Rhodes stood with a blank expression as he looked at the face that was staring back at him. As much as he wanted to be shocked with who was under the helmet, he wasn't surprised. It was something that he had felt the second he stepped off their ship. A sense of familiar, cold darkness that was more intense than ever.
Rhodes let out a sharp exhale as he raised his blade. "Lena," he softly said. "Why?"
Lena laughed as she brushed her now shoulder length hair off her face. "Weren't you listening? Oh, that's right. You have a hard time listening over the sound of your bleeding-heart. I almost preferred how you were before we were backed into that corner in Dev's fortress. Now, you are off on a hopeless moral crusade that you haven't the slightest chance of being successful at. I have come to see that quite clearly. You didn't even try to come for me when I needed you most. I held out hope for months that you or the rest of Cloud Squadron would rescue me. But no. You were off stealing deflector cores and other supplies for your rebellion."
Rhodes was doing his best to remain calm but all the guilt that he had been trying to suppress since the day she was captured was bubbling to the surface. He couldn't help the urge to defend himself. "I wanted to come for you. I really did. But Abie—"
"Don't even start with her," Lena shot back, interrupting her former master. "Your sad devotion to her cause is what started all this. And now that I think of it, I never much cared for listening to her. She used us, Rhodes. Can't you see that. We were just Abie's pawns."
"And you aren't one now?"
"The Empire has given me purpose. That was something that I never got with Cloud Squadron. You always said the Jedi wanted peace and now that the Empire is close to achieving that peace, you and the rest of the rebels are the only thing standing in the way."
Rhodes was finally letting his frustration show. His tone of voice became harsher as he said, "What kind of peace is it when citizens cower in fear of a tyrannical government that responds with brutal force to anyone who steps out of line?"
"I grow tired of this discussion," Lena said while tossing her helmet to the side. Her lightsaber soon blazed to life as she brought it up in front of her.
Rhodes closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I don't want to fight you."
"That's too bad," Lena yelled while lunging forward, her saber aimed right at his chest.
Rhodes' eyes snapped open just in time as he parried the blow, burying the tip of her saber into the wall. Rhodes quickly ducked as a second blade leapt out of the back of Lena's lightsaber. Had he not sensed the danger, his head would have been impaled by the second blade.
Rhodes rolled backwards before popping back to his feet. He stood at the ready, waiting again for Lena to make her move. She grunted while pulling the end of her weapon out of the flimsy space station wall.
Lena switched to a two-handed grip on her now double-bladed lightsaber before lunging again. This time, she swung to her right, an attack that was easily deflected by Rhodes, who turned his body to stop the blade just before his face. Not slowing down, Lena turned to her weapon to the other side, aiming the second blade at the Jedi's back. Lena was always faster than Rhodes, but he still had one major advantage. He was still vastly more experienced when it came to anticipating attacks.
Without turning around, he was able to counter the attack by first bringing his lightsaber behind his head. Red and green clashed for a split second before Rhodes shoved Lena back with Force.
Normally when he tried this move in sparring sessions, it would send her toppling head over heel the other way. This time, she slid backwards a few meters but stayed upright.
Rhodes took this time to collect himself as he reached for his belt. From there, he produced the second lightsaber... Lena's lightsaber. He ignited the amethyst blade and held both weapons at his side.
"That isn't yours," the Inquisitor roared while running toward him. Rhodes took three long strides forward before dropping to his knees into a slide.
Lena reacted by leaping in the air and coming back down toward him, lightsaber first. Rhodes raised his two lightsabers above his head, each blade making contact with a blade of Lena's saber. Fully expecting this move, Rhodes caught her weight and pushed upward sending Lena tumbling behind him.
Rhodes didn't slow down, jumping to his feet and continuing down the hallway toward Leneh, who was watching from a distance, and Twitch, who was now lying on his side with a blank expression.
Rhodes passed by Twitch and ran straight toward Leneh. The Admiral calmly reached toward the wall and pressed a button. Before Rhodes could reach her, a windowed blast door had closed between them. Leneh maintained the same expression as she watched Rhodes bang a fist on the door. A second later she was forced to take a step back as green and purple blades pierced through the door.
Rhodes barely finished cutting a disc in the door when Lena was bearing down on him. She slashed at his head, narrowly missing a strand of hair that had come loose from his ponytail. Rhodes rolled backwards under the attack, popping to his feet behind his former apprentice.
With lightning speed, Lena turned her body to the side and with an open palm, let out a powerful Force push. Rhodes was caught off guard and went tumbling down the hallway, his two lightsabers flying from his hands.
He had seen her power before, but this was different. These attacks were fueled by something more than her typical determination. They were fueled by pure rage. This, Rhodes knew, was a dark side quality. That was one of the fundamental differences between the Sith and the Jedi. The Sith follow their passions often ending up using their fear or anger to drive their every action. The Jedi, on the other hand, suppressed emotion and fought with peace and harmony.
There is no emotion, there is peace, Rhodes thought as he stumbled to his feet, his vision spinning. He looked up to see Lena with her lightsaber hovering over Twitch's motionless body. She used her boot to roll him onto his back, leaving her foot resting on his chest.
"And you," she started, looking down at Twitch's face. "I would have thought you of all people would have come after me. I should have expected as much from Rhodes, following his moral code to protect the group before the individual. But did I not save your life over Teth? Was that not a good enough reason to try to save me?"
Since Lena had removed her helmet, Twitch had been completely silent. He was doing his best to process the emotions that he was feeling. Less than five minutes earlier, he had believed that Lena was dead. Then he learned that Lena herself was the Imperial who had told him. The pain he was feeling was nearly unbearable as he looked up at the face that he had come to save.
He took a deep breath and mustered up the strength to speak. "I tried," he replied. "We both tried, but we couldn't find you."
"You didn't try hard enough," she shot back.
"I'm sorry, Lena," Twitch said in a somber tone.
"It's too late for sorry," Lena whispered as she deactivated one of her lightsaber blades. She raised the one remaining blade over her head and after hesitating for a second, swung down. Twitch closed his eyes and tightened all the muscles in his body.
But nothing happened. Twitch thought that was it, but he could still feel the cold floor under his back. He opened his eyes to see the lightsaber blade frozen in the air. Lena was straining as she tried to plunge the blade down. Twitch tilted his head back to see Rhodes walking forward with an outstretched hand.
"I can't let you do that," he said in a firm voice. As he slowly approached her, Lena's face twisted into a vicious scowl.
"What now, my old master?" she grunted.
"I hope one day you will come to your senses, my fallen apprentice."
With those words, Rhodes extended both arms and sent Lena flying backwards into the windowed blast door. She crashed into the piece of the door that Rhodes had cut out, sending her and the metal disc through the door.
"Time to go!" Rhodes yelled while lifting Twitch to his feet. The two men took off down the hallway, Rhodes retrieving both lightsabers on the way.
He cut through Twitch's binders and handed the man his blaster. "What's the plan, Captain?"
"We are going to have to fight our way out of here. Try not to think about what just happened. I need you sharp."
"I'll do my best."
Rhodes and Twitch rounded the corner to see Hunter already speeding away, the satellite on his head spinning. The droid led the way back to the hangar. The yacht that they had arrived in was still sitting where they left it but now it was guarded by half a dozen stormtroopers.
The second Twitch and Rhodes burst into the hangar, the space was alight with blaster fire. Twitch was able to gun down two of the troopers with his first volley before hopping behind Rhodes who was deflecting shots with the two lightsabers. Although outnumbered, the two handily took care of the rest of the stormtroopers.
"Hunter, tell Lance's guards to get us out of here!" Rhodes shouted as the group made a break for the ship.
Hunter was first to enter, followed closely by Twitch. Rhodes was last aboard but froze midway up the ramp. A chill ran down his spine as he felt that familiar, cold darkness.
He turned around to see Lena briskly walking into the hangar. Behind her, more stormtroopers streamed into the room. As Rhodes readied himself, he felt the yacht lift into the air. Before Rhodes could breathe easy, the ship lurched, and the engines strained. Lena had grabbed hold of the ship with the Force, intent on not letting her prey escape.
At the same time, the rest of her forces opened fire. Rhodes instantly knew what he had to do. With a hail of blaster bolts flying his way, Rhodes picked one and deflected it straight into the shoulder of Lena. She shrieked in pain and the ship was released.
Rhodes mouthed the words, I'm sorry, before the ramp closed and the ship shot out of the hangar and into space.
Rhodes rushed into the cockpit of the yacht to find a white knuckled Twitch clutching the controls and the two bodies of Lance's guards were lying on the floor next to him. Hunter was plugged into a computer port off to the side while sending out a flurry of beeps and warbles.
"I don't understand what your droid is trying to tell me!" Twitch shouted.
"He wants you to go away from the Star Destroyer for one," Rhodes replied while slipping into the other seat. "And he is accusing you of killing the guards."
Twitch whipped his head around and scowled at the droid who let out some mischievous bleeps.
"The Empire must have executed them after I snuck out," Rhodes continued. "Innocent lives lost just to get to me."
"We don't have time to dwell on it!" Twitch yelled. "We got TIEs closing fast!"
Rhodes quickly shifted his focus to the radar. A swarm of green dots were appearing on the outer edges of the small screen coming from the nearby Star Destroyer. "Just get on the guns and raise the shields. Hunter, get us into hyperspace as fast as you can."
"Uh, Rhodes?"
"What now, Twitch?"
"This ship doesn't have guns and only has light shielding."
Rhodes sighed and shook his head. "If it's not one thing it's another. How long until hyperspace, Hunter?"
The droid was quick to respond with a low warble.
"Not fast enough!" Rhodes shot back.
"What do we do, Captain?" Twitch asked, clear concern showing in his voice.
Rhodes kept a rather confident composure but, on the inside, he was starting to panic. Getting into tough situations was typical for him but normally he had a way to fight back. With no weapons and minimal shields, Rhodes didn't know what to do.
Before he could answer Twitch's question, another scanner on the control panel began to beep. Twitch and Rhodes simultaneously looked at the scanner, at each other, and then straight ahead.
Suddenly, out of the blackness of space, a small cruiser popped into view. A few seconds later, a familiar voice came over their shared comm channel.
"Hiya, boys," Abie said in a joyful expression. "Need some help?"
Twitch was first to respond. "Boy, am I glad to hear your voice. If you could keep those TIEs off our back, we can make the jump."
"On it," Abie responded.
Within seconds, five A-wings came shooting out of the Insurgent's hangar. The fighters screamed past the yacht and quickly engaged the TIE fighters.
The Imperial pilots were quickly overwhelmed by the sudden appearance of the A-wings. The squad of TIEs that were nearing firing range of the yacht were torn to shreds, finally giving Rhodes some breathing room.
"Abie, we are clear. Let's get out of here."
"Copy that, Rhodes. Let's go home Cloud Squadron," Abie replied.
The yacht sailed past the Insurgent followed by the five fighters. After a wide turn, the cruiser fell in line bringing up the rear. One by one, the ships jumped to hyperspace.
One of the main reasons Abie had been so successful as a leader was her obsession with planning. In this case, her extensive network of planned escape routes and rendezvous points that she had her team memorize was coming in handy.
Less than a minute after Twitch brought Lance's ship out of hyperspace, the five A-wings and the Insurgent had popped into the dead of space. The fighters returned to their spots within the hangar of the Insurgent before the cruiser pulled alongside the yacht and a docking ramp was extended.
Abie waited in the hangar of the Insurgent where she congratulated her pilots on the successful mission. It wasn't long before Hunter rolled into the hangar followed by a weary looking Twitch and Rhodes.
Abie scanned their two faces in an attempt to answer some questions. She had already gathered that their mission had been a failure, but she still didn't know much.
"I'm sorry," was all she could muster.
Twitch's mouth moved but no words came out. "Thank you for coming for us," he finally got out.
Abie shrugged and pointed to Hunter who was now sitting next to her. "Thank the droid. He sent a message to BO-Z asking for help. Apparently, they are friends now. BO-Z, in change, demanded that we come to the rescue."
"Good job, buddy," Rhodes said to his gleeful droid.
"What about Lena and Lance?" Abie finally asked, addressing the topic on everyone's mind.
Twitch hung his head and gestured for Rhodes to tell the story.
As much as Rhodes didn't want to admit what happened, he told the story. "Lance and his guards are dead. Executed by the Empire. As for Lena. The girl we all knew is gone. Twisted by the dark side of the Force and made to serve the Empire."
Abie was nodding her head while taking it all in. "I am sorry to hear about Lance and his men. He was a dedicated rebel and a good friend. And for Lena, I take it this matter is resolved?" She stared at the two until they both gave reluctant confirmations. "Good. We can talk next steps forward once back at the base," she said before turning around.
She walked a few steps before turning back. "I'm sorry about Lena. I know how much she meant to you both." She waited a few more seconds before leaving the two still standing in front of the docking tube.
Twitch was first to speak up saying, "I just don't get it. How could she join them?"
Rhodes sighed before turning back toward the Yacht. "Her choice wasn't only her fault. Leneh found a way to get to her. A way to manipulate her thoughts. Regardless of how it went, she will make this fight all the more difficult for us going forward."
"Do you think we have a chance to get her back?"
"Only time will tell. I wouldn't count it out, but we shouldn't get our hopes up."
Twitch hung his head. "Well, I guess it's time to move on and focus on the fight ahead."
Rhodes managed a soft smile as he patted the man on the shoulder. "Rightyou are, my friend."