Mandalorian Revived

Chapter 28

Everything feels...cold. My back straightens in my seat as the icy shivers run over me. Something's wrong. Something's...very wrong. Darkness takes over, and I instinctively close my eyes to listen to it better. I can hear lightsabers clashing. Pained cries. Pain...so much pain. From all sides.

"Ahsoka..." I whisper, feeling her pain the most prominently. I've been sitting in my ship waiting for a sign of anything from the woman for at least an hour. And now, this feeling washes over me without letup. I'm starting to fear the worst.

That pain is replaced rather suddenly. I can't feel Ahsoka anymore. I only feel hatred and grief and...something else. Something more hopeless. Sabine Wren.

"R5, take down the cloaking beacon and get ready to divert all power to shields. We might need to make a run down there," I warn the astromech. He's still positioned dutifully in the main hangar by his terminal.

I grip the steering throttle with shaking hands and brace myself for whatever attack that hyperspace ring will throw at us the minute we come into range.

But just as I'm about to do so, my scanner shrieks a proximity warning up at me and R5 squeals somewhat excitedly. The scope reads five X-wings and a VCX light freighter.

"R5, we have company."

"Identify yourself, U-wing," a strong, female voice rings out over my comm channel. I recognize it.

"H-Hera," I stutter, making sure I remember her name. "My name's Tara Vizsla. I'm a friend."

"Don't worry General," another, male, voice chimes in. "I know her from the issue on Mandalore. She is a friend."

The only problem, of course, is that I don't know him. Hera doesn't waste time asking about that, though. "Copy, Carson. Alright, Tara, what's going on here?"

I let out a breath and straighten in my seat. "Ahsoka, Sabine, and Huyang are stranded on the planet surface. But up here, we have this massive hyperspace ring. If it leaves, I believe it will be headed to another galaxy, where Thrawn is."

Hera's voice drops lower. "Affirmative. Squad, form up. Do not let that thing escape."

A few more voices, including the man called Carson, report their agreement to the plan. I power up the guns and glance over my shoulder at R5. "This is it, buddy. Keep half power on guns and half on deflector shields. Get ready to take some heat."

He whistles out an affirmative and I form up with the light freighter. Glancing down at my screen, I almost smile. It's codename is The Ghost. I hope it can live up to its name today and be more elusive than the Imperials.

"General, scans are detecting a ship bearing five mark sixty," Carson reports.

Hera replies almost immediately. "Got it. Let's cut across the axis and block its path."

Like a well-oiled machine, the squad shifts course and heads for the hyperspace ring. I follow them swiftly. Oddly enough, though, no guns from the ring power up at our arrival. Something isn't right.

"Lock S-foils in attack position!" Carson orders.

I shake my head as we all ready our weapons. "Something's not right here," I say. No one answers. "Hera! Something's wrong!"

"What is it?"

I almost sigh in relief at the sound of her voice. "They're not attacking. Not even powering up the weapons system. And I saw the damage they did to Ahsoka's ship, I know they have the firepower to take us on."

Hera's sigh is loud enough to come through the comms. "Alright. Proceed with caution, everyone."

Another male pilot chimes in. "I don't think they're sticking around for a fight..."