Star Wars Rebels: Dark Secrets

Chapter 5

Thalia wasn't sure why she was still stuck on guard duty but today she decided to have a bit of fun with her prisoner. The past week she had been well aware that he was studying the place for a way out and studying her to learn her habits, not to mention annoying everyone with that humor of his... Okay, she kind of encouraged that considering she had started annoying him first with her own. According to the information she'd received from Konstantin the rebel cell Ezra Bridger was a part of would be here for their rescue mission soon, which meant he was going to try escaping today. That information and her suspicions on how Bridger would be escaping was the entire reason for her strange position of crawling through the vent to sit in ambush.

She had been in the vents for hours though and Thalia was starting to feel like she'd been tricked into doing something like this for being an insubordinate in Konstantin and the Inquisitors' eyes. Scoffing mentally so Ezra wouldn't be alerted to her presence in here she checked the time on her wrist again... surely something should be happening... this was boring and a waste of time. Or, she thought so until a slight clang could be heard followed by the sound of something coming into the vent. So, she hadn't been tricked. Thalia listened as Ezra drew closer before crawling out of her spot and blocking his path.

"Get back to your cell!" Thalia ordered, amused at his bewildered expression.

He quickly recovered however and gave her a smug look. "No."

"I will shove you back out of here if you don't go willingly." She threatened with a growl.

Ezra waved his hand in her face. "You will let me pass."

So he was going to play that game huh? Thalia raised her own hand and twisted his wrist to slam it onto the hard metal. "You will go back to your cell."

"Why doesn't it ever work?" He muttered to himself before using his other hand to try shoving her away. "Let go of me!"

She copied his movement. "No."

After a few minutes of struggling like that a loud creak sounded through the vent before it caved in, sending the two of them to the floor of another cell. Thalia kicked the prisoner away from her as she stood up and got into a better stance, luckily this was an empty cell so she still only had him to focus on. Ezra recovered quickly, something she had expected considering what she'd read in his file, and the two clashed again. Forgetting to take advantage of her weapons, she continued her hand-to-hand combat, the pair crashing to the floor as they wrestled to gain the upper hand. Thalia had to admit, he was good at fighting like this, probably from his time on the streets if she remembered what she'd read correctly, and was pretty sure he was slowly getting the upper hand.

She felt him pull her lightsaber off her back before hearing its familiar humming after she was Force-pushed across the cell; she glanced up at him with a smirk. "Looking like a pretty nice Inquisitor... all you need to do is put on a little black and bam! Ezra Bridger, the newest Inquisitor for the Empire!"

That seemed to make him hesitate, the red glow on his skin making his appearance seem almost sinister until he stopped walking in her direction. So, he didn't like being compared to an Inquisitor... hmm, interesting. She could use that against him. Thalia stood up and pulled out her blaster, firing several shots that were each deflected as her enemy swung the blade. Thalia continued her attacks before stumbling as he used the Force to pull her blaster from her hands despite her attempts to hold onto it. She went to her knees and a whirling sounded a second later where her head had been, rolling across the floor to create space between her and Ezra, who seemed to be debating on going after her or cutting through the cell door.