Stowaway: A Star Wars Rebels Story

The Bigger Picture

The ship powered up and sprung into action. My guns got back online and I took a few shots at it. The probe's quick movements left my attacks wide. "Come on, Y/N, hit it quick before it transmits our location!" Zeb urged. "Thing's quick, Zeb!" I said. I kept firing at the probe but I couldn't seem to land a thing. It kept flying through the bits and pieces of metal floating around us. "Hera! I need a better angle! There isn't a clean shot!" I requested. "We fly around and it escapes, keep firing!" Hera answered. My lasers kept hitting the space junk as multiple ships came into my field of vision. "Who are those people? I said, getting sidetracked. "Never mind! Stay on target!" Hera shouted. I let out a flurry of shots in desperation to take this nuisance out. A few of my lasers finally connected with the probe, destroying the Imperial. "Damn it, that took too long," I said. "Phoenix Leader, this is Gold Squadron. Did we catch you at a bad time?" a man asked over comms. So these are the rebels we're helping. "Sorry about that, Gold Squadron. Close call with an Imperial probe," Hera said. "Were you detected?" the man questioned. "Chances are high the probe called for reinforcements," Hera answered. Thank God we destroyed the probe's transmitter on Atollon, otherwise we'd be toast. "Begin fueling immediately. We need to get out of here before the Empire arrives," the man stressed. "Acknowledged. We'll dock with your transport," Hera replied. She moved the Ghost to the docking port and opened the cargo bay doors, allowing us to connect the Y-Wings to the fuel pods we were carrying. Hera, Zeb, Chopper and I all walked down to the airlock, anxious to meet our allies.

The doors opened and out stepped two men, one shorter and one taller. "Captain Syndulla, I presume. I am Erskin Semaj, Senatorial Attache. And this is Captain Vander, leader of Gold Squadron," the shorter man introduced, saluting us. "Nice to meet you all. This is Zeb, Y/N, and Chopper," Hera said while all of us returned the gesture. "So what are you transporting?" Zeb wondered. "Please understand. Due to security concerns, we are not allowed to reveal the cargo nor can you board our vessel," Semaj stated. "You're all welcome aboard ours. Let's refuel the bombers," Hera said. We returned to the cargo hold as the first Y-Wing docked with us. I connected the fuel line to the pods, waited a couple minutes, and then sent the pilot back into the bomber. There were no issues with this process, as I had all but mastered refueling ships for combat. But the last ship had one pilot who looked pissed off upon seeing our faces. "We've heard a lot about you, Phoenix Squadron," she said. "You have?" I questioned. "Yeah. You blew up the comm tower on Lothal and Tarkin's Star Destroyer," she replied. "The comm tower wasn't us, but the Star Destroyer? Guilty as charged," Zeb boasted, chuckling at his accomplishment. I remember hearing this story from him during one of our breaks. They rebelled against the Empire on their own at first. Lothal was their home, and they stopped at nothing to defend it. They inspired the citizens of their planet to rise up against the Empire. After blowing up the Star Destroyer, they got roped into Phoenix Squadron, where they've served ever since. All this happened just before they met me. When I was home. Oh, how simpler the times were back then. No war, no spaceships, just me and the people in my city. "You might wanna think twice before you pull another stunt like that. The Imperials have continued to tighten security around the Outer Rim. YOU are making things harder for all of us," she lambasted. "Well we don't mind doing things the hard way," Zeb slammed. "Every way we choose is hard. This war isn't gonna be easy. We have to take things bit by bit," I said, adding my own insight. The pilot scoffed at me for trying to undercut her. When will they learn to see the bigger picture?

Vander looked up from his datapad, visibly irritated with the ensuing debate. "Let's have this argument another time. Your little encounter may have jeopardized this mission," he said. "Oh, you mean the probe. Well, what did you expect us to do?" Zeb questioned. "Avoid detection, as ordered. This assignment is extremely sensitive," Vander scolded. "With all due respect, Captain, maybe you should have given us a few extra details instead of being so sensitive about your assignment. You can't leave us guessing," I countered. Chopper beeped something that drew an angry look from the female pilot. "Did your droid just insult me?" she shouted. Zeb and I looked at each other, snickering at what Chopper did. "My crew did the best we could, but you didn't give us much information to go on," Hera repeated. "Look, that probe you ran into, it was probably looking for our detachment. We are carrying a cargo highly valuable to the Rebellion, and desperately wanted by the Empire," Semaj explained. An alarm beeped rapidly, signaling that something entered our vicinity. "We have incoming!" Hera alerted. Vander's comlink beeped, and he picked up, expecting a response. "Gold Leader, we have enemy contact. Imperial cruiser and fighters," a pilot reported. "Move to intercept, I'm on my way," Vander responded before climbing up the ladder. The ship got hit multiple times by the TIE fighters, shaking it violently. Vander got knocked down while the female pilot got knocked out. I checked her pulse. She's still breathing. Good. "Gold 2 is down! Vitals should still be stable," I called out. "Zeb, get her to Medical, then get on the guns," Hera commanded. Zeb picked up the unconscious pilot and carried her away. "What about her ship? We need all the firepower we can get," I said. "Do you have anyone who can fly it?" Vander questioned. "Yeah, me!" I asserted. Vander gave me a skeptical look before turning his attention to Hera. "He can do it," she said. Vander nodded and climbed the ladder to get his own Y-Wing into the battle. "Y/N, just remember what I taught you," Hera told me. I disconnected the fuel line and jumped in the cockpit. I powered up the ship and descended from the cargo hold. "Gold 2 moving to engage," I announced over comms.