The Plans We Made • TBB

26. The Truth

"Bracca may not be much to look at, but it has exactly what we need." Rex says, stopping on top of an incline that looks out at a Jedi cruiser. Rex points to the ship. "I had my inhibitor chip taken out on a Jedi cruiser just like that. That's where we're heading."

"Then why'd we land all the way over here?" Wrecker questions with a scoff. The moment he's done with that sentence, scrappers fly past them.

"Everyone, down!" Hunter orders, gently tugging Omega down. Sunset kneels down, watching the scrappers through the visor of her helmet.

"That's why." Rex answers Wrecker's question, nodding in the direction of another scrapper crew.

"It's the Scrapper Guild." Tech explains.

"They control this entire planet." Rex adds. "We need to keep out of sight from their patrols. Let's move."

The group finds themselves walking through an old decayed ship that gave them just enough cover to keep them out of the Scrapper Guild's eye. Sunset was stuck walking behind Rex and Echo, with Hunter just behind her.

"Fives tried to warn me about the chips, but I didn't understand at the time." Rex sighs, leading the group through a woven path surrounded by murky water.

"It's still hard to believe now." Echo responds, shaking his helmeted head softly.

"How did you guys find out about them?" Rex asks curiously.

"Omega told us about them on Saleucami." Sunset chimed, mumbling slightly. Her mind was still racing as fast as her heart, only worsening with each step closer she got to the Jedi cruiser.

They climbed up a rusty wall, the sun having heated up the metal enough to make it nearly scald Sunset's hands through her gloves. The man-made ground groaned beneath her feet as she continued on behind Echo and Rex.

Omega gasped, tilting her head back to get a better look at the Jedi cruiser they were practically underneath now. "It's much bigger up close." She says as she and Wrecker join the group up front, leaving Hunter and Tech several feet behind them.

"This is an original Venator-class ship from the first batch off the line." Rex explains to the blonde.

"First off the line, huh?" Wrecker chuckled, elbowing the Captain. "Just like you, Rex."

They walked across a beam and then they were inside of the cruiser, everyone switching on their flashlights to light up the pitch-black atmosphere. Sunset tightened her grip on the flashlight, trying to keep her hands from shaking.

"The last time I was aboard one of these it didn't end so well." Rex mutters, ducking underneath a wire hanging from the broken ceiling. The others followed his movements.

"If the inhibitor chip isn't something you can control, how'd you get yours out?" Echo asked curiously, using his scomp to move a yellow wire out of the way.

Sunset shook her hands, trying to rid herself of the nerves. She could hear her heart pounding in her ears, her breaths so heavy they started to fog up her visor.

"I had help." Rex finally answers. It took him a moment to come up with a response that wouldn't give too much away.

He then nearly walked off a ledge, but Echo saved him by grabbing hold of his shoulder.

Rex's boots scuffed against the rusted metal, knocking a few chunks over the edge. Seconds later there were splashing sounds. "The medical bay's at the other end." The Captain sighs. How were they going to get across without falling into the nasty murky water that smelled worse than a rotten bantha?