Stowaway: A Star Wars Rebels Story

The Fights Get Harder

"Zeb, can you remind me what we're looking for again?" I asked. Hera sent the two of us and Chopper to go on a quick run as the Ghost needed supplies. Resource collection wasn't nearly as much of an issue anymore, and the streets were quieter than normal this morning, so now was the perfect time to go. "Space waffles, jogans, turkey drumsticks, pork, skycorn, and a meiloorun," Zeb said, chuckling at the last item. "You wouldn't get it," he added, noticing my confused look. His expertise in food and my sharp eye for finding secluded places theoretically made us the perfect team for this kind of task. Chopper more or less wouldn't help, but he at least carried the crates for us. "I think I see something over there," I said, pointing at a stand right in front of us. They appeared to be selling waffles, which were a thing back on Earth. I noticed there are a lot of foods here that are similar to the ones back home, so finding our items shouldn't be too difficult. "Good eye, mate. And there's a butcher right next to him. Let's knock this out. Remember, 10 pounds of meat," he replied. I walked up to the meat stand, ready to purchase our items. "How may I help you?" the seller asked. "I'll have 5 pounds of turkey drumsticks and 5 pounds of pork," I answered. "What are you feeding, a family of 10?" he joked. "The big guy over there counts for 6," I bantered. Zeb gave me a slight glare before resuming his business with the waffle seller, not amused at my sense of humor. "That'll be 50 credits," the butcher said. I got caught off guard by the price, completely forgetting that money was tight at the moment. Did we even have "50? I'll do it for 30," I said, attempting to bargain down the price. "For this quality of meat? Oh no, no, no. These pristine cuts cost no less than 40," he countered. I still thought 40 was too expensive, so I tried to undercut him. "37 and you have a deal." Thinking for a little bit, the butcher conceded. "It's acceptable." We shook hands on the price. "Chopper, come here," I called out to the droid, who rolled over with the empty crate. I opened the top and the butcher dropped the bag of meat inside. "Pleasure doing business with you," he said before I walked away, my attention now focused on our remaining supplies.

"Not bad, but I've seen better," Zeb said. "Just for you I'll get it to 30 next time," I teased. Right then and there, I heard my comlink beep. "Y/N, Zeb, and Chopper, we have a new mission. We're heading to Lothal," Hera ordered. "We haven't finished getting the supplies yet," I said. Whatever they had planned was important, but I wasn't going to run the risk of starvation. "You can finish later," she replied. "Just get back here!" I heard Ezra scream. I wonder what's got him so angsty. "Not too fast. We don't want to alert any Imperial patrols," Hera finished. "Funny you mention that. We haven't seen a single buckethead all morning. Kind of strange actually," I said. "It's not strange...it's strategy. The Empire always pulls back troops before a major strike," Sabine jumped in. Zeb and I grew worried, not sure of what our next move should be. "Get back to the ship. I'll contact Commander Sato, hurry!" Hera urged before her comms were cut off. "Hera? Hello? Do you copy?" I panicked. "Wonder what she was trying to say," Zeb said before a set of blast doors opened up, revealing a squad of stormtroopers poised to shoot at us. "I think I know what she was gonna say," he said. I took a shot to try and gain the upper hand, but it was off-target. Zeb and I backpedaled away from the squad while dodging blaster fire. "What about the crate?" I asked the Lasat. "Leave it!" he answered, also not happy about leaving our hard-earned supplies. We took cover behind some more crates and saw Kanan and Ezra coming in to support us. "We'll cover you three, head this way!" the older Jedi ordered. Zeb took down a trooper and started to run toward our crew's position. Chopper and I followed him, but a shot from the annoyance that was Agent Kallus hit me square in the shoulder. "AH!" I screamed in pain. "Y/N!" Ezra shouted, seeing I was hurt. "Got us in a crossfire!" Zeb shouted, not happy at our current dilemma. Pinned down in between crates, Ezra finally acted and ignited his lightsaber, running towards the ISB agent. Quickly taking out the two troopers on Kallus' flanks, he masterfully dealt with him and Force pushed the agent back into the wall, knocking him out. Ezra turned around with a smirk on his face, garnering praise from all of us. "Well, that's pretty impressive," Zeb complimented. "Yeah, I taught him," Kanan bragged. "Hello there," a female voice said from afar. "You're not going to get in my way," Ezra replied through gritted teeth. "Well then, my brave dear boy, come and prove it," she taunted. Taking this challenge, Ezra reactivated his lightsaber and charged at the new enemies. "Ezra!" Kanan called out, knowing his Padawan's decision was unwise. No response was given, however. Left with no other option, Kanan carefully aimed his blaster and fired it at the door controls. He hit it precisely, closing the doors and separating Ezra from his adversaries. "We have to get back to the ship now," I said, walking towards my crew. The pain proved to be too much for me to function properly, and I fell as a result. "We're taking the long way around. Zeb, carry Y/N to the Ghost," Kanan said in a muffled tone. My hearing is off. That's not a good sign. It's not gonna end like this, right?