It's been several days and the base is coming along nicely. Our command center is completely set up but many supply crates still need to be delivered to the storage section sitting right behind the center. Zeb and I have done most of the manual labor alongside the other rebel soldiers. Just grabbing crates and pulling weights. Even with our progress, we still weren't done. "Ghost to Phoenix Home, we're heading down with another load," Hera said. "Copy, Ghost. We'll meet you down on the surface," Sato replied. "One more run, then we'll take a break," Hera said. "Thank God. I need one," I responded. I was drenched in sweat and my muscles have been extremely sore. I proceeded to drink a little more water from my canteen, but I noticed a slight glare from Hera. "Careful with your rations, Y/N. Until we find a source on Atollon, our water supply is limited," she warned. "Zeb, are they still at it?" "Pretty much non-stop," he said. I followed him down the ladder and into the cargo bay, where Ezra and Kanan were dueling. They've been training tirelessly the past few days, and these Inquisitors were serious business. "Keep your blade up. It's easier to drop it than it is to raise it," Kanan instructed. Ezra was on his back foot for a little before getting into a blade lock with his master, who countered this sudden resistance with a Force push. Ezra recovered just in time before getting hit by Kanan's lightsaber, rolling out of the way and then firing stun bolts. "You know that's my move," Kanan said. "I steal from the best," Ezra quipped. The two Jedi stared each other down, waiting for someone to make a move. It was the Padawan who bit first, swinging while sliding down, but he completely missed. He backflipped over Kanan before he held his lightsaber at his neck. "Gotcha!" Ezra cheered in victory. "And I've got you," Kanan countered, holding his lightsaber toward Ezra's stomach. "Tied again?" he yelled in frustration. "There's no such thing as a tie. You lose, you die," Kanan said. "Yeah, and you win by killing an Inquisitor," Ezra spoke up. "No. You win by surviving," Kanan lectured. The Jedi making it out of their imminent meetup with the Inquisitors was paramount, as they were the beacons of hope for this rebellion to look up to. "You two are getting pretty good," Sabine teased. "Getting? Are you saying we weren't good before?" Ezra pressed, the joke going over his head. He's very discouraged. I understand though, what they're training for is a big challenge. "I think she just meant you're getting better now," I assured. "I'll take it. Hey!" Ezra replied while blocking a strike from Kanan. "You never turn your back on an enemy," Kanan said. "Okay, but since when were you my enemy?" Ezra questioned. Not wanting to answer this, Kanan motioned for his Padawan to reset and resume the duel. "Y/N, Zeb, we're about to touch down on the surface," Hera alerted us. Pushing more crates. Woohoo.
The Ghost landed right by the command center so we could finish our last run for now. AP-5, the inventory droid that Chopper made friends with on that old freighter, kept track of our supplies. "Here's two more crates of power generators," I informed him. "This shipment was due hours ago," he scolded. "As long as we have them, we'll be okay," I said before walking off towards the storage section. I ran into the rebel soldier in charge of organizing where our supplies would be stored and passed him the crates. "Ah, Y/N. What do you have for me this time?" he asked me. "Power generators, sir," I answered. "Thanks. Rex has some information for you," he said. "Got it. Where can I find him?" I wondered. "Same place as always," he responded. I gave him a salute before returning to the command center to find Rex. I looked around until I found him sitting at the central computer with Commander Sato. "Hey, Rex. You needed me for something?" I asked. "Just thought I'd give an update on our findings. Our scouts found a water source deep underground and sensor markers are being placed around the base," he briefed. "That's good. All the crates from today should be accounted for. Is there anything else that needs to be done?" I wondered. "We'll notify you," he responded, implying that he was giving me a break. I walked back to the Ghost to get some caf, as the constant exercise was wearing me down a little, and I needed a short burst of energy. I'm not gonna get caught sleeping on the job. As I was about to enter the galley, I ran into Chopper. Or rather, he ran into me, knocking me to the floor. "Seriously?" I shouted, slowly getting up. Chopper just laughed at me, so I gave him a piercing look before he ran off. Finally, some peace and quiet. I poured myself the caffeine-heavy drink and left to go to my cabin until I saw Chopper and Ezra. "Do you know where Zeb is?" Ezra asked the droid, who grumbled some nonsense back. "Yeah, do you know where he went?" Ezra said again. Chopper pointed towards the cockpit and we both saw Zeb watching the sunset. "Oh, hey Y/N," he greeted. "I'm gonna join you two. I need the relaxation," I replied. "Let's go then," Ezra said.
We left the Ghost and found Zeb sitting in a chair and listening to some slow rock. "What are you doing out here, big guy?" Ezra questioned. "Oh hey Ezra, hey Y/N. Just getting a little fresh air and some privacy. Pull up a crate and watch the sunset," Zeb said, motioning for us to sit down. "We're gonna be leaving soon, Kanan and I," Ezra muttered. "Figured it was something like that. Going after the red blades, eh?" Zeb replied. "Yeah, but I don't know when we'll be back, or if we'll be back," Ezra said, with a very noticeable sadness. "Don't talk like that. Bad thoughts only get you so far. You'll be back," I piped up, trying to lighten the mood. "Well, we'll have toppled the Empire by then. We can swap war stories," Zeb joked. I chuckled and took a swig of my drink. "I didn't know rock music existed here. Thought there would be a more uh, exotic style," I said. "You have guitars and drums back home?" Zeb asked, seemingly interested in how music worked back on Earth. "Yeah, we do. The genre isn't as popular as it used to be but they're still very important to my world's music," I answered. "But hey, I can't complain that it's here too. Turn up the volume a little." Zeb complied, turning a dial on the radio, but the song faded out and the next one played. It had a catchy melody and a nice swing rhythm. Sounds like a jazz song. "What's this called?" Ezra asked, starting to feel the music. "I don't know, but I think it's some form of jazz. Believe it or not, it's actually a favorite of Sabine's," Zeb answered. "This is Spectre 5, we're under attack! We need backup-" Sabine cried out. "How convenient," I said aloud. "Guess our break ends here then," Zeb added. We left everything there and sprinted back to the Ghost. After a few minutes of running, we ran into Hera. "There you guys are, let's get moving!" she said.
We flew to the other side of the rock and found some spiders attacking Sabine. "I hate multi-leggers!" Zeb complained. "Where's Rex?" Ezra wondered. "Those creatures took him. I think they got Dicer too," Sabine said. So that's what the A-Wing was there for. "Chopper, locate Rex's position," Hera ordered. The droid did a quick scan of the surrounding area and picked up a life sign. "He says this way," Sabine translated, pointing towards the cave entrance. We all followed her except for Zeb. "I'll, uh, guard the ship," he said in fear. "We need you, Zeb. They look tough, but you're tougher," I responded. "More than two legs is just excessive!" he complained. "Chopper, keep the Ghost running," Hera said before we caught up with the rest of the crew. There was no natural light, so Kanan and Ezra ignited their lightsabers while the rest of us turned on our flashlights. "Stay sharp and stick together," Kanan said. "They have tough armor. Aim for the eyes," Sabine added. I was a little shaken because the cave had many different tunnels that were more than big enough for the spiders to crawl around. At least they have a weakness. After some more walking, we found ourselves facing a split path. "Ugh. We need to split up," Kanan groaned. "Ezra, go with Hera." "No. Ezra, stay with Kanan. Sabine, Zeb, and Y/N, you're with me," Hera called out. "Doesn't it make more sense to have one Jedi on each path?" I said. There was no reason to split us up like this. "We gotta get used to not having them around," she responded gravely. "What's that supposed to mean?" I asked Sabine and Zeb. They shrugged at my question. Even they were unsure of Hera's cryptic message. I shined my flashlight in front of us to see a trail of shells. "What's all this about?" I wondered. Hera looked at the objects I was illuminating and looked a little shocked. "Those big crawlers must eat them," she said. "Even I wouldn't wish that fate on these bogans," Zeb chimed in. Sabine looked around a little bit and saw some circular objects filling the floor around some sleeping spiders. "Are those eggs?" she said. "Could really use a hand over here!" someone called out. I turned around and shined my light to see Rex trapped in between a spider's legs. "Rex!" Hera shouted. The four of us climbed up to the spider and carefully pulled away the legs to allow Rex to drop down free. "Met the neighbors. I don't care for them," he quipped. "Kanan, Ezra, we found Rex," Sabine commed the Jedi. "Good work. We're coming towards you," Kanan responded. Seeing the spider drop down in front of us, I shot at its eyes in panic, immobilizing it. "Actually, I think it's time to go," Sabine said. Hera took the lead, seemingly knowing the way out. "This way," she commanded. We followed her light, desperate to get out of this maze.
Hearing some spiders gaining on us, I took a crouched position and started shooting at them, but I didn't manage to hit a single one. Sabine threw a detonator at the spiders, killing them in the ensuing explosion. We ran away from the smoke but found some more spiders coming from in front of us. "Aim for the eyes!" Sabine reminded us while handing Rex one of her pistols. We all shot at it but barely missed. Zeb was tired of it and took the initiative, bashing the spider with his bo-rifle before shooting it down. "Get back, you stinking crawlers!" he shouted. "They're boxing us in!" I warned as two more spiders came from different parts of the cave. Just as it seemed all hope was lost, a blue lightsaber emerged from above us, slicing a spider in half. Ezra and Kanan jumped down, shielding us from the creatures. "Glad you could drop in," Hera acknowledged. "I wouldn't stand there if I were you. Come on, we'll clear a path," Ezra said. He and Kanan quickly took out a spider, leading the way. I looked up and gasped as a spider was about to pounce, so I ran away to prevent it from eating me as it dropped down. Eventually, we got to the top of the cave and booked it to the Ghost. "Chopper, open up!" I commanded. The droid hesitated at first but eventually opened the ramp. We all climbed aboard, barely escaping the spiders. "This whole place is infested," Zeb complained. "Maybe this base isn't so perfect after all!" Kanan added. "I'm not giving up without a fight. Hang on!" Hera shouted. She hit the thrusters to take off, but the ship wouldn't budge. "It's no good! I'm at full power. They must have glued us down," she said. "We're safe in here, right?" Ezra asked. "Sure," Hera sighed. "Get on the guns!" Ezra slid down to the nose guns, Kanan manned the turret, and Zeb took his spot in the Phantom. I stayed in the cockpit with Hera and Sabine. They tried shooting it, but the spiders resisted their laser fire. "They're all over us!" Kanan cried out. "Route auxiliary power to the hull. That should knock them off," Hera suggested. I sent an electric shock to the spiders crawling on top of the Ghost, but they shook it off. "Why didn't that work?" I yelled in anger. "Hit it again," Kanan ordered. "No. We used up too much power, we won't be able to lift off," Hera reported. "We have to go outside and cut the ship loose," Ezra said. "Fat chance of surviving that," Zeb complained. "Oh, that's great, Zeb. I'm gonna get eaten, the last Jedi in the galaxy, because YOU'RE TOO AFRAID TO GO OUTSIDE!" Ezra snapped. "Calm down, dude. Why haven't the spiders attacked us before?" I asked. We all pondered the question because they wouldn't come anywhere close to our base before Dicer went missing. "Y/N, I think I know why they didn't attack the base. See that marker out there? They don't like them, and the base is surrounded by them. If we can get that marker, we can use it to hold the spiders off while we clear the ship. But how?" Sabine analyzed. "We've got a breach! They're coming through the airlock!" Rex alerted us. "I'll handle them. Get outside and get us free!"
We opened the ramp and returned fire at the spiders while we thought about a plan. "Zeb, Hera, and Y/N, you're out front laying cover fire. Sabine, you're on the ramp. Kanan, you're with me," Ezra said, putting his idea into action. I got into a crouched position to better aim at their eyes, and this time it was working. I took out the spiders on the right rather quickly and pivoted to help ease Hera and Zeb from getting overwhelmed. Then I heard a scream that sounded like Sabine's. I looked up and saw her floating over the spiders, but her trajectory went well past the sensor marker and she fell over the cliff. "Sabine!" Ezra and I shouted in fear. Thankfully, she eventually recovered and grabbed hold of the marker. Phew. That could have been very bad. She walked over towards the Ghost and we were now ready to execute the final phase of our plan. "Hera, get us ready to fly," Kanan said. He, Ezra, and Sabine went around the ship and cut the webbing loose as Zeb and I were continuously shooting at the spiders, keeping them back. "We're clear! Get us out of here!" Ezra said over comms. Everyone got back onto the ship and the ramp closed, and the Ghost flew back to the command center. "We should inform Commander Sato that this site...might not work out," Rex said in defeat. The spiders seemed to be too much of a threat for us to coexist with them, and they were notoriously tenacious to blaster fire. "No. It took everything we had just to find this place. I'm not ready to give it up," Hera refuted. "We're not going to. The Rebellion needs this base and we're gonna do whatever it takes to keep it," Kanan assured. "I'll handle it," Hera said, placing the ship on autopilot for a brief moment. After a few minutes, she reemerged from her cabin and told us that Sato approved her idea of a fence and that Sabine would supervise its construction. "Get some rest, everyone. It's been a long day," Hera advised. I trudged back to my cabin and collapsed on my bed after an exhausting day. I'll wake up whenever I feel like it.
Morning came, and I felt well-rested. Compared to yesterday, today's list of things to do was very light. Just move some stuff around and take inventory, and repairs would only be necessary in certain situations. I pushed a few crates around, and as I was walking around in the command center, I ran into Kanan, Ezra, Ahsoka, and Chopper, and the mutual feeling of dread was visible. "It's that time, huh," I said. They nodded, confirming that they were leaving now. "You will succeed. I'm sure of it." "Thanks, Y/N. We'll see you soon," Ezra said as they boarded the Ghost. "Hey," I called out to them. They turned towards me, awaiting my response. "May the Force be with you." They smiled back, then climbed up the ladder. I watched as the Phantom soared into the sky, out of sight, hoping my confidence in the mission's success wouldn't turn out to be false hope.
It did.