(Note: clones in image are not featured in story)
Despite Hunter reminding Rex time and time again not to get you all involved in more dangerous missions, Rex continued to include your group for rescues. This time around, after your successful meeting with Veraxsis and laying low for a few weeks there was a prison transport you were going to help infiltrate.
Rex had invited the Bad Batch along for this one because you were going to actually be doing the rescuing. As of late, more and more clone troopers were being arrested for various reasons, the most common claim being suspicion of action against the empire. Thus the troopers were now being transferred to secure holding locations and shipped around on more secure transports. Rex hated to admit that many had been out of his reach or he had been too late to save them from their fate.
For this particular rescue mission you were charged with rescuing the clones from the holding cell on board the transport ship while the Remora held their attention. This ship would be leaving Sernpidal soon, with an unknown landing location. The main goal was of course to successfully rescue the clones, however this was made more challenging by the heightened security around this prison transport. It was holding not only clones, but bounty hunters, rebels and other prisoners. Since the Remora had been sighted and ID'd as coming after ships transporting clones they had taken extra precautions. By having the Marauder sneak in and rescue it gave Rex a chance to save them he wouldn't have otherwise. It was far from a flawless plan by Tech's standards, but Rex quickly got Omega on his side and Hunter finally gave in.
You helped prepare your vessel by putting away ongoing projects and making sure there was enough room for the rescue clones on your ship. Likewise there was a long discussion about where Omega should go. Originally Wrecker was going to be the back gunner, but Omega stated that she could fill that position while he was helping with the rescue. Again Hunter was not in support, but this time Tech argued that while in the hangar bay Omega would remain safe in the gun turret. Once they were back in space she and Wrecker could switch out, and Wrecker would be more useful in breaking out the clones than remaining with the ship.
You personally felt mixed about it. There were feelings similar to what you would normally feel towards your padawans venturing into the forest on their own. There had to be challenges for them to overcome, no one simply grows without strife. But, the jungle was dangerous with creatures and plants alike that wanted to kill, maim, or dismember any possible victim. It had frightened you as a padawan while you were still growing accustomed to it, and there had been a particularly bold boy in your class who had gotten eaten because he went into the forest alone. You had still found it within yourself to trust your own padawans, with reassurance that the padawans needed to learn to venture out and adapt on their own. Omega was no different. Yet, the thought of her being put into more active roles, even in this supposedly simple rescue concerned you.
Omega had been quick to join in on the work, even while she kept up with her studies. She was quite intelligent and mature for her age, a characteristic no doubt from her father and the situation she was placed in. However, she was still a child, one who would just make the cut for a young padawan in your eyes. Omega is eager to fight, to prove herself, to explore and experience but you don't want her too. Not that you want to prevent her from the incredible things this galaxy has to offer, but because you have seen the evil. You can feel its echoes whispering to you on lonely nights. You were not able to save the others from a deadly and dangerous fate, even if some of them survived. You wanted to do everything in your power to protect Omega too, even if it was over something as simple as letting her sit in the gunners seat on this mission. Thus the discussion came to a compromise with Hunter and Omega was allowed to man the gunner turret with some rules involved.
You remained silent, standing just on the other side of the hallway to the bridge while the rest discussed in the cockpit. After Hunter had finished saying something to Omega about the rules for the gunner turret she nodded and looked back at you. You hadn't participated in this discussion about her involvement, but Omega saw something in your eyes and it made her curious. Omega knew you had padawans, she knew you were once a Jedi, but occasionally there was this look of deep emotion in your eyes. Every now and then it would make its appearance and she wanted to know why. Sadly she just hadn't found the right time to ask you yet.
Omega quickly moved on as Tech started talking to her about the gunner turret and about the hanger they would be in and you turned to go make sure all your gear was safely tucked away. You'd be arriving at the rondevu soon around Sernpidal and then it would be all action from there.
* * *
The gravity of this situation was real, and Rex hadn't been kidding when he mentioned that this ship would be a different challenge. It was a larger ship, not quite on battleship level, but big enough to dock a few smaller ships inside its hangar bay. It was cruising with two escort fighter ships and its destination was unknown. This had been the last reason that Rex had requested your help. You would only get one shot at getting these defectors out, then the ship was supposedly going to go .. somewhere. Rex had no idea, and Tech couldn't find anything. The Empire was up to something.
You put on your helmet while you sat on your bunk, taking a few last deep breaths and centering yourself in the force. As you stood, you saw Hunter approaching you, "ready?" he asked, his helmet already on and weapons within easy reach.
"Did we get any further information about which cell they are being held in?" you ask back and Hunter shakes his head.
"We've only got the theoretical breakdown Tech has given us"
"I'll try and sense them" you reply " but I can't deny it's concerning".
"Rex is going to try and give us as much time as possible" Hunter sighs "Let's get this done quickly".
With that, both you and Hunter head up to the cockpit and take a seat. Tech has left his helmet off since he will be remaining on the ship and he glances back at both of you as you come through the hallway.
"The Remora has just dropped out of hyperspace to engage with the target. Prepare yourselves".
You and Hunter remain ready, and Tech drops out of hyperspace into the intergalactic route the transport was taking. Already you can see blastors being fired at the Remora and its leech vessel, both of which are flying about the main ship evading the attacks. The Remora shoots back, as does the leech vessel, but being a mining ship its firepower is limited and does little against the enemy ships.
"This is our opening" Tech says out loud and he blasts the ship towards the prisoner transport hangar smoothly swinging the Marauder inside. This maneuver does take out a smaller fighter inside the hangar which causes Tech to frown knowing his own precious ship was damaged. Even with this you have made it inside the transport vessel and the clock is ticking. The alarms were already blaring from the Remoras attack but your entrance does not go unnoticed by the remaining hangar personnel.
Wrecker runs up to the cockpit from the back gunner and the three of you quickly exit the Marauder into the bright LED lit hangar bay. The two remaining officers in the hangar have called security so you duck behind a crate for cover as blastor fire comes your way. You had thought to shoot them, but Wrecker runs straight through the group of four guards like a pile of boxes. He had grabbed the first two in his dash, and the other two were quickly knocked aside as he swung his arms with a loud "AAGH!" of effort against the few shots they had landed.
You stood up from your hiding spot, a bit surprised but you heard Hunter radio "Nice work Wrecker. Let's keep moving" and you move to follow the two men as they continue into the hallway where the security came from.
The walls and lighting in this hallway were also blindingly reflective with mostly light gray or white surfaces and bright LED lighting.
"Do we know where they are?" you ask over the coms, only needing to squeeze your thumb to your hand to activate the microphone.
"A rough idea" you heard Tech reply, his flat tone conveying his frustration "There are seven hostages in total, contained in two areas".
"Got any maps for us?" Wrecker asked as the group turned a corner.
"Negative, but you should be getting close".
Right as Tech said this you came around another corner to a larger part of the ship which opened up before you into a two story high room. On all sides for the entire length of this room were red laser doors, a total of 40 or so, on one wall alone. The main hallway that ran through the room went straight across with a stairwell on either side leading to an upper terrace floor to access the higher cells. This prison ship was designed to keep all the inmates in the center of the ship similar to a freight ship that carried precious cargo. There were a variety of figures coming to each of the laser doorways, some definitely not humans, and the door on the opposite side opened letting in more security.
This time only two men came in and you went up one stairwell on the left while Wrecker and Hunter went up the right. The blastor fire had a harder time reaching you from this angle and you start walking along your row of 20 cells, looking into each one while keeping your head down.
"Report" you hear Techs voice, and Hunter manages to shoot one of the guards. You also score a hit and then reply to Tech "We've found the holding room."
"We need to expedite this procedure. The fighters have been alerted to our presence".
You nod in response even though Tech can't see you and keep looking.
"Nothing on my side" you radio over and noticed Hunter and Wrecker had stopped at a door "We've got one squad, still looking for the other three".
As Hunter started hacking into the panel for their door the prisoners realized that you were there for clones and you heard cries from the first floor-"Hey! We're down here! CT-0008, 4512 and 4100!"
Quickly you ran back down the stairs, and sure enough you discovered the remaining three clones. Hunter's attempts at hacking the panel are no match for Wreckers quick solution of punching it which you copied using your pole. All of the clones you came to rescue are now free and you can hear other prisoners jeering at you. Most are simply criminals making snide comments and snickering but there is one group that says they are rebels against the empire and are pleading for your rescue.
With all the clones out Wrecker is already taking them back to the hangar, with Hunter and you remaining in the room. You glance quickly at Hunter who gives you a glance in return and you stab your pole into the rebels control panel allowing them to escape.
"We can't take you with" you say but they just nod and run past you saying "thank you". The rebels take the doorway on the opposite side of the hall and you watch them go. You were a bit confused, but you felt better knowing you had at least done something and you felt Hunter grabbing your hand trying to get you to hurry along.
"We're coming in fast!" Wrecker said over the comms as you all booked it back to the hangar.
He wasn't lying, all of you were running as fast as you could and you were just able to keep up with Hunter who was now holding your hand to keep you in stride while you descended the hallway into the hangar. There was more security then you had left, but Tech was holding out by shooting from the Marauders doorway and taking them out or keeping them in defensive positions. From your angle you were able to approach and shoot at the security personnel from behind. Sadly the clones you had rescued were not armed, but they were passionately knocking out the closest guards with punches and taking their weapons.
You spun your pole back to your side as Hunter let go of you to keep shooting and Wrecker cleared enough of a path for the rescues to start boarding the Marauder. Tech was back in the pilot's seat, the clones were onboard, Wrecker was back in the turret where Omega was still hiding, you joined Tech upfront as co-pilot and Hunter brought up the rear slamming the door shut.
"All clones aboard" Tech radioed out to the others "departing now".
You were flipping the needed switches to adjust for power controls and internal cabin pressure when Tech blasted the ship out of the hangar and made the jump to hyperspace. You had thought you would fly towards a safer space but Tech used a dangerous maneuver called a cross skip which caused you to jump into and out of hyperspace travel quickly. It blasted you into whichever direction you were facing, but without using the hyperspace lanes you could end up crashing into something. You felt a rush of adrenaline in your system when you realized you might instantaneously die from Tech's maneuver, but when he successfully dropped out of hyperspace and started to reorient to a proper lane you caught your breath.
"Everyone alright back there?" you ask over the comms and you hear Hunters reply.
"Few were thrown by the jump, but everyone is situated now. How does it look up front? ".
"The ship has taken some damage from our encounter, but no critical systems were damaged beyond functionality for the moment. We should be able to arrive without casualty at Artorias" Tech commented, now jumping into the correct hyperspace lane.
"That's comforting" Wrecker chuckled over the comms and you knew Hunter was sighing in the main compartment with the others.
"Is there anything I can start repairing?" you ask, taking off your helmet.
Tech handed you a holopad "These diagnostics will show you where to start."
"Okay" you nod, and make a move to get up from your seat but Tech reaches out and touches the control panel in front of you causing you to pause.
"Are you alright?" he asks, his brown eyes drawn away from the view of hyperspace in front of you and giving you his full attention.
"Yeah, a few nicks here and there. We all got out pretty unscathed".
"Good" he replied "the others may require medical attention"--he turns back to the panel in front of him and starts adjusting switches again--"Hunter is trained.."
"...I can see to them also" you cut Tech off and stand up "Just stay focused on getting us there safe".
Tech turns in his seat and watches you open the sliding door for the short hallway. He had been secretly hoping you would stay a little longer, but statistically speaking he would get another chance to be alone with you eventually. He lets out a small sigh of frustration and continues his flight path. At least you hadn't been hurt badly by any of the blastor fire he had witnessed ... and that the others were safe, that was also a positive outcome.
You step through the hallway into the middle room where the clones are seated along the walls, all seven of them plus Hunter resulting in the wall seats all being occupied.
"Does anyone require medical attention?" you ask, looking to each of them to see if there were any obvious signs of injury.
"Are You the one giving the attention?" one of the clones asked in a snarky tone and he got an elbow in the side from the officer next to him. The officer in question replied "none of us need medical attention. I am Sliver, I was the medic unit for our squad".
"Pleasure to meet you, and thank you" you nod before addressing them all again "I'm Y/N, and if none of you are hurt then I'll move on to the next task. Hunter"--you turn to him--"by the looks of it we will be arriving near Artorias shortly, Tech has given me a list of repairs to get started on. Is there anything higher priority?"
"I'd say the most critical systems first" Hunter answered, standing from his seat to speak with you. You nod at Hunter's response and turn to head back into the cockpit to get started on your work, much to Tech's delight. He didn't allude to his enjoyment at your presence but he did look over his shoulder while you were working to keep an eye on you. Most of the damaged areas were indicated to be sensory systems around the front of the ship or landing related, no doubt from when Tech had flew-slid into the hangar, --and through another ship-- you think to yourself.
As you begin your repair work, checking the holopad periodically it is quiet enough for you to listen in to the conversation and comments coming from behind you in the main room.
"I thought she was short for a clone".
"First chick I've ever met".
"How did you guys get a lady on your squad?"
"Is she.. Ya know .."
"No" came Hunter's distinct voice, clearly done with these statements and you stifle a chuckle.
* * *
You managed to evade being followed by the Empire's forces and Rex reports back in letting you know that the Remora also made a successful escape. Hunter talks a little about what had happened to this squad before they were arrested while you are joined by Tech in fixing some of the systems up front. Tech is mostly just checking your work, but you feel a heightened sense of pride in your abilities when he compliments your repairs and joins you in repairing the ship. His face remains neutral but evidently he is happy to help.
The squad tells Hunter and the rest of you, which also makes it back to Rex, that they had simply been reassigned and then arrested without warning. A squad usually comprises of nine soldiers and one sergeant. In this case they were missing two of their men, whom they believed to have been shipped on a different vessel ahead of their own. They were also not the only squad to have been arrested and sent elsewhere but Sergeant Peachy said he was 'thankful that they hadn't been locked up in a box somewhere in the outer rim to rot. '
After meeting back up with the Remora near Artorias and retelling them this info, Echo also confirms that Gregor, Fireball, Nemec and him had recently experienced a similar story. They had rescued other clones from a smaller level prisoner transport that was possibly going to the same place that this one had been. Similarly those clones were arrested without cause and had been kept in holding for months, occasionally getting shipped off world.
Rex concludes, as does Tech, that this means the Empire is moving into a new phase of eradicating the clones. No longer using them to train TK troopers, the Empire is now doing its best to simply get rid of them. "However" Tech postulated "This doesn't explain the secretive location. If they desired to get rid of us then all clones would be executed shortly after being arrested. There is something more sinister going on".
"Perhaps" Rex agreed, "But we haven't managed to get enough information out of their ships to confirm it".
"Looks like we'll just have to keep trying," Gregor chuckled. "Or who knows, we might just stumble across it ourselves".
"An unlikely but not unheard of possibility" Tech acknowledged flatley.
"In the meantime" Rex moved on "We are going to need all the help we can get" he looked to Hunter.
Hunter did not look pleased at the prospect, but he could already hear Omega nagging him about it now. Likewise, he could not deny the dire situation these clones were in. This wasn't a rebellion, it was saving his brothers. Hunter still wanted to rest and sleep on it before he committed to Rex's request though. "I'll give it some thought".
"That's all I will ask for," Rex nodded, and the rest of the group started to disperse. Echo had stopped over to say high to Omega, Hunter and Tech wandered back to the Marauder and Wrecker was playing some sort of game with Gregor and Fireball. Gregor seemed to be observing you out of the corner of his eye, but before you departed you wanted to speak privately with Rex.
Now that discussions had concluded, the mission was a success and everyone was starting to wind down. You placed your hand on Rex's shoulder and gave him a knowing look. Rex immediately knew you wanted to speak in private and offered "Would you like to see how the surgical machine is coming along? We are almost ready to start testing".
"Yes, I'd love to" you smile back and the two of you take a short walk to the medical room. You miss Gregor and Fireball watching you two leave, the former with a snarky grin painting his face.
Rex closes the medical door behind him after you've entered and are already looking at the machine. It has taken much more shape then the last time you visited and it appears to be almost done. The structure is like an arch that leans over the top end of the medical table. There are panels open on the sides but the arch itself seems to be completed.
"Just needs some more electrical modifications and of course some test runs" Rex comments as he walks up next to you. You trace your hand over the arch "I'd think so" you reply "Still, you've definitely come a long way".
"It's mostly been Echo's project, but Nemec and another clone named Sidestep have helped with it".
You chuckled at Sidesteps name before pulling yourself up on the medical table to sit and face Rex.
"I assumed there was something you wanted to speak with me about?" Rex pokes at you a smile breaking out on his face.
"Yes" you answered "although it's mixed news".
Rex's face became more serious and he listened intently as you explained "Tech has been helping me look into where the other members of my temple might have ended up. I hadn't realized he had gathered data from the temple library on Coruscant while we were there ...but it is Tech so I'm not too surprised. --Rex nodds, his expression echoing your own sentiment-- We've confirmed that Jedi knight Fenk Fal-cona is possibly still out there with his apprentice Golrin. Naria's apprentice Lerona may be alive as well"--you see Rex's facial expression change as he remembered Naira. She had been at the temple with you during Felucia's occupation--"Also, it would appear that the Empire has custody of Jareth, Kelly, Odala and Daldo. One apprentice and three padawans, although there are two other padawans unaccounted for, so they could also be out somewhere in the galaxy".
"Those sound like good odds. Fenk was the bloke who wanted to ride in the tank wasn't he?"
"Yeah" you sighed, letting a smile grace your face "I forget who you have and have not met".
"Well I'm sure there were more back at your secret temple. Sounds to me like mostly everyone is out there" Rex continued his face falling into a more empathetic expression "so... who's missing?".
You knew Rex was going to ask so you did your best to tell him without letting the emotions blurr your words "Naria is gone, so is Luha and my master Caltrel. For the children I know Kael didn't survive the attack and it looks like Risa, Denzel, and Tethri didn't manage to escape".
"I'm sorry" Rex said, stepping closer to you, but you shook your head "There's nothing to be sorry for. I know they are in a much better place now. I just want to know what I can do for those that remain".
Rex gently patted your shoulder, and you felt a single tear slip out of your eye as you blinked.
"I'll keep an eye out" Rex stated and you knew he was sincere "If I hear anything more I'll let you know."
"Thanks Rex" you sigh, leaning forward and sliding off the table. "On the plus side I know they are strong and between me, you and the others like Riyo we will find a way to help them".
"If we can't find them, then neither can the Empire" he smiled at you, and you let a chuckle slip "Precisely".
"Glad you're keeping optimistic Y/N, and thank you for keeping me up to date on the findings."
"You're welcome Rex" and you start to head towards the door "Lets head back out before they take off without me" you jest.
Rex lets out a hearty "ha!" and the two of you return to the middle area.
Wrecker is thankfully just finishing up his game and Gregor gives Rex a huge 'what you been up to' look-chuckle combo as soon as you walk in. Rex shakes his head which only makes you giggle and you soon hear Hunter calling you back onto the Marauder over the comms.
-- End of Chapter --