Darker the Night (A Star Wars Rebels AU)

Chapter Twenty-three

The cheers of the company soon died down, and the pre-battle bustle of last-minute weapons checks and inspection of blurrgs and equipment began. Hera, who had already checked her blaster several times and her blurrg twice, was instead aimlessly patting the blurrg while watching her little brother and trying to figure out what she was going to say to him. She knew she had to say something, though- just in case.

She wove through the Twi'leks and troopers of Lightning Squadron, stopping about half a meter from Val. He looked up, noted her presence, and went back to trying to blow nonexistent sand out of his blaster.

She took a few cautious steps towards him. "Val..."

"What do you want, Hera?" He didn't look up at her.

"I just want you to know that I'm sorry if I hurt you. You're the most important person in the galaxy to me."

He let out a disdainful chuckle. "That's not much of an apology."

She knew he was just trying to provoke her, and she ignored it. "I'm only doing what I think is right. Why can't you understand that? I'm not going to apologize for it. I didn't know any of this was even going on until recently- why didn't any of you try harder to contact me?"

He finally looked at her, but his expression was scornful. "Oh, now it's our fault? We were being invaded, we were a little busy!"

"I don't want to fight again."

"Neither do I, but-"

"Master Windu is in position," Cham shouted to the company as he trotted towards them on his blurrg. "Everyone, mount up! It is time!"

She looked at her brother; he was already looking at her with a conflicted expression on his face. "Take care of yourself, nerra," she said.

Val nodded. "You too, numa."

Hera ran to her blurrg and hoisted herself up and into the saddle. The blurrg grunted at the gentle dig of Hera's boot heels into her side, lurching forward into a walk that brought them alongside Hera's mother and just behind Lightning Squadron, Cham, and Caleb.

"I'll need you to create a diversion," Master Windu's voice was saying through Caleb's wrist comlink. "Get Lightning Squadron ready."

"We'll all be ready, Master," Caleb said, looking at her father.

Cham nodded. "My people are ready."

Hera watched as the transports carrying Master Windu, Razor and Stak came into view and headed for the plasma bridge, accompanied by six battle droids on repulsorcrafts. The shimmering cyan bridge shot out across the gorge from its plasma projector on the Lessu side, and the transports proceeded across. Two battle droids equipped with scanners walked out onto the bridge to meet the transports.

The company assembled on the ridge held their breath as the droids scanned the first transport and moved to the second. Caleb sat on his blurrg, spine straight as a durasteel rod, peering through macrobinoculars at the bridge below.

He leaned forward slightly- Hera could see that the droids were moving toward the transport's back cargo hatch.

"Troopers! Prepare to fire!" Caleb ordered, looking back over his shoulder at Lightning Squadron. He caught her eye for just a split second, and she recognized the glint of anticipation and adrenaline in his glance- she could feel it zinging through her body, too.

Eleni's gloved hand closed on hers. Hera met her mother's gaze and found it full of love. Val, atop his blurrg on Eleni's opposite side, held their mother's other hand. "Be safe," she said. "Look out for each other. I expect to celebrate our victory with both of my children tonight."