Stowaway: A Star Wars Rebels Story

Winds of Change

"Y/N, you still with me?" Ezra said, snapping me out of my trance. "Sorry, I just...zoned out," I replied. "You can't be thinking about her," Ezra said, reading my thoughts. "Can you stop doing that? It's still hard to forget," I chastised. All I can think about is her. "I know, but I need you here now. This op needs to be fast," Ezra responded. We were tasked with busting Agent Kallus out of the Empire. We know that he's in danger, and losing our squadron's most valuable asset could send us on the run again. Or worse. I put my bandana around my nose and got into position. "AP, are you and Chopper ready?" I asked. "Affirmative," he confirmed. Taking a detonator from my utility belt, I charged it and threw it at the spaceport gates. I waited a little, then BOOM! The troopers standing guard were knocked out, giving us a free lane to the hangars. We ran through the hole I created and quickly found a shuttle, changing our direction to its location. Ezra used the Force to open the door. The droid pilot panicked, not expecting visitors. "This ship is closed! Security! These insurgents are hijacking my ship! I need back-" I pressed a few buttons and powered the droid down. Ezra, AP-5, and Chopper joined me soon after, and I closed the door as a squad of stormtroopers relentlessly fired at us. I quickly elevated our altitude and hit the thrusters, breaking for the endless void that was space. "Now what?" I wondered. My concerns were suppressed by the sound of TIE Fighters closing in on us. "See that Light Cruiser? Fly towards that," Ezra ordered. "You're insane!" I shouted. "Just trust me, he's on that cruiser!" Ezra responded. I did as he said and changed course. Dodging the TIEs was a rough task, however. One of them landed a hit at the top of the shuttle, making it jolt violently. I stood firm and stayed on approach. Then our ship shook again. "They caught us in a tractor beam," I reported. The ship quickly floated to the airlock and docked. Then the doors blew open.

I shot my hands up in surrender as a couple stormtroopers handcuffed me and Ezra. We resisted, playing the act of being 'innocent' thieves. "Let me go! You've just made a terrible mistake!" I barked as another set of doors opened, revealing Kallus and some more troopers. "Remove their face coverings," the agent commanded. A trooper pushed my bandana down and another trooper took off Ezra's helmet, exposing our faces to the agent. He was speechless upon seeing us. "What are you looking at, Imperial scum?" Ezra snarled, staying in character. "Take them to the detention cells," Kallus ordered. He seemingly knew what game we were playing. The stormtroopers pushed us forward. "Hey! Be careful with that!" I snapped. The trooper standing behind me smacked me in the head with his blaster. "One more peep and I kill you," he threatened. I moved slowly, following Kallus to a cell. The troopers pushed me and Ezra in, sending us tumbling down the steps. "Leave us. I will interrogate them myself," Kallus said. The troopers walked away, and Kallus followed us inside for our 'interrogation.' "Don't you realize how dangerous it is for you to be here?!" Kallus scolded. "Not as dangerous as dealing with a clan of Mandalorians," I wisecracked, but I soon realized what I said. Y/N, for fuck's sake, stop! "What he meant to say was, we've been through much worse. We can handle ourselves just fine," Ezra said, covering me. "If the Empire finds out you're here I'll be executed for treason!" Kallus shouted quietly. "You might be anyway. We think the Empire monitored your last Fulcrum transmission. You aren't safe here anymore," I warned. "So you both got captured...to warn me?" Kallus questioned. "Nope, to break you out," Ezra answered. The agent was visibly stunned at that. It was risky, but we couldn't afford for him to get caught. "I guess I have no choice now," Kallus said through gritted teeth. "Calm down. We all trust each other," I replied. "Do we? For all we know he could be playing a long game to set us up," Ezra vilified. "I could say the same to you," Kallus slandered. "We wouldn't have taken this mission if we didn't," I pointed out, shutting down their arguments. We have to be perfectly coordinated if we are to succeed. "Open this door!" a voice shouted from the other side. We needed to act fast or we would all get killed.

Thinking quickly, I dropped to the floor while Ezra punched himself with Kallus' hand. "Stop! I'll tell you anything!" Ezra lied. "A confession already? I'm impressed. But it will have to wait. Grand Admiral Thrawn has arrived and he has summoned us aboard his ship," the officer reported. "Oh, and bring the prisoners." "The prisoners? What for?" Kallus wondered. "To show the Grand Admiral how effective I am in dealing with a rebel threat," the officer boasted. "They are bounty hunters, not rebels," Kallus fibbed. "They're from Lothal, that's enough," the officer scolded. His accompanying stormtroopers lifted me and Ezra up, leading us to an Imperial shuttle. We entered the final set of doors before reaching the airlock, where AP-5 and Chopper stood waiting for us. "Excuse me," AP-5 announced. "I did not request any droids to accompany us," the officer said. "My counterpart has a recording of the shuttle theft. Protocol is for us to provide it as testimony against the thieves," AP-5 fabricated. "Very well. Follow us," the officer directed. All of us walked in the shuttle's passenger bay. Kallus and the officer climbed the ladder and detached the shuttle, leading it into Thrawn's Star Destroyer. It was a quiet ride. I tried to think of something to pass the time, but nothing seemed to distract me, not even a certain someone. All Ezra and I could do was hope and pray that we were led far away from the Grand Admiral's watchful eyes. The shuttle landed in the hangar and the ramp opened, where we were greeted by yet another stormtrooper squad. "Rebel prisoners, a gift for the Grand Admiral," the officer said, handing us off. "Take them to detention block C-4," a trooper ordered. More of the nameless men in white armor pushed us to the cells, on a much longer walk this time. Luck was on our side for now, as we didn't cross paths with any important figures in the Empire. But the longer this charade went on, the more likely we were to be discovered. We eventually reached our prison cell, and the troopers pushed us in, leaving us in the same situation as before. Unfortunately, this was way worse. Thrawn could be here at a moment's notice. I hope Kallus knows what he's doing.