Stowaway: A Star Wars Rebels Story

A Sign of Things to Come

Kallus' POV:

The Empire. The most dull, unforgiving job in the galaxy. I already defected from its abrasiveness and rejected its ideology. Conquering all these worlds and oppressing the civilians. What did they really gain from it? Why was I blindly following orders this whole time? I confirmed my loyalty to the Ghost Crew after saving the majority of their members on multiple occasions. But my role was to be here. Work in the shadows, feed the rebellion vital information and undercut Thrawn's plans by any means necessary. The Grand Admiral was growing impatient and his lack of progress in finding the rebel base. So, he ordered us to send infiltrator droids to every corner of the galaxy. Only Thrawn had knowledge of where they went. I have to warn Phoenix Squadron of this threat, especially if one of the droids lands on Atollon, as it could find and transmit their base location rapidly. To make matters worse, I was assigned to lead this operation, so I couldn't contact them immediately. I waited for the perfect time to transmit the message, praying something would go wrong in the Empire's plans.

Y/N's POV:

"Move it, Phoenix Squadron, we're behind schedule! Get to the assigned training coordinates!" Hera told us hastily. I ran from the command center to the Ghost and saw the last few pilots getting in their A-Wings. There was a training regimen that required almost everyone's presence. I wasn't aware that we were leaving so promptly, but I couldn't disappoint my superiors by appearing uncaring about this. "I don't understand why I can't come along," Zeb complained. "You're my chief of security, Zeb. I need you to stay here and keep the base in working order." Hera ordered. I felt bad that he couldn't make it, but someone had to be left behind. "Come on, Hera. You could always use an extra pair of hands. Just don't leave me alone. I'll be bored to death!" Zeb pleaded. "You'll have Chopper and AP-5 to keep you company," Hera said, denying Zeb's request. I could see her holding back a laugh. He definitely doesn't deserve this. "Hera, please! Just give me another human to help me out around here!" Zeb begged. Hera sighed, not exactly thrilled about having to assign someone else with him. "Okay. Y/N will assist you," Hera decided. I rapidly turned my head toward the captain, ticked at this sudden change. "I'm sorry, what now? Didn't you say that I needed this training more than anyone?" I defended myself, reminding Hera of an earlier conversation we had. "You're already a pretty decent pilot. Plus Zeb could use some help from you," she countered. "I'm not even close to their skill levels. Please just change your mind!" I said desperately. "It's for the best," Hera replied, unmoved by my response. "We'll be back before you know it," Kanan said, trying to make our absence less depressing. "Sorry, buddy," Ezra apologized. "See you around, babe," Sabine teased. They all went aboard the Ghost and flew away, leaving me, Zeb, and the two nuisances alone on the platform.

"Did they seriously leave you in charge of this entire facility?" AP-5 questioned. "Something wrong with that?" Zeb chastised. "I just assumed you were a 'lift heavy things and punch anything in your way' type of guy. You know, a grunt," AP-5 wisecracked. Zeb grunted at the droid's incessant remark, foolishly giving him the little victory. "Thought so. Now what exactly do you do?" "Don't you have something to do?" I asked, defusing the argument. "Well, while everyone is off practicing, I intend to take this opportunity to conduct a thorough inventory of the base's munitions supply depot. Any of you may assist me," AP-5 answered. Chopper beeped, sounding like that wasn't something he wanted to do. "I don't know what you said, but counting crates isn't exactly fun," Zeb said. "Agreed. I'm going to the command center. Doubt this is the only thing that needs to be done around here," I added, walking off and leaving the droids alone, Zeb following behind me. We got to the command center and saw another captain and a few soldiers hanging out there. "Anything to report?" Zeb addressed the captain. "We tracked a meteor impacting on the surface nearby. It knocked out a perimeter sensor in sector six. Should I send a unit?" he reported. "No, I'll go check it out. Y/N, you're with me," Zeb said. I followed him onto a speeder and we drove to see what caused this malfunction. After a little while we arrived at the crash site. One of our markers was knocked down and a dead giant spider lay right next to it. "Looks like something stumbled upon their nest and got swarmed," Zeb said. He pushed off the spider and saw a blue, metal figure. "Another droid? I thought we kept a record of all personnel back at base," I stated. "That's not one of ours. Doesn't look Imperial, though," Zeb replied. "We'll take it back to base and see where it came from," I suggested, slinging the droid on my shoulder and throwing it in the seat.