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Hera, it turned out, was an excellent pilot, so she now piloted the ship, which apparently had a name; the Ghost. Meanwhile, Commander Jun Sato manned the co-pilot's seat, and Matthew sat in one of the seats in the space behind the cockpit. Astrid didn't feel like sitting, so she stood leaned against the wall in the space behind the ship's cockpit, her thoughts lost in the past.
She wanted to visit her family in Scarif while she was there, just to check on them and make sure they were safe. Astrid could warn them not to cause the Empire any trouble.
Astrid could see her sister getting into trifles with the Empire, especially if the Empire was destroying a lot of the planet's valuable land to build their base. There were already so few pockets of islands on the planet, it would be a waste for the Empire to destroy it for a single building used for the sole purpose of information storage and collecting.
Astrid sensed a presence approaching her, and she lifted her gaze from the ground to find Hera walking towards her with a hesitate, but warm smile. Astrid returned her smile and remarked, "You're an excellent pilot."
Hera smiled bashfully and replied, "I'm sure you've seen better."
Astrid smiled, but didn't contradict her.
Anakin was hard to beat.
But perhaps Astrid wasn't being fair. She'd seen Anakin in action before, weaving and zipping between Star Destroyers and Separatist star fighters with expert ease. She hadn't seen Hera do the same yet. Astrid should withhold her judgement until then, so Astrid replied, "I'm sure you're a better pilot than you attribute yourself to."
Hera only gave her a wide grin. "It's all thanks to the Republic Clone Army that I decided to become a pilot. If the Republic hadn't saved my people on Ryloth in the Outer Rim from the Separatist droid armies, I likely would've stayed in Ryloth as a-- for lack of a better word-- non-pilot." She laughed quietly. "Not to mention, without the Republic Clone Army, my home planet would've been taken over by the Separatist, and my people would've been forced underground into hiding for years."
The fact that Hera could laugh while telling such a sad story, was evidence of the toughness and relentless positivity that Astrid was beginning to notice in the young woman.
Astrid's heart gave a painful lurch at the mention of the Republic and the Clone Army, and she wondered which Jedi from the Order had accompanied the clones to Ryloth. Had it been Obi-Wan, Anakin, Master Windu, perhaps even Master Yoda, himself?
Hera noticed Astrid's disquiet, and her smile dimmed. As if to change the subject, she asked gently, "You have family on Scarif?"
Astrid nodded. "Yeah. I'm hoping I will get the chance to see them so I can warn them of the Empire's threat."
Hera nodded in understanding. "Of course. I'm sure we can work that into our schedule." She gave a lopsided smile that Astrid automatically returned. Astrid found herself admiring Hera and her optimism.
A few hours later, the Ghost was descending through Scarif's balmy atmosphere towards the glittering, turquoise ocean dotted with island chains below. On the horizon, Astrid spotted an ominous, towering, dark metal structure that appeared to be three- fourths completed.
All around the base's main structure in the center island of the island chain were outshoots of metal transports tracks that branched off into the connecting islands in the island chain. Astrid couldn't help but wonder-- not for the first time-- the full purpose of this base.
It was truly too bad that her and Anakin hadn't blown the entire base up before while it was in the beginning of its construction. That would've probably delayed Sidious's plans by a few years; enough time perhaps for the Order to have discovered the Sith Lord in their midst.
A cold shiver ran down her spine like ice sliding down her back the longer she gazed at the base.
Matthew must've felt the same icy, dreadful feeling because he spoke in a thin, tense voice, "So, we know this base's existence on Scarif is true, so why don't we just turn back now and tell Bail and Mon Mothma?" The sound of his voice breaking the prolonged, tense silence that had descended upon the ship in the few hours it had taken to reach Scarif made his voice sound louder, startling everyone.
"We need to find out the purpose of the base and its connection to the Death Star," Jun Sato told Matthew in a firm, unrelenting voice as if daring Matthew to protest. Astrid couldn't resist her shudder at the mention of the Death Star. She noticed Hera cast her a sidelong, questioning look.
"But--but how?" Matthew stammered, his voice rising in pitch with his growing fear. His fear was almost overpowering through the Force.
"We'll sneak in wearing disguises," Astrid interjected before Jun could speak. The commander cut her a sharp look that Astrid chose to ignore. As far as Astrid was concerned, she didn't have to follow his rules or orders. She wasn't in his command.
"Oh, lovely," Matthew muttered.
"If you're so afraid, Matthew, why don't you stay behind with the Ghost?" Hera suggested gently, her voice filled with empathy and compassion.
Astrid sighed, feeling particularly un-empathetic to Matthew's fear; they simply did not have time for it. She interjected, "Actually, Artoo is keeping watch over the ship."
As if his name had prompted him, Artoo zoomed towards Astrid from where he'd been sitting dormant by the wall to conserve his power. Artoo gave an indignant beep that Astrid translated into something along the lines of, I am not staying with the ship!
She leveled a flat look at Artoo and said firmly, "Artoo, you can't go into the base. You'll be caught immediately. Please, stay with the ship."
Artoo let out a small whirr that Astrid interpreted as reluctant, bitter concession. She let out a relieved breath before turning towards the others. "Artoo has agreed to stay with the ship, and the rest of us will go inside the base to investigate."
Everyone nodded in agreement, except Matthew, who swallowed nervously before giving a shaky nod. Astrid supposed her initial evaluation of him as a newbie fighter was correct. She couldn't help but wonder why Hera and Jun had chosen him to come along with them. Surely, there was someone else in their Phoenix Squadron who would have been more... helpful?
Within minutes, Jun landed their ship at the end of one of the island chains, hidden out of sight of any military personnel in the thicket of palm trees. The four of them quickly hurried out of the ship and darted behind a crop of palm trees when they spotted three clone troopers walking in their direction.
Astrid frowned at the clone troopers' change in uniform. Instead of their usual blue and white armor, their armor was completely white, and their helmets were wider and rounder.
"Stormtroopers," Hera muttered under her breath.
So they were no longer clone troopers, but rather stormtroopers. Astrid wondered how they got their new name.
"We can snag their armor," Astrid spoke hurriedly in a whisper.
"Good idea," Jun murmured under his breath. He glanced at Astrid as he said, "I suggest you don't use your lightsaber for this. You'll ruin the armor."
Astrid resisted her scowl. Hera settled a hand on her shoulder and said, "Just wait here."
Before Astrid could respond, Hera and Jun darted forward towards the unaware stormtroopers. Matthew hesitated for a moment before following after them, and Astrid glowered at their backs. She wasn't about to just stay here. She could still fight without her lightsaber.
Hera and Jun were upon the three stormtroopers before they could react. By the time Astrid skidded to a stop beside them, the three stormtroopers were unconscious on the ground. "I'm impressed," Astrid remarked as she toed one of the stormtroopers.
She felt suddenly uneasy about wearing their armor. Something about the armor's hard, white plaster exterior felt like being trapped in a cage. Hera began stripping the stormtrooper of his armor as Matthew began doing the same.
"Matthew, you'll have to find an Imperial officer to knock out to steal their uniform," Jun said as he and Hera began slipping on the white armor. "It would be more helpful to our mission if we have an Imperial officer with us." He paused when he noticed Astrid wasn't moving, and he said, "Astrid, what are you doing? Get moving!"
Astrid hesitated before asking, "Can I be the one to wear the Imperial officer's clothing?"
Jun shook his head sternly. "No, your face is too recognizable as a former Jedi. You need to wear a helmet over your face." He threw her a white helmet that Astrid instinctively caught. "Now, put it on while you're at it," he ordered.
Astrid sighed inwardly before she tugged on the helmet. It was heavier than it looked, and Astrid's head immediately tipped forward under its weight before she caught herself. Her breath was hot within the helmet, and when she spoke, her voice sounded mechanical. "I have a bad feeling about this."
"Tell me about it," Matthew muttered as he waited for them to finish strapping on their body armor.
Astrid hurriedly began strapping on the rest of her armor, and when Hera, Jun, and her were done, the four of them dragged the unconscious stormtroopers behind the thicket of palm trees they'd been hiding behind earlier.
And then they were racing towards the base.
They kept to the palm trees as they sprinted towards the base since Matthew didn't have a disguise yet. They reached the beginning of the transport tracks that ran from their current island to the main, central island where the base was located.
Two stormtroopers stood by the transport cart with blaster guns in their hands. To the left of the stormtroopers was some sort of small, control building that Astrid figured was used to operate the transport cart on the tracks.
"Well, we don't need these stormtroopers' armor," Astrid remarked as she gripped her lightsaber in her hand. She supposed she looked pretty funny; she was wearing stormtrooper armor while expertly wielding a lightsaber. It was a strange combination.
Astrid and Jun began striding towards the stormtroopers, and the other two stormtroopers glanced their way at their approach. Astrid could sense their confusion through the Force. "What are you doing here?" one of them asked through their helmet.
"I'm here to relieve you of your post," Astrid answered in a clipped voice.
"Who gave you the orders?" the other stormtrooper questioned, both of them standing exactly as they were.
Well, kriff. Astrid didn't know any Imperial officers except Lord Vader, who was at the very top of the military hierarchy. She doubted these stormtroopers would believe her if she said Vader's name.
Suddenly, a human Imperial officer with short black hair stepped out of the small control building and began marching towards them, having sensed the tension between the four stormtroopers through their body language. Astrid forced herself to relax.
"What is going on?" the Imperial officer demanded gruffly. Astrid spotted the officer's name tag on his uniform.
Colonel Quill.
One of the stormtroopers replied before Astrid or Matthew could speak, "These two troopers say they're here to relieve us of our post."
Colonel Quill narrowed his eyes on Matthew and Astrid before speaking, "I haven't been given a notification that a post rotation was to occur soon."
"Uh," Jun began hedgingly, but Astrid knew when a battle was lost.
In the span of two seconds, Astrid ignited her lightsaber and thrust it through the chest of the nearest stormtrooper before whirling around to face the second stormtrooper. She heard scuffling to her left, and she spared a glance to see Matthew and Jun had tackled Colonel Quill to the sand.
Astrid quickly returned her gaze to the second stormtrooper in time to see them lifting their blaster gun towards her. Astrid swiftly slapped the gun to the side at the same moment it went off, and blaster fire scorched the sand black roughly three feet away from Astrid.
Astrid quickly sliced the gun in half with her lightsaber, rendering it ineffective, before stabbing the stormtrooper. The stormtrooper collapsed to the sand with a heavy thud. The sounds of struggling to her left brought her attention away from the stormtrooper, and she turned to see Hera, Jun, and Matthew surrounding the Imperial officer.
Matthew had his hand clamped around the officer's mouth, while Hera and Jun stood beside him uncertainly as if unsure of what to do with the officer.
"Kill him already," Astrid said as she strode up beside them. "We can't leave him alive. He'll alert the base. Besides, we need his uniform to sneak in."
There was a moment of silence before Hera nodded. "You're right," she murmured grimly. Astrid could hear the unhappiness in her voice about killing the officer.
Astrid turned away towards the base as the sound of struggle resumed as Matthew cut off the officer's airway. Within moments, the scuffling stopped. Astrid shoved down her guilt. She wasn't used to killing living lifeforms. She'd always killed droids. But this was a necessary death, most likely the first of many to come in this civil war.
Astrid hear the sound of rustling clothes, so she kept herself turned away from the scene.
"Okay, I'm ready," Matthew told them, and Astrid turned around to see him dressed in the grey uniform of the Imperial officer.
Astrid nodded once.
The four of them swiftly hid the three bodies before they boarded onto the transport cart. Jun volunteered to stay behind to man the control building that the Imperial officer had evacuated, leaving Astrid, Hera, and Matthew to continue onwards to the base.
Moments later, the transport cart was zooming with surprising speed towards the towering base that pierced into the blue, cloudless sky. The three of them sat anxiously in the cart as the scenery zipped past them in a blur of green. The air was thick with tension and unease.
"Matthew," Astrid said quietly. "Can you hid my lightsaber within your uniform for me? I don't have anywhere to hid it with my armor." Astrid extended her lightsaber out to him in silent request.
Astrid hated to be parted with her lightsaber. It had even pained her to leave Master Secura's lightsaber in Alderaan. But she supposed she had to trust Jun with her lightsaber. She had no choice. Matthew nodded and took the lightsaber from Astrid before hiding it underneath his clothes.
As they neared the base, the three of them rose to their feet, and Hera and Astrid settled into place behind Matthew. They all stood straight at attention. Matthew's arms remained clasped against his sides as Hera and Astrid hefted their stormtrooper's respective blaster guns in their hands.
Their transport cart finally came to a halt, and the doors slid open for them. Matthew strode forward out of the transport cart, and Hera and Astrid followed a respectable distance behind him as a normal stormtrooper would with their commanding officer.
They passed several squadrons of stormtroopers as they marched towards the entrance of the base manned by four stormtroopers. Astrid noticed Matthew discreetly patting his uniform for his ID clearance card. Astrid let out a breath of relief when he pulled out the thin card from within his grey officer's jacket.
When they reached the base's entrance, Hera and Astrid stopped a few feet away as Matthew strode forward towards the stormtroopers. He showed them his ID card as he said, "I'm Colonel Quill."
One of the stormtroopers stepped forward to peer at the ID card, and a few moments of tense silence passed before the stormtrooper stepped away. The stormtrooper waved a hand as he said, "You're cleared to enter."
The metal doors slid open, revealing a long hallway with black tiled floors and dark metal durasteel walls. Matthew retrieved his ID card and pocketed it before he began marching forward without a second glance at the guards. Hera and Astrid quickly followed after him.
Their boots clipped loudly on the black tiled floor, filling the hallway's deep silence. Astrid immediately felt apprehensive, and her unease only multiplied when she felt a sudden disturbance in the Force. An unsettling, familiar disturbance of sheer anger and hatred.
"Vader is here," Astrid spoke quietly.
Nobody said anything until they reached the elevator at the end of the hallway. Only once the elevator doors closed soundlessly behind them did Matthew and Hera turn towards Astrid. "What do you mean Vader is here? How do you know?" Matthew demanded, his voice tinged with suppressed panic and fear.
"I can sense his presence through the Force," Astrid told him. "It's very distinct."
"We're in trouble," Hera muttered, her eyes turned towards the ground in thought. She glanced up at Matthew and Astrid as she asked, "What's our plan anyway? We're in the base, but how are we supposed to find out the purpose of this base and the progress of the Death Star?"
Astrid peered at the buttons in the elevator and saw that Matthew had picked the highest floor-- floor two hundred and eighteen. "What floor are we headed to anyway?" Astrid asked, her concern growing. "Don't you think we might want to avoid the top floor? That's likely where Vader is located."
Astrid quickly pressed the button for floor one hundred and two, and the button lit up to signal it had processed her action. But when they reached floor one hundred and two, the elevator continued passing it without pause.
Astrid let out a string of curses. "The elevator is going to take us to the topmost floor first before taking us to the one hundred and second floor." Astrid told them. They were on a death course.
Hera whirled towards Matthew and hissed, "Why would you pick the topmost floor?"
Matthew's mouth thinned as he replied, "Because that is likely where the information we need is being kept." He balled his right hand into a fist and hit it against the palm of his left hand as he continued, "Must we not take risks if we are to fight back against the Empire?"
"Well, this was a stupid risk," Astrid retorted angrily as she crossed her arms over her white armor. "We're about to come face to face with Lord Vader, and he'll sniff us out in an instant. Trust me. I've met him before."
Matthew's face blanched.
Before anyone could respond, the elevator gave a loud ding that signaled they'd reached their destination, and Astrid's stomach plummeted. A moment later, the elevator's metal doors slid open, revealing a large control room with a holoprojector in its center before them. The walls were made entirely of glass, offering a view of the idyllic beaches and turquoise ocean. A few officers sat before the controls built on the edges of the rooms.
But Astrid's attention had zeroed in on the helmeted figure wearing all black and a cape that draping down from their broad shoulders to their feet. The figure stood in the center of the room near the circular base of a holoprojector, speaking to another Imperial officer dressed in all white.
Astrid's breath hitched as she beheld Darth Vader.
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