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happy 4th of july batchers! 💫 

enjoy TWO chapters for friday and the holiday!! only a few more chapters to go until we reach the end!

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"What's an Inquisitor doing all the way out here?" Echo demanded as Saedii joined Tech at the monitor.

Sure enough, the black-clad figure on screen was pacing before the door of the summit. That chasm in Saedii's stomach widened as she recognized the silver skull pattern of his helmet. It was Kalth.

Echo was right. What the hell was Kalth doing here?

At her back, Hunter had gone very still. His helmet jerked between her and the screen as he debated their options.

Finally, he said, "We need to leave."

"No!" Omega said at once. "This is our last chance to do something useful for the Rebellion! Rex needs this intel!"

"It's too dangerous."

"But Saedii has fought Inquisitors before. She's always won."

Not always, Saedii thought dismally, attention drifting to the metal arm attached to her left shoulder.

But Omega did have a point. In her previous two meetings with Kalth, Saedii had come out the victor. If she needed to, she could beat him again. She was sure of that.

"I'm with Hunter. It's not worth the risk," Echo argued.

Omega looked at Saedii. Pleading.

Saedii frowned. "I think I'm with Omega on this. Just because Kalth is here it doesn't mean we need to abandon the mission."

"What happens if he senses you?" Crosshair asked quietly. When Saedii glanced up, he was finally looking her way. Tension filled the Force around him.

"He would have sensed me by now. I think we're too far away," she reasoned. Back on the screen, Kalth crossed his arms and leaned against the meeting room door. Relaxed. Maybe even a little bored.

"That can change." Hunter sounded worried.

Saedii gave him a little smile. "It's a covert mission, right? We'll be in and out without him noticing. So long as we don't blow our cover, everything will be fine."

Omega nodded in agreement.

Hunter and Echo faced each other, exchanging a long look that Saedii couldn't interpret.

"Come on. This may be our only chance to get information on Project Stardust or the Advanced Science Division," Saedii said. "This intel could save lives."

The two of them let out a very long sigh. "Fine," Hunter acquiesced.

"But we're leaving in ten minutes whether we have the intel Rex needs or not," Echo was quick to add."

Ten minutes would be better than nothing. Omega met Saedii's eye and smiled in thanks.

Tech had several screens pulled up – on one, the meeting, which was being recorded and downloaded straight into his holopad, and on the others, random flashes of security feeds that showed long empty corridors and the hangar bay. Saedii kept her eyes on the bottom left hand corner, where Kalth waited impatiently.

"There may be another issue," Tech said slowly, squinting at the screen. "It appears that several surveillance zones are down."

"What does that mean?" Wrecker asked.

"It appears they have been damaged or disabled."

"Disabled?" Hunter's voice hitched in alarm. He leaned over Tech's shoulder. "Why?"

"That is unclear. I would need to investigate further, but it is highly irregular. With so many high-ranking Imperial officers in one spot, their security feeds should be fully operational."

"I don't like it," Echo said at once.

Apparently, neither did Hunter. He looked between Saedii and Omega before ordering, "Tech, you're with me. We're going to take a look at the nearest dark zone and see what's going on. The rest of you stay on guard and be prepared to leave if I give the signal."

Omega's mouth parted in anger. "But we haven't –"

"It's not up for debate."

She pouted and fell silent.

Echo took over the feed as Tech and Hunter left. On screen, Saedii watched them head down the connecting hallway, following the corridor until they disappeared into one of the dark zones.

When Saedii looked up, she was surprised to find Crosshair beside her. Watching.

"I don't like this," he said softly. "You're putting yourself in danger."

"Oh. Are you speaking to me now?" Saedii asked with heavy sarcasm.

He lingered for a moment before turning and taking up his position by the door.

Saedii rolled her eyes.

Omega stood on a chair to peer over Echo's shoulder. A fiercely determined look was in her eyes as she watched Tarkin and several others gathered around a round table. Like she was imploring them to reveal all of their secrets. An orb-shaped schematic hovered on the table before them.

At the window, Wrecker was keeping a close eye on the hangar below. Every now and then, his arms would twitch, like he was fighting off the urge to raise his blaster. At the other end, Crosshair was deathly still as he watch the empty corridor beyond.

Impatient, Saedii began to drum her fingers along a nearby console. The knowledge that Katlh was so close was making her antsy. Her body was wound like an engine sitting in idle. Begging for action.

She jumped as there was a sharp crack on their comms. "We're not alone," Hunter's voice reported.

"What do you mean?" Echo asked at once.

"Someone else is here. Tech found a thermal explosive in the boiler room."

A thermal explosive? Hunter was right. There was another insurgent here – but their mission wasn't a covert one. It was an assassination plot.

Who the hell could have gotten their hands on this intel? Rex wouldn't have sent two groups, and Padme hadn't heard any other whispers of insurgents bothering the Empire.

Echo unplugged Tech's holopad. "Time to leave."

A flutter of warning brushed along Saedii's arm. On screen, Kalth suddenly stood up straighter.

An echoing boom sounded deep within the compound. The ground beneath her gave a pitiful shake before it was followed by one much more violent – and loud. Saedii's ears popped in the sudden explosion and she nearly lost her footing as the control room shuttered.

Glass exploded as the windows gave. Down below, light and heat flared bright, followed by a plume of thick black smoke. An alarm began to scream overhead.

Saedii reached out into the Force, trying to find the source. She saw flashes of fire. Smoke filled corridors. Armored bodies. And the figures of two limping stormtroopers, heading in the direction of the hangar.

No. Not stormtroopers, she realized as recognition flared. The one on the left was familiar, though she had never met him before. Tall. Square-jawed. A scar bisecting one brow.

Saw Guerera.

What was he doing here? The last Saedii had heard of the Republic fighter, he had been on Onderon helping war efforts. From what she'd heard, Guerera was brash and impulsive – a trait he had inherited from Anakin Skywalker, who had trained him. During the war, he had been a valuable asset.

Now, he had just wrecked the Rebellion's efforts.

Suddenly, there was another presence in the Force. Another probe, searching for the source of the blasts. Darkness and cold washed over her, scraping down her senses like claws as her presence brushed against his. A surge of shock mirrored her own.

Saedii released her hold, jolting back into her body just in time to see, on the cracked screen, Kalth turn and run down the nearest hall. Sickening dread filled her stomach.

"He knows I'm here," Saedii said, looking at Echo.

"Move! Now!" Echo ushered her towards the doorway, following close at her heels. Behind them, Wrecker hurried Omega along as Crosshair fell in at the rear. Overhead, the alarm continued to blare – too loud and too bright.

Sounds echoed down the halls – stomping feet and muffled shouts. Distant cries for help. The explosions had woken the sleeping hive of the compound, and all around, troopers and personnel were running around to try and locate the source.

Somewhere far away, the distant sound of blaster fire began to sound.

"Hunter," Echo relayed. "The Inquisitor is on the move!"

"Go for the railcars. We'll meet you there," Hunter ordered. In the background, only just audible over the sounds of his breathing, sharp bursts of blaster fire popped.

They turned a corner, coming to a four-way junction. The Force shifted around her, swarming with energy. Visions of white armor and weapons held in hands flashed before Saedii's eyes.

She moved on instinct, pulling both lightsabers from her belt as they reached the junction. Immediately, the air came alive with blaster fire. She swung her weapons in front of her, deflecting shots back down the hall at the contingent of stormtroopers that pressed forward.

Two fell immediately – struck by a rebound shot from Saedii's blades. Blasters barked at her back and three more fell as Echo, Wrecker, and Crosshair returned fire. Omega crouched low to the ground as she pulled out her plasma bow, dropping the last one with a well-placed shot to the chest.

To their right, the press of more bodies filled the Force.

"Incoming!" Saedii called, gesturing Echo down the only empty path. As the Batch turned in that direction, a new group of soldiers emerged down the hall on their right, filling the air with blue blaster fire.

Saedii ducked, avoiding shots as she ran towards them. With speed and grace, she slid beneath the blaster of the first trooper, swinging her lightsaber up to take him down in a single swing. As the others turned to her, she launched herself off the fallen form of the trooper at her feet, jumping straight up into the air.

She landed between the remaining soldiers, swinging both sabers around faster than they could track. Blood washed the floor as she severed through bone and skin, taking off the arms of the troopers trying to shoot her.

With a few quick flicks of her saber, she gave them mercy. Ending their suffering. The hall fell nauseatingly silent.

Her footsteps were little more than whispers as she ran back towards the group, melting back in beside Crosshair as they fled into a new corridor. Here, there were several bodies along the floor. Each with a smoking blaster hole in their chest plate.

Ahead, the sound of a firefight was growing louder. The Force hummed with heat and pain, echoed with desperate last breaths. And beneath it all, a sharp determination.

Hunter.

A moment later, Hunter and Tech burst into view, slipping into the hall from an adjourning corridor. Blaster fire followed and they paused to return fire. Behind them, coming from the opposite direction, two troopers took aim at their unprotected backs.

Crosshair's rifle barked out two shots. The soldiers fell in unison, each sporting a hole in the perfect center of their helmet. At the sound, Hunter and Tech turned in their direction.

The group melded back together effortlessly, just as they'd done dozens of times before. In unspoken unison, Saedii fell in before them, blocking away shots of the advancing soldiers while Wrecker and Echo returned fire.

Tech took his holopad out from Echo's pack, ducking behind Saedii as she blocked approaching shots. He was muttering under his breath as he scrolled through files, trying to locate the schematics he'd found earlier.

"The railcar platform is close," he reported, voice only just higher than the blasters. "We can be there in two minutes."

Hunter gently pushed Omega after Tech, following his lead as he moved towards the left branching hallway. Saedii lingered, letting the rest of the team fall in before she followed, protecting their rear. The remaining troopers fired after them but stopped abruptly as Saedii reflected their shots back down the hallway, ducking to avoid their own fire.

A door hissed open up ahead. The group ran through and a blast of fresh, clean air ran along Saedii's face. Once she'd slipped through the door, she plunged her lightsaber straight into the controls. Killing any chance of the troopers following them through.

"We've reached the platform." Tech looked up, eyes calm as he observed the waiting rail car. "I can override the system –"

He suddenly fell silent.

There was a sharp click as the boys all raised their blasters, focused on the landing platform before them. Hunter pulled Omega behind him.

A wash of cold ran along Saedii's spine. She knew what was waiting for them on the platform.

"It must be my lucky day," a cool, grating voice said. Footsteps pealed harshly against the steel ground ahead of them. A dark shadow came to stand in front of the railcar.

Waiting in anticipation, Kalth tilted his head. Even through his helmet, Saedii could feel his eyes as they zeroed in on her.

"Hello, little Jedi."