Sabine and I woke up earlier than everyone else to fix the Phantom. The Empire could be here sooner than we anticipated, so getting as much done as possible was paramount. Upon exiting the inside of the walker, I was met with the rays of the sun on the horizon. Just like another opening shift, except I'm outdoors. I opened our ship's door and detached a panel, assessing the damage again, more closely this time. The left engine looked awful, to say the least. This would take a while. "Y/N, hand me the fusion cutter and plasma welder. We have to join these wires together if the Phantom is gonna fly," she told me. I knew how to work the tools that were similar or identical to the ones back on Earth, but there was a lot that was different here. So many unfamiliar items, but she explained their uses in a way I'd understand. I thought I was pretty resourceful, but Sabine just one-upped me at everything. "Agh, there's a lot of blockage here. Help me out," she said. "Alright, what do you need me to do?" I asked, ready to help. "Push the red and blue wires towards me, we'll work on the green and purple ones later," she answered. "One at a time is the most efficient way, correct?" I wondered. "You're getting the hang of it," she complimented. I smiled, proud that my instincts still serve me well here. Doing as she told me, I pushed the wires where they needed to go. Then, I watched her precisely weld the broken pieces together. "Engine tape," she called out. Reaching into the toolbox, I grabbed the roll of tape and handed it to her. "Not me, you. Actually, you know what, switch. You hold the wires and I'll tape it off." "Gotcha." We switched, and being careful not to move anything, she patched the damage up. We did this a few more times as the morning dragged on, but there was still a lot to do. The Phantom was nowhere close to flying yet, and we had to update the crew on our progress.
Sabine tapped her comlink, signaling Kanan. "The probe hit us pretty badly. Repairs are gonna take a little while longer," she said. "We don't have much time. There's no telling when the Empire will get here. We've got to get off the surface," Kanan warned us. "Well, the Empire's not our only problem. There's a storm coming up behind us," Sabine responded. I peered out and saw a big dust cloud forming in the opposite direction of our walker, slowly getting closer. "If the Empire gets here before we take off, the storm will be the least of our problems," he said. "Wrench," I told Sabine. We did a similar operation repairing a much bigger ship before and succeeded. Well, mostly. I took the wrench from her hand and tightened some screws. The engine needed to stay in place so we could fly, but this would be a lengthy process. After a few minutes, I heard a TIE Fighter shoot right above us, so I dropped everything and warned the crew inside the walker. "They found us!" Sabine alerted. "Looks like that search pattern paid off," Ezra commented. "Battle stations," Rex commanded, pulling a crate from behind us. Zeb opened the crate, and in it lay some rifles and a rocket launcher. Grabbing a rifle, we rushed up top to see the TIE shooting around the walker. I got in a defensive position right by the turret. "We're sitting mynocks on this thing!" Ezra shouted. "Think so? Wolffe, evasive maneuvers," Rex said. The walker started to move erratically to dodge the TIE's lasers. "Hurry, he's coming around for another pass!" I urged the crew. Once the fighter got in range, we started shooting at it. None of our shots were landing, they all went under the TIE. "You're welcome to help!" Zeb shouted, noticing the clones doing nothing to help stave off the flying machine. "Why spoil the fun? We haven't been shot at in years," Gregor joked. "Yeah? Well, this happens to us every day," Sabine remarked as the TIE flew over our heads. "Why doesn't someone man the big gun?" Ezra questioned. He made a good point, it was probably more powerful and accurate than relying on our hand-eye coordination. "No good in this situation," Rex answered. "Ah, kind of like you guys," Kanan criticized as he climbed on top of the Phantom. His skepticism was still showing and there was no sign of it going away soon. I ducked down to avoid the TIE's lasers, and as it passed over us, Gregor took aim and shot a rocket at the ship. The missile hit its target perfectly, and it exploded the TIE in the air. "Gregor, you still got it," Rex praised. "It's in my blood," Gregor said back, his experience still showing. "You know, we'd make a good team if we all fought together," Ezra said. He really is a rebel at heart. "Yeah, tried that once. Didn't work out so well," Kanan replied, alluding to the catastrophic end to the previous war. Ezra told me last night that the vast majority of the Jedi were killed by the clones, so Kanan still had a lot of animosity. "Now if that storm gets any closer it'll ground us. Sabine, Y/N, get the Phantom ready to fly," Kanan ordered. "Got it," we said, retaking our positions back at the half-done engine. The Empire didn't appear to send any reinforcements yet, so I'm confident we will finish this soon.
Repairs took about an hour to complete. Sabine and I make a good team. Aside from that one miscommunication with the wires, I was picking up her lingo pretty quickly. "Alright, with any luck we should get out of here soon," I announced. "We can't just leave Rex, Wolffe, and Gregor here," Ezra said, unable to come to terms with leaving the war veterans behind. "Well, the Empire is here because of us. We'll deal with the consequences," Rex reasoned. It was then that I heard some rumbling in the distance. "Wait. Listen. You hear that?" Zeb said, panicking a little. "Enemy contact, .24," Wolffe said. The clones grabbed some electrobinoculars to see what we were up against. "How many legs have they got?" Wolffe asked. "Looks like four," Gregor answered. "Four? Well, how are they not falling over?" "Well look at the size of those things!" They were enthused by their seemingly unusual build, but there were a lot of technical features that made them superior. "Huh, reinforced armor plating, heavy cannons, and antipersonnel blasters," Rex analyzed. "I'm glad you guys are so excited, but those giant death machines are on their way to blow us to bits!" Ezra said, terrified. I was frightened as well by the seemingly unstoppable walkers. Thinking quickly, Rex devised a plan. "Wolffe, set vector two-niner-zero," he ordered. "Wait, you're just gonna turn and run? Just like that?" Kanan asked, confused by their sudden cowardice. "Well, if you got a better idea sir, now's the time," Rex wisecracked, certain that our best chance of survival is going into the dust storm. "I thought you clones loved to fight," Kanan said. "I do love a battle, but on my terms. Gregor, drop the joopa, we gotta get moving. Wolffe, turn 180," Rex commanded. Shedding weight was the best way to outrun the walkers, but it's a shame the joopa couldn't come with us. We finished the more subtle parts of the engine and gave everyone an update. "Kanan, I don't know how far we'll get, but I think she'll fly," Sabine said. "Good enough for me. Zeb, we're going now," Kanan ordered. "Too late, the walkers are already on top of us," Rex pointed out. "He's right, Kanan, they'll shoot us down," Ezra agreed. "How will going into that storm be any better?" I argued, desperate to get off this rock. "Well, the storm will scramble their scanners, we'll all be blind," Sabine answered. "But a Jedi won't," Rex interjected. Thinking for a second, Kanan made up his mind. "Alright. Everybody, inside!" He commanded. We all ran inside the walker, hoping the storm would help us lose the walkers on our tail.
"We're not gonna be able to hide from this storm forever," Ezra said as we planned out how to evade the Imperials. "Those things are practically impervious to blasters, but they have one weak point in their armor: The neck," Sabine explained, giving her analysis on the Imperial walkers. "One well-placed shot from the main gun should destroy it," Gregor said, initiating our plan of attack. "That's all we might get. One shot," Rex stated, stressing the importance of hitting our mark. Missing certainly wasn't in the cards. Otherwise, we'd be an easy target and get blown to pieces. Zeb repeatedly tapped the main computer screen hoping the scopes would come back online, but it didn't work. "I don't know how we're supposed to shoot something we can't see. I don't even know where the enemy is," he grumbled, doubtful that we have a good angle to take down one of the walkers. "You don't always have to see something to know where it is. If you're willing to trust me, I can get us that shot," Kanan said. "I always trust my general," Rex replied. Kanan raised his hand and scanned the area around him. More Force stuff, I assume. I trust him to succeed though. After a little bit, he signaled Wolffe to stop the walker. Sensing a change in direction, he ordered the walker to circle left before stopping again. "If what I'm sensing is right, we're surrounded," he confirmed, garnering some surprised looks from all of us. Isn't that what we didn't want? To be right in the enemy's line of fire? "You put us right in the middle of them to get us a shot. It's crazy, but it's probably our best chance," Rex said. "Once we fire, we'll reveal our location. If we miss, it's all over," Sabine added. "So who's gonna take the shot?" I asked. If nobody stepped up, I would. "I'll take the shot," Gregor volunteered. "No, Ezra should take the shot," Kanan countered, putting his Padawan on the spot. "Uh, why don't you do it?" Ezra questioned, thinking his master would be more qualified due to his battle experience. Rex unexpectedly had the perfect answer to that. "Kanan's right. We need one Jedi up there manning the cannon, and another Jedi down here to lead us out of this mess. You are the only ones who can see in this storm. Sabine, spot him." The two teens went to exit the control room. Ezra caught Rex's helmet on his way out, just in case he needed to see. It was nice having seasoned war heroes assisting us in our battle. However, our success and survival now lay on Ezra. I waited nervously for the shot to be taken. Kanan was guiding him, telling him to trust himself despite the scopes being down. We waited, then waited, and waited some more. Then it happened. I heard an explosion from outside the walker, confirming that Ezra did it. "Wolffe, there's your opening. Go for it!" Kanan shouted. The walker moved away from the Imperials, and eventually, out of the storm.
We exited the walker's control room and made our way to the Phantom, getting ready to fly away from Seelos. "Great shot kid, now get yourself moving. This is your only chance," Rex told Ezra. "What? We can't leave now," he replied, still not satisfied with leaving the clones outmatched. "We have to get the information back to the rebellion," Kanan said, reminding him of the mission. Ezra became frustrated at this response and fired back at his master. "The other part of the mission is to bring Rex back with us. We can't just abandon them," he stressed. "You're not abandoning anyone, we're covering your escape. Now move," Rex demanded. Ezra resigned, handing the clone his helmet and trudging into the Phantom. "We're soldiers Ezra, this is what we were born to do!" Rex said. The door closed and we took off. I felt bad watching that exchange, and potentially seeing those clones for the last time just didn't sit right with me. I had to say something here. "Kanan, I've seen how spirited they get during a battle, and you know this better than anyone else. This fight, It's gonna be their last," I said, hoping my words would convince him enough to help them. But the Jedi sat in silence, pondering something. Just then, we heard a voice coming from the comms. "I read you, Kanan," Hera said from the other end. "We got the information we need," he told the captain. "Copy that," she responded, taking a brief pause before speaking up again. "It's too bad about Captain Rex, but at least you got the intel. I'll rendezvous with you shortly." She ended the call, and Ezra finally gathered the strength to speak, knowing exactly what would break through to Kanan. "What are we gonna tell Ahsoka? Rex was her friend, even though he was a clone." It seemed that finally did the trick, as Kanan sighed and turned to face us. "I've got my problems with clones, but I don't want those men to die." We smiled at his change of heart as he turned the Phantom around and quickly came up with a plan. "Sabine, bring us around to the furthest walker. Ezra, Zeb, and I will jump down and take over in the cockpit." So I'm staying on the ship. Again. Doing nothing. Again. Perfect. Just perfect. Sabine took over the flight sticks and shot at the walker directly above the clones. "Hang on Y/N!" she told me, opening the ramp for the rest of the crew. The trio jumped down on top of the walker, cutting through the roof. After flying a little more, we found the Ghost in the atmosphere. We docked and I ran up to the cockpit to see if the attack was a success. It was. Not only did we complete our mission, but we saved the clones' lives as well. I gave a thumbs up, congratulating them on the victory. Although their walker might have been destroyed, they technically got an upgrade with a new, reinforced one. Even better news, Rex chose to come with us to the rebellion. Getting everyone on board the Ghost, we exited the planet and jumped to hyperspace, ready to integrate our new ally into our cause.
We docked to the command ship of Phoenix Squadron and ran into Ahsoka. She gave a curious look as to what we were hiding. We parted the hallway to reveal Rex had returned, reuniting commander and clone. "Commander," Rex said to his old friend. "You got old," he joked. "Had to happen sometime, Rex," Ahsoka quipped. They embraced after having not seen each other for so many years. "I'm glad you're still alive," he said. "You too," she replied. Eventually, they pulled apart and turned to face us. "Well, I wouldn't be if it weren't for these guys," Rex said, giving us his gratitude. "Thank you for trusting my friend," Ahsoka complimented, remembering we followed through on her message before the mission. "It wasn't easy. It's still not," Kanan said, being honest about his struggles with the past. "Nothing worth doing ever is," Ahsoka replied. Seems as if all the Jedi are just gifted with wisdom. We walked over to the bridge for debriefing, our morale higher than ever. I just completed my first mission. I may not have done all that much, but it was a victory nonetheless. I'll get a bigger role soon. Let's see what tomorrow has in store.