Hope Reborn - Chapter 13

It is amazing how fast his plans disappeared once eight blasters were pointed at him. Stealth? That wasn't going to work. Mind trick? There were too many of them. Low profile? Not a chance, his clothes were covered with ash and he was clearly no Stormtrooper.

He took in the room with a quick look. It was the same layout as the detention center from the Death Star. At least the Empire was consistent. There was a console between him and the three closest troopers. Unfortunately, another four were stationed around the room, one in each corner, without anything to block their line of sight. A single trooper stood in the hallway that led deeper to the cells which were a few steps higher than the main floor.

There was only one thing to do when fighting Stormtroopers.

His lightsaber launched from the pouch on his belt up to his hand. He ignited the blade.

"Another one?" One of the troopers yelled.

That was odd.

The trooper in the hallway snapped off a shot before the others. Luke reflected the first blaster bolt back at the shooter. The trooper dropped, now with a fresh hole in their chest. One down, only seven more to go.

Luke sprang forward. He landed in the center of the consoles among the three troopers. The new location provided him some cover from the others. Both the consoles and the troopers made it difficult to get a clear line of sight.

He swung the saber in a tight swirl that removed the arm and head of the closest trooper. Luke pushed the body with the force, sending it arcing through the air over the console. He drove the saber point through the chest of the next then pivoted to face the final trooper in the cluster of consoles without bothering to withdraw the energy blade. The last of the three dropped to his knees with his hands raised in defense. It didn't look like they even had a blaster. He might regret it later, but he wasn't heartless.

Luke switched his attention to the two unphased troopers, the pair that hadn't had a headless body tossed at them. He deflected a string of blaster fire back towards them. The shots were coming too close together for him to send them with precision. Instead, he simply deflected them away toward the walls.

The other two on the opposite side of the room were yet to take any action. They also hadn't moved since the body was tossed at them. He shifted them to the periphery of his attention.

Luke dashed toward the duo of troopers that were shooting at him. A burst of force power made him move faster than they expected. He grabbed one trooper by the edge of his helmet and yanked it to the side. The Stormtrooper lurched off balance as their arms flailed. They had just enough time to register they had dropped their blaster before Luke shoved them in front of the incoming barrage to act as an improvised shield.

The other trooper stopped firing a moment too later.

Luke hurled his lightsaber at the stunned trooper. It spun in the air and sliced through the Stormtrooper before it returned to his outstretched hand. He turned to face the three remaining troopers. They stared back at him. Through the force he could feel their fear.

He deactivated his lightsaber and slid it back into his pouch. Luke nodded to the floor. The two troopers on the other side of the room dropped their blasters.

"Thank you." Luke kept his voice calm and even.

He strolled over to the cluster of consoles to where the trooper still cowered.

"Would you be able to help me?" Luke asked. "I'm looking for someone."

The trooper nodded so hard that their helmet clacked against their chest piece.

"Name?" The modulated voice shook.

"Ventress." Luke answered.

"Oh, her." The trooper nodded. "Makes sense."

"Why is that?" Luke asked.

"She used those laser sword things too." The trooper replied. "We had to dig out these old restraint collars to keep her under control."

"She used lightsabers?" Luke looked over at the other two troopers for confirmation.

They nodded.

"Where are they?" He asked.

"Prisoner effects are stored in the outgoing freight for when they are transferred." One of the troopers along the wall answered.

Luke waited for more.

"It's stored in the hangar." The other one added. "Level two, under Administration."

"How many troopers between here and there?" Luke asked.

"Fifty?" The trooper using the console answered. "There are a few officers, but it's mostly scientists."

If Ventress used a lightsaber she would want it back. He did not look forward to fighting that many troopers. Especially on their turf. It would be too easy to get lost or ambushed.

"Did you find her?" He asked the trooper at the console.

"Yes." Their helmet clacked against their armor again. "She's the only prisoner we have right now. I'm just waiting for her chamber to vent."

"Why?" Luke cocked his head to the side.

"She's dangerous." The trooper replied. "The gas kept her unconscious."

"What's her cell number?" Luke asked.

"One zero one." The trooper replied.

"Open one zero two and three." Luke ordered.

The trooper shrugged. A couple of doors hissed open a few seconds later. Luke smiled at the trio of troopers. He had the perfect idea.

"Which one of you wants to give me their armor?" Luke asked. "And which one of you is going to escort me up to the hangar?"

One of the troopers along the wall stripped out of their armor in record time. The guy stood in his briefs before the other two had time to act. He was human with no real defining features.

"Thank you." Luke smiled. "Take a cell."

The trooper hurried to follow the order. Luke looked at the one that wasn't on the console. They shrugged and entered the other cell without a word.

"Looks like you and I are going for a walk." Luke said to the trooper at the console. "I don't like to threaten, but if you try to tip anyone off, I will kill you."

The trooper nodded, clacking their helmet again.

"Binders?" Luke asked.

The trooper stepped away from the console. They opened a cabinet and slowly pulled out a set.

"Hands behind your back." Luke ordered.

He had the trooper wait in the corner while he got in the armor. It took a while longer than he would have liked. He had to strip off his clothes to get into the bodysuit.

"What's your designation?" Luke asked.

"TK-315." The trooper replied.

"Mine?" Luke tapped his stolen chest plate.

"TK-210." 315 answered.

"Open the cell." Luke released him. "Then back in the binders."

315 was efficient. The cell was open, and they were back in binders in the corner in a couple of seconds. Luke hurried over to check on Ventress. The Dathomirian woman was dressed in a drab orange jumpsuit. Her hands were in binders and there was a thick collar on her neck. She set her silver eyes on him for a longer moment.

"Aren't you a little short to be a stormtrooper?" Ventress glared at him.

Luke smiled under his helmet.

"My name is Luke Skywalker." He took off the helmet. "I'm here to rescue you. Bo Katan sent me."

"Skywalker?" Her eyes narrowed.

"You've heard of me?" Luke asked.

"Any relation to Anakin Skywalker?" She stood.

Luke couldn't help but notice she was rather fit. Even the prisoner jumpsuit didn't hide the shape of her breasts. The sway in her hips was much too distracting too.

"He is my father." Luke chuckled. "It's a long story."

Ventress arced an eyebrow at him but didn't speak. She held the binders up.

"I'm going to deactivate them the collar, but you have to keep them on for now." Luke led her out to the cluster of consoles. "Your gear is the hangar, and I don't want to draw too much attention."

Ventress came to a stop beside him once they were in the room proper. She knew what the aftermath of lightsaber combat looked like. The bound Stormtrooper shuffled over to join them. Luke folded his clothes and handed them to Ventress. Once they were in place, he unlocked her binders then deactivated her collar. She noted that there wasn't a holster on the belt. A familiar clink came from the pouch that was in its place.

Luke grabbed a blaster from the floor. He ejected the power pack before he held it out to 315.

"Lead the way." Luke said as he picked up a blaster for his own use.

315 took the lead with Luke and Ventress behind him. The two walked side by side.

"Do you have a ship?" Luke kept his voice low.

"It was docked at the nearby settlement." Ventress matched his volume.

Luke nodded.

"Um." 315 said as they stepped into the lift.

"What?" Luke asked.

"What is the plan?" 315 asked. "How are we going to get off the base?"

"We?" Luke cocked his head to the side.

"They'll toss me in a cell when this all gets discovered." 315 shrugged. "I'd rather go with you."

Luke looked at Ventress. She shrugged.

"Do you have clearance to take a ship?" Luke asked.

"Yes." 315 nodded. "We do the occasional trip to the settlement for leave."

"We'll take a ship to the settlement once we've got her gear." Luke explained.

"And then?" 315 asked.

"And then we can figure it out from there." Luke shrugged.

315 led them up to the hangar. No one even looked twice at them. Bored troopers nodded in greeting as they passed. The scientists were too busy with their work to both with them.

The trooper led them to a stack of crates. He checked the numbers to find the right one. 315 carried it over to the nearby Lambda class ship. Ventress tossed the clothes that hid her hands onto a seat once the ramp closed. She removed the collar and binders with a glare.

315 started the ship. They lifted off a moment later.

Ventress levitated the two restraints then clenched her fist, turning them into twisted chunks of metal. She shot a look at Luke from the corner of her eye. Luke nodded. He took off the helmet and he floated it over to the seat next to his stack of clothes.

The two stepped to opposite sides of the shuttle to change into more comfortable clothing. There was just enough privacy so that it would take effort to get a look at the other. Luke tried to brush the ash from his clothes, but it was a losing battle. He would need to clean them once he was back on the Falcon. This time he would keep the Stormtrooper under-suit. It was versatile enough to work with any armor and wouldn't draw unwanted attention.

He clipped his lightsaber to his belt rather than keeping it in the pouch. It was pointless now. The Empire would know about him soon enough. Even a distant outpost would report an encounter with a force user. It was possible that they had already sent a message about Ventress.

Ventress waited for him. She wore an outfit that almost looked like a jedi tunic. It was brown and crossed her firm chest. That portion only reached the top of her thighs. She wore a pair of long, tight black leggings underneath. Two curved lightsabers were hooked on her belt.

"We need to talk." Ventress nodded to the lightsaber on his belt.