Team B was moving quickly down the various corridors. The Star Destroyer was surprisingly empty. The group had already taken down three pairs of stormtroopers, all before they could call for help.
"Almost to the hyperdrive controls," Abie said with her goggles down, BO-Z showing her the schematics.
A few more steps and the three of them froze. The commlinks activated and everyone could hear McCart's words. They listened in silence, everyone shocked at what they were hearing.
"McCart," Abie muttered under her breath. "After all these years."
The next thing they heard was the igniting of Lena's lightsaber. Rhodes wore a clear concerned expression as did Twitch.
"I know nothing I say will stop you two, so go after her. I'll be right behind you," Abie conceded, bowing her head.
Twitch and Rhodes gave each other a nod and took off into a sprint. Abie tried her best to keep up but couldn't match the long stride and urgency of the two men.
They weaved throughout the hallways, heading toward the path the other team was supposed to take. The sounds of blaster fire and a humming lightsaber could be heard prompting Twitch and Rhodes to run faster. Rhodes already had his lightsaber in hand while Twitch was running with his blaster out. The two turned another corner to see Nina laying on the ground, holding her stomach.
"Look! It's Nina," Twitch pointed out.
The Twi'lek extended a wobbly finger to point down the next hall. Rhodes was first to reach her, quickly turning the corner.
It was too late.
Lena was lying unconscious on the floor with McCart standing over her.
"Lena!" Rhodes yelled as he reached out with the Force, pulling Lena's lightsaber to him. He ignited both sabers as the rest of the stormtroopers opened fire. McCart grabbed a hold of Lena's leg and began dragging her away.
Twitch finally caught up and stood behind Rhodes and returned fire, being careful not to hit Lena. With every passing second, it seemed like more stormtroopers were filtering into the hallway.
By now, Abie had joined the group and was tending to Nina. "We have to get her out of here!" Abie shouted over the sounds of blaster fire.
Rhodes ignored her and continued to slice through the light blue stun rings coming from the stormtrooper's blasters.
"Captain, I think Abie is right," Twitch called as he ran back toward Nina.
"I can't leave her!" Rhodes bellowed as he stumbled backwards, trying to keep up with the volume of fire.
Twitch picked up Nina while Abie came running to Rhodes' side. "We don't have a choice. We can't help Lena if we all get captured. There is more at stake here than just her."
As much as Rhodes hated it, Abie had a point. "Fine!" he conceded. "Let's go. I'll cover you."
"Not needed," Abie said as she reached for her belt. She grabbed two small spheres and tossed them on the ground. Within seconds, the hallway was filled with smoke. "Thank Lena for those," Abie said as she grabbed hold of Rhodes' wrist.
By now, Twitch had scooped up Nina and was running back toward the hangar. Abie and Twitch ran side by side with Rhodes following closely behind.
"Hunter! Come in," Rhodes yelled into his commlink. There was no response. "I know you are there! Now is not the time to ignore me. Get the Kestrel into space. Attack the Star Destroyer in orbit. We are going to need a distraction."
A couple more seconds passed before he could hear grumbled beeps over the comm channel.
The group retraced their way back toward the hangar. Abie was first through the door with the others close behind, sealing the door behind them.
Abie froze as she noticed the dozens of stormtroopers waiting in the hangar. One stormtrooper in the front, sported an orange pauldron on his shoulder. "Surrender at once or be destroyed," the trooper ordered.
Abie glanced around the hangar, evaluating their options. The shuttle they had arrived on was off to the right, with two stormtroopers in front of it. They matched the physique of Jordavi and Tertrev. The two were aiming their blasters at the team in an attempt to blend in.
Before Abie could decide what to do, laser cannon fire came flying in from the underside hangar entrance. The blasts crashed into multiple TIE fighters suspended from the ceiling. The pieces of shrapnel came raining down on top of the stormtroopers.
"Now is our chance! Go!" Abie yelled as she opened fire. Jordavi and Tertrev each ripped off their helmets and did the same, picking off the panicked stormtroopers. The hangar was alit with explosions and blaster fire as more shots came flying in from the underside of the ship.
Amid the chaos, Twitch was running to the shuttle, trying to get Nina to safety.
The number of stormtroopers in the hangar was falling fast. Between the shrapnel falling from the ceiling and fire from two disguised stormtroopers, the group was taking heavy losses.
Twitch was first to make it aboard the shuttle. Seconds later, Jordavi and Tertrev were diving into the pilot's chairs to power up the shuttle. Rhodes and Abie remained on the ramp with Rhodes blocking any incoming fire and Abie picking off the remaining troopers. "Get us out of here!" Abie yelled as she finally entered the shuttle.
As the shuttle lifted into the air, Rhodes closed the ramp. "Hunter, we are in the Lambda-class shuttle leaving the lower hangar. Shift your focus to the destroyer's turbolasers." The droid was quick to confirm the orders as they saw the small freighter pass beneath the ship, the bubble turret spewing random lasers at the ship's underside.
"How's Nina doing?" Rhodes asked once in the main passenger compartment.
Abie looked up with clear concern on her face. "It's not good. She is unconscious, probably from the shock. We need to get her to the Insurgent's medical bay as soon as we can."
Abie's eyes went wide as if realizing something. She snatched at her commlink and turned it on. "Oster! Do you copy?"
The gruff voice of the Bothan was quick to reply. "Yes, Lady Edge. Everyone has returned from the recruitment mission which was a great success."
"Never mind that! McCart was working with the Empire. They know where our ships are. Get the Insurgent and Iron Stump into space and make for the rally point. We will meet you once you get into space."
"Yes, Lady Edge," Oster confirmed as the connection went to static.
"They call you Lady Edge?" A voice asked over the commchannel. "How touching."
"Admiral Rod," Abie muttered as the shuttle slipped out of the hangar.
"I commend your ability to escape and the strategic decision not to attempt a foolhardy rescue. Tell Charles Rhodes that I will see him soon enough. Until next time, Lady Edge."
The channel went silent. Rhodes was glaring at the commlink in Abie's hand. "She won't stop until I am dead."
Abie shook her head. "She won't stop until we are all dead. And it's a shame that won't happen anytime soon."
"Lady Edge," Jordavi called from the cockpit. "We are out of firing range of the Star Destroyer. Shall we make the jump?"
"Not yet," Abie replied once in the cockpit. "I want to make sure the rest of the fleet gets out alright."
The shuttle sat adrift, the group watching as the Violet Kestrel flew over the Kaali time and time again, keeping the ship's rows of turbolasers occupied. After a few minutes, the Insurgent and Iron Stump had arrived from the planet's surface and taken position next to the shuttle.
"Hunter, it's time to go. Join the fleet and dock with the Insurgent," Rhodes ordered once the fleet had assembled.
The Kestrel made one more pass before pulling off. The freighter was quick to dock with Insurgent and the fleet entered hyperspace.
"Governor Kerrim. The Grand Admiral has ordered you to join her on her Star Destroyer at your soonest convenience."
Kasdeya pressed a button on her desk to respond. "Thank you, Lugos. Ready my shuttle. I will leave immediately."
"Right away, Governor," Lugos replied.
Kasdeya took a deep breath and got up from her desk. She was dreading seeing Leneh again. Kasdeya had already made no attempt to hide her displeasure at the Admiral's presence in their first meeting. It was only a matter of time before they would meet again.
Kasdeya passed by her shelf of pictures and glanced at the one of her and Rhodes. She sighed and kept moving. No time for reminiscing today, she thought to herself.
Lugos was waiting outside the Governor's office. "Shall I accompany you, Your Excellency?"
"No, Lugos. I should be fine. Hold things down here."
"Very well," the man acknowledged before quickly walking away.
Kasdeya turned the other way and navigated the hallways toward one of the building's three towers. The turbolift rose to the top of the tower. The doors slid open to reveal a small domed room with a docking tube attached. Kasdeya boarded the Imperial light cruiser which housed her personal shuttle.
The short journey felt much longer than it was. Kasdeya sat nervously in her chair as the shuttle landed in the main hangar of the ISD Kaali.
She disembarked the shuttle and looked around the hangar. "What happened here?" She asked once she noticed the still burning pieces of shrapnel in the hangar.
"A rebel attack was thwarted but they did do considerable damage to the hangar," The Commander of the stormtrooper escort replied.
"Interesting," she started. "We best not keep the Admiral waiting. Lead the way, Commander."
Grand Admiral Leneh Rod was waiting in her office, examining a sapling in a pot. Kasdeya entered the room and the door closed behind her. "I am pleased you made the time to join me, Governor Kerrim."
"Not sure I had much of an option." Kasdeya replied as she took a seat in front of the desk. "What can I do for you?"
Leneh set aside the plant and folded her hands on the desk. "As I am sure you no doubt noticed, the rebels made a brazen attack on my Star Destroyer. This calamity was brought to cover their escape only after we captured the Jedi girl."
"But not the other one?" Kasdeya asked with a confused expression.
"Unfortunately, not. The escape of Charles Rhodes is regrettable; however, I will have him soon enough. The loss of his apprentice will leave him unbalanced and emotional. He and his allies will become reckless. Use that against them."
Kasdeya was still confused. "Me?"
Leneh chuckled softly. "Why yes, Governor. I am leaving things to your command for the time being. I have some business to attend to in the Sprizen sector."
"But Admiral I—"
Leneh gave her no chance to finish her statement. "You surprise me, Governor. I would have thought you would be pleased with this arrangement. I was under the impression that you felt my presence to be rather unnecessary."
Kasdeya went to say something but fell silent when Leneh raised a finger.
"I am confident that a woman of your talents will manage in my absence. Your personal light cruiser should be plenty to combat the rebel threat. You may go."
Kasdeya was feeling a mixture of confusion and frustration. She stood up and gave Leneh a bow. "Very well, Grand Admiral."
Kasdeya turned to leave when Leneh continued to speak. "Oh, and Governor," she said as Kasdeya turned around. "It would be wise not to disappoint me. I hold a great deal of power on Coruscant. It would be a shame if someone else were to prove more useful than yourself. That is all."
Kasdeya shuddered as she left the office. She was lost in thought, trying to guess as to what Leneh was talking about.
Before she knew it, she had bumped into someone. She looked up to see the scowling face of a man with a scar over his left eye.
"Watch where you are going," the man grumbled as he kept going, diving into Leneh's office.
Kasdeya tried to calm herself as she headed back to her shuttle, Leneh's words still running circles in her head.
The Cloud Squadron fleet emerged from hyperspace into the emptiness of space. The team's Imperial shuttle was quick to dock with the Insurgent.
Oster was waiting at the airlock to greet the others when Twitch came rushing through the door, Nina in his arms. The Bothan stepped aside as Twitch ran by. Abie and Rhodes rushed by as well, the Bothan scratching his head in confusion.
"What happened?" Oster asked, once he caught the grim expression of both Jordavi and Tertrev.
"McCart turned on us," Jordavi said with a blank expression.
"I know that part," Oster replied. "I'm talking about what happened to the others."
Jordavi sighed. "Nina got shot and that Jedi girl got captured. The whole thing was a setup."
Oster stood with a blank face, unsure of what to say. Tertrev placed a hand on Jordavi's shoulder. "You two should go check on the others. I can take care of the prisoners."
"Prisoners?" Oster asked. "We do that now?"
Tertrev shrugged before pointing to the two tied up Imperial pilots. "They came with the shuttle. Not much we could do. I'm just going to toss them in a cell, and we can get them home later. They are the least of our worries at the moment."
Oster nodded his head and followed Jordavi down the hallway toward the medical bay. The med bay door was closed when they arrived.
As soon as Oster attempted to cup his ear to the door, it slid open to reveal a clenched teeth scowl on Abie's face. "Out of my way!" she yelled as she shoved Oster against the opposite wall.
The Bothan stood in shock as he watched Abie briskly walk down the hallway. Twitch was next to emerge from the room, paying no attention to the two soldiers. "Abie!" Twitch shouted as he ran after his sister.
Jordavi and Oster gave each other looks before noticing Rhodes gingerly walking out of the medical bay. He closed the door behind him as he gave the two soldiers a somber look.
"We lost her," Rhodes muttered while looking at the floor.
Oster clenched his fist trying his best to control his rage. This time, he lost control. Oster snapped his eyes closed and threw a punch into the corridor wall. "How many more do we have to lose?" he shouted after throwing another punch. He got a few more punches in before he slumped to the floor, holding his fist.
Jordavi stood still, her eyes filling with tears. She shut her eyes for a second, allowing her tears to drop to the floor. She wobbled over to the wall where she slid down, sitting next to Oster.
Rhodes didn't know what to do or say. The grief of the two were weighing on him. Or was that his own grief? He couldn't tell anymore. His normally fine-tuned senses were muddled. Unsure of what to do, he slowly walked away from the two, giving them space to process Nina's death.
Rhodes wandered around the ship, passing by nervous Cloud Squadron members who were still unaware of what had happened. Rhodes thought about telling them but couldn't bring himself to do it. Instead, he kept his head down as he eventually made it to the airlock. He tapped a button and the door opened, revealing Hunter.
The droid spun around with delight while sending out a high-pitched warble.
"Yes, Hunter. You did good," Rhodes said while trying to muster a small smile.
Rhodes made his way to the cockpit and collapsed into the Kestrel's pilot chair. Hunter remained at the ship's entrance, looking back and forth from the Insurgent to Rhodes.
"You can close the door. She isn't coming," Rhodes said without looking back.
Hunter did as he was told before rolling into the cockpit. Rhodes was gazing out the viewport at the emptiness of space when he heard his droid's next series of beeps.
"I don't know. Probably still aboard that Star Destroyer."
Hunter remained silent and tilted his head against the arm of Rhodes' chair. Although Hunter couldn't technically feel emotions, it sure looked like it. At the very least, the droid was smart enough to notice the grief that his master was feeling.
Rhodes sighed and looked down at the droid. "Don't worry buddy. I will get her back... if it's the last thing I do."