Phoenix Home had gotten away with a damaged hyperdrive, which spent the last of its power on a short jump above one of Echova's moons, where they'd stayed until the hyperdrive could be fixed.

"I... agree," He said at length. "It's too risky."

"W-what- but you can't leave your own behind-" Arion argued.

"Henderson will be able to save himself," Marien flatly countered, ignoring his own doubts. "He's a Jedi, and a formidable one at that."

"Then what is this Rebellion even FOR?!" Arion demanded, his voice laced with frustration. "You guys are fighting against the Empire, aren't you?! So then why should you run during times of adversity-?"

"Arion, we can't just throw ourselves at the Empire every time someone is in danger," Marien reasoned. "Sometimes, our meddling will only make things worse. And besides, our fleet isn't exactly in the best shape at the moment to launch an attack on Nur."