Chapter Text
Three days after Stygeon Prime, the tactical chamber aboard the Imperial Star Destroyer Requiem was a vault of shadow and steel.
Pale light spilled from recessed holopanels, stretching the silhouettes of those gathered around the central table across the walls. The chamber smelled faintly of ozone and warm machinery, while the steady rhythm of Darth Vader's respirator pressed through the silence.
Footage from Stygeon Prime played above the table.
The recordings shifted between stormtrooper helmet cameras, TIE targeting feeds, and long-range images captured from the orbital platform. Each angle showed the same red-and-gold figure moving through Imperial fire, followed by three modified X-wings sharing targeting information without surrendering control to a central system.
The female Inquisitor from Mykapo stood opposite Vader, her helmet tucked beneath one arm. Several replaced plates interrupted the otherwise uniform finish of her armor, lingering evidence of the battle Stark had escaped.
The broad-shouldered male Inquisitor watched beside her, his hands folded behind his back.
Neither needed rumors to explain Tony Stark.
They had fought him.
They had nearly killed him.
The footage slowed as Tony attached himself to Echo Two's damaged hull over Stygeon Prime. Warning lights pulsed across the X-wing while he ripped open the auxiliary-core housing and severed the fused power connection.
"He abandoned the primary engagement to save one pilot," Commander Vaal said from the far side of the table. "Imperial analysts estimate the fighter would have overloaded within eight seconds."
The female Inquisitor watched Tony fall away from the stabilized X-wing.
"He did the same on Mykapo. He remained behind while the transports escaped."
"Compulsion," the male Inquisitor said. "Not strategy."
Vader's helmet remained fixed on the projection.
"It is both."
The footage changed.
Tony struck the ground beneath the female Inquisitor's feet rather than firing directly at her. Another recording showed the rebuilt Mark VII rolling between TIE fire with none of the instability that had crippled its right boot on Mykapo.
The female Inquisitor enlarged the image of Tony's shoulder.
"My blade severed most of the actuator path here. The new armor distributes the load through several channels."
The male Inquisitor highlighted the glowing field over Tony's forearm.
"And he has added localized deflector emitters where our lightsabers breached him."
Vader regarded the rotating image.
"He studies every failure."
The female Inquisitor's expression tightened.
"Then the next encounter will teach him more."
"There will be no next encounter if he is captured," Vaal said carefully.
The male Inquisitor looked toward the commander with open disdain.
"You assume his armor can be separated from the man while he remains capable of resistance."
Vaal lowered his eyes.
Vader raised one hand.
The argument stopped.
The projection shifted to Echo Flight. Shared threat markers appeared across all three cockpit recordings at once, but each pilot chose a different maneuver.
"The fighters are not remotely controlled," the female Inquisitor said. "Their targeting solutions are synchronized, but the pilots remain independent."
"He has not replaced them," Vader replied. "He has made them more effective."
Another image showed the auxiliary core inside Echo Two. Its architecture resembled the power systems in Tony's armor, but the design had been simplified around components the Partisans could obtain and maintain.
Vaal cleared his throat.
"Our engineers believe the Rebels remain unable to reproduce the central power modules without Stark. The surrounding systems can be repaired by ordinary technicians, but the cores still require his knowledge."
"Then expansion of the program still depends upon him," Vader said.
The male Inquisitor studied the modified fighter.
"Destroy him, and the program dies with him."
"No."
Vader's answer filled the chamber.
The male Inquisitor bowed his head.
"My lord."
"If Stark dies, his completed designs remain with the Rebels. Their engineers will preserve whatever knowledge he has already given them."
The female Inquisitor understood first.
"You want the source."
"His knowledge will serve the Empire."
"Willingly?"
Vader turned his mask toward her.
The question ended there.
Commander Vaal activated a new display.
A remote canyon appeared above the holotable. Cargo bunkers, medical stores, fuel tanks, and small landing pads occupied the floor between two steep ridges.
"Logistics node Delta-Seven," Vaal said. "Imperial Intelligence reconstructed its existence from the damaged traffic records recovered on Mykapo. Communications captured around Stygeon Prime confirmed that the node remains active."
The display marked personnel locations.
"It supplies three insurgent cells and provides fuel, medicine, and replacement parts for several craft connected to Gerrera's network. Forty-three workers and security personnel are currently present. The node also contains route records and inventory logs that may identify additional Rebel shelters."
The female Inquisitor looked toward Vader.
"Stark will come."
"The Rebels may recognize the trap," the male said.
"They will," Vader replied.
Vaal changed the projection again.
A light cruiser and two Gozanti carriers appeared over Delta-Seven.
"Our attack force will be large enough to seize the node, but small enough to appear vulnerable to a counterattack. Ground troops will take the landing pads and begin capturing personnel. They will not destroy the stores unless ordered."
"The Rebels must believe there is something left to save," the female Inquisitor said.
"Yes."
"And when Stark arrives?"
The male Inquisitor's circular lightsaber rested against his hip.
"We occupy him."
"And the Jedi," Vader said. "Kanan Jarrus and Ezra Bridger accompanied him at Stygeon Prime. If the Ghost responds, they will be contained."
The male Inquisitor glanced toward Vaal.
"Then we close the system and take them all."
"No," Vader said.
The room became still again.
Vaal placed a small cylindrical device into the projection. It resembled a narrow missile no longer than a man's forearm, with a magnetized housing and a compact transmitter hidden beneath its shell.
"An XX-23 S-thread tracer," he explained. "A concealed launcher will be positioned along the northern ridge. Once the Ghost begins its withdrawal, the tracer will attach to the aft landing assembly."
The female Inquisitor looked toward Vader.
"You intend to let them escape."
"A direct assault could capture Stark," Vader said. "Allowing him to leave may reveal Gerrera's base, Phoenix Cell's routes, and every pilot dependent upon his technology."
The projection divided into a web of possible destinations.
"We mark the Ghost. You keep Stark and the Jedi occupied until the device is attached. Once it is secured, you will disengage."
The male Inquisitor's eyes narrowed.
"And if Stark recognizes the trap?"
"He will still save those he can."
Vader replayed the footage of Tony leaving the battle to reach Echo Two.
"He cannot do otherwise."
The female Inquisitor smiled faintly.
"Compulsion."
Vader turned toward her.
"Strategy."
The projection changed once more. It showed Delta-Seven's northern landing pad, the tracer launcher concealed inside what appeared to be an abandoned communications housing.
Vaal pointed to the expected evacuation corridor.
"The cruiser will close the direct orbital route. The Gozanti carriers will force the Rebel ships toward the northern gap, placing the Ghost within the launcher's firing arc."
"And when the tracer leads us to their refuge?" the male Inquisitor asked.
Vader's respirator filled the chamber.
"We take Stark alive."
His mask turned toward the image of the Rebel base network.
"And destroy everyone who depends upon him."
The female Inquisitor looked toward the tactical deployment.
"You will remain aboard the Requiem?"
"I will descend once attachment is confirmed," Vader said. "Until then, the Rebels must believe they still have a chance to escape."
At Rally Point Echo, the rebuilt mechanical disconnect inside Echo Two passed its final test.
The auxiliary core shut down cleanly, physical contacts snapped apart, and conventional power restored itself without locking the flight controls. Tony watched the results scroll across a diagnostic screen inside the asteroid hangar, then ran the test again because trusting a repair after one success was how people ended up as cautionary stories.
The hangar's artificial morning cycle had only begun. Overhead lights warmed gradually from dim blue to white while mechanics moved between the three prototype X-wings.
Echo Two sat nearest the Falcon, its damaged power housing replaced with a reinforced shell. A bright mechanical release lever now occupied the space beside the electronic cutoff.
Tony sat on a cargo crate with one boot braced against the diagnostic cart.
"Manual release?"
The pilot pulled the new lever.
The auxiliary core disconnected with a hard clunk.
"Conventional generator stable," Jarvis reported. "Flight controls remain responsive. Shield and weapons systems have reverted to standard performance."
Tony looked toward the pilot.
"Again."
"That was the fifth time."
"And the first four were deeply suspicious."
"They were identical."
"Exactly. Consistency like that makes me nervous."
Chewbacca growled from beneath the X-wing.
Jarvis translated through Tony's earpiece.
"He says the release works and you should stop wasting everyone's time."
Tony looked under the fighter.
"I liked you better before you learned quality control."
Chewbacca slid out on a maintenance board, grease streaking the fur along one forearm. He pointed at the stable diagnostic readings and released another low series of growls.
"He also suggests that you eat something," Jarvis said.
"Now he's just being controlling."
Across the hangar, the Mark VII stood inside its maintenance rack. The repaired armor cast a faint blue glow across the nearby bulkhead, its forearm emitters newly recalibrated after the blaster impact over Stygeon Prime.
Tony had been awake for hours.
The timestamp discrepancy from the wormhole remained in the back of his mind, buried beneath work because work was easier to solve. Every time he stopped moving, he pictured Pepper staring at an empty sky while years passed without him.
The base alarm cut through the hangar.
It began as a deep vibration beneath the deck plates, followed by a sharp warning tone that sent technicians reaching for tools, helmets, and weapons.
Tony stood.
"Please tell me that means breakfast."
Han's voice carried from inside the Falcon.
"If breakfast is an Imperial attack, you're in luck."
Chewbacca rolled to his feet.
The hangar speakers crackled.
"All flight-qualified personnel report to the command room," Saw Gerrera ordered. "Delta-Seven is under attack."
The Mark VII opened before Tony reached it.
He stepped backward into the armor. Plates folded around his legs and torso, the power-transfer receiver coupled with the reactor in his chest, and familiar data spread across the inside of his visor.
"Armor systems online," Jarvis said. "Both bracer emitters fully charged. Four micro-missiles available in base inventory."
"Optimistic of you to check."
"Your recent habits suggested it would be relevant."
Han came down the Falcon's ramp fastening his holster.
"That sounds like a terrible start to the day."
"You're the one who said you missed the old days."
"I said I missed getting paid."
"Take it up with accounting."
"There is no accounting."
"That explains a lot."
Chewbacca barked and pointed toward the corridor.
Tony's faceplate closed.
"Right. Less financial planning, more impending disaster."
They ran.
The command room was already crowded.
Rae stood beside the holotable with the Echo Two and Echo Three pilots. Hera occupied the opposite side with Kanan, Ezra, Sabine, Zeb, and Chopper gathered around her.
A live transmission flickered above the table.
Delta-Seven's canyon was filled with smoke. TIE fighters circled over the cargo bunkers while stormtroopers secured the eastern landing pads. One medical store burned near the base of the ridge, its roof split open by cannon fire.
Saw struck the controls.
The image stabilized.
"Imperial forces entered the system twelve minutes ago. One light cruiser, two Gozanti carriers, six troop transports, and ground armor."
Hera studied the troop movements.
"They could have destroyed the node from orbit."
"They want it intact."
"They want us to respond," Kanan said.
Tony looked toward the footage.
Forty-three life signs appeared across the facility. Several had been gathered near the central pad beneath Imperial guard.
"How many got out?"
"None," Saw replied. "The cruiser arrived before the evacuation transports could launch."
"Remote demolition?"
"Imperial slicers disabled the primary system."
Sabine enlarged the base schematics.
"I could still trigger the charges locally."
Saw nodded.
"Delta-Seven supplies fuel, medicine, and replacement components to three cells. More importantly, its route records connect to shelters that were changed after Mykapo."
Hera's expression hardened.
"If the Empire gets those records, the network moves again."
"If they interrogate the workers, changing the routes may not be enough," Kanan added.
Han leaned against the table.
"So we know it's a trap, and we're going anyway."
Saw looked toward him.
"We are not defending the node."
Hera took control of the projection.
"We evacuate the people, recover or destroy the records, and leave. The moment the last worker clears the canyon, Delta-Seven stops mattering."
Sabine highlighted the central command bunker.
"Chopper and I can restore the demolition circuit from inside."
Chopper gave an eager burst of binary.
Jarvis translated privately.
"He has suggested several methods, most of which would also kill every Imperial within two hundred meters."
Tony looked down at the droid.
"Enthusiastic."
Hera marked the northern bunkers.
"The Ghost lands here. Kanan, Ezra, Zeb, Sabine, and Chopper move through the maintenance corridor and reach the command bunker. We divide the workers between the Ghost, Falcon, and Delta-Seven's two surviving transports."
Han studied the canyon.
"The eastern pad is already gone."
"We use the north."
Rae pointed toward the circling TIEs.
"Echo Flight can clear the upper corridor."
"The cruiser will move to close it," Hera said. "Do not fight for orbit. Open a path long enough for the transports to climb."
Saw looked across those gathered around the table.
"No additional squadrons. We will not empty Echo because the Empire placed a knife against Delta-Seven's throat."
His gaze settled on Tony.
"You are the reason they chose this target."
Tony watched the image of stormtroopers forcing Delta-Seven's workers onto their knees.
"Yeah. I got that."
"They will be ready for your armor."
Tony activated the right forearm emitter. A faint field rippled across the bracer.
"I upgraded specifically because their lightsabers kept cutting through the expensive parts."
Kanan's head turned slightly.
"There are Inquisitors on the ground."
Tony looked toward him.
"You can tell from here?"
"No."
Kanan faced the footage again.
"But if Vader built this trap for us, he would not leave them behind."
Tony studied the canyon.
"Comforting."
Sabine removed a slim plate from a pouch on her belt and tossed it to him.
Tony caught it.
Painted circuitry curved over its surface in purple and orange lines.
"What am I looking at?"
"Short-range targeting jammer. Chopper and I finished the hardware."
Tony looked toward the droid.
Chopper gave him an innocent whistle.
"Jarvis still has to approve the software," Sabine added.
Tony turned the plate over.
"Thank you for respecting my extremely reasonable fear of people rewriting my armor."
"I considered skipping that part."
"I know."
Jarvis scanned the module.
"The device can be isolated from primary armor control and operated within a restricted system environment."
"Translation?"
"It cannot access anything important."
Sabine crossed her arms.
"Rude."
"Correct," Jarvis said.
Tony attached the module to an external port beneath his left bracer.
"What does it do?"
"One compressed pulse," Sabine explained. "It disrupts nearby Imperial targeting systems for two or three seconds. Manual controls keep working, and it needs several minutes to recharge."
Tony examined the output estimate.
"Two seconds is plenty of time to ruin somebody's day."
"That was the idea."
Saw changed the display to the Imperial fleet.
"The light cruiser is holding high orbit. The carriers are covering the eastern and southern approaches."
Hera traced the remaining path.
"They are leaving the northern corridor open."
"Because that is where they want us to go," Han said.
"Then we use it only long enough to get the transports clear," Hera replied. "Once everyone reaches the upper atmosphere, we scatter to the contingency rendezvous."
Tony looked toward the workers on the feed.
"Forty-three people."
"Forty-three," Saw confirmed.
Tony closed his hand around the jammer plate.
"Then let's go get them."
A Partisan armorer met Tony beside the Falcon and opened the launch compartments built into the Mark VII's shoulders.
Four micro-missiles rested inside a reinforced ammunition case. One by one, the armorer locked them into the racks while Jarvis tested the electrical connections and guidance interfaces.
"Four missiles loaded," Jarvis reported.
Tony rolled one shoulder as the final compartment closed.
"Let's try to bring some home this time."
The Falcon, Ghost, and Echo Flight lifted from Rally Point Echo beneath the cold light of the asteroid hangar.
Tony launched beside them for one final systems check, circling Echo Two while Jarvis compared the mechanical release to the other prototypes. Every diagnostic remained stable.
"Echo Flight, telemetry network connected," Tony said. "Diagnostics, threat sharing, and targeting assistance only. You still do your own flying."
Rae answered from Echo Lead.
"We know."
"You say that now."
Han opened the Falcon's sealed cargo hatch.
Tony entered and landed inside. The outer door closed, the compartment repressurized, and the inner hatch opened onto the main corridor.
He reached the cockpit as Han entered the jump coordinates.
Chewbacca occupied the copilot's seat, hands moving across the controls.
Hera's voice came through the comm.
"Ghost ready."
Rae followed.
"Echo Flight ready."
Han gripped the hyperspace levers.
"Everyone aboard?"
Tony leaned between the seats.
"I'm touched you checked."
"I was asking Chewie."
Chewbacca barked.
Han pulled the controls.
The stars stretched into blue.
The jump ended at the outer edge of Delta-Seven's system.
A red-brown planet filled the viewport ahead, its surface crossed by deep canyons and dry mountain ranges. The light cruiser hung in high orbit while the two Gozanti carriers patrolled beneath it.
TIE fighters turned toward the newly arrived ships.
Hera's voice remained calm.
"Stay on the descent. We do not engage the cruiser."
The Ghost led them into the atmosphere.
The Falcon followed close behind, with Echo Flight covering both sides. Green cannon fire crossed the sky around them as the first TIE squadron approached.
Rae broke Echo Flight into two elements.
"Echo Two with me. Echo Three, protect the Ghost."
The pilots moved without waiting for Tony.
Shared threat markers spread across their displays. Echo Lead selected one target, Echo Two chose another, and Echo Three stayed with Hera.
"Targeting links stable," Jarvis reported. "Pilot control remains independent."
"Good. Keep the threat data clean."
The canyon appeared through the dust below.
Delta-Seven's landing pads were crowded with Imperial troops, cargo containers, and grounded Rebel craft. A pair of walkers guarded the northern route while stormtroopers moved the captured workers toward the central bunker.
Han drove the Falcon between two ridges.
"Low enough for you?"
Jarvis checked the atmospheric conditions.
"Within safe flight tolerances."
Tony turned toward the cargo compartment.
"Try not to leave without me."
Han glanced over his shoulder.
"No promises."
Tony entered the chamber.
The doors sealed, air vented, and the lower hatch opened.
He dropped into the canyon.
Wind screamed over the armor as his thrusters ignited. Tony leveled above the northern pad and marked the two walkers and anti-air positions.
"Two anti-air batteries marked," Tony said. "Western and eastern."
Rae answered immediately.
"Echo Two, take the east. Echo Three, stay with the Ghost. I have the west."
"Copy," both pilots answered.
Tony rolled beneath a burst of cannon fire.
"Jarvis, missile count."
"Four."
"Let's spend responsibly."
He launched one missile into the knee joint of the nearest walker. The machine collapsed sideways, its cannon tearing a line through an empty cargo stack as it fell.
"Three remaining."
The second walker rotated toward the Ghost.
Chewbacca's ventral turret struck first.
Red bolts hammered the walker's weapon mount. Tony followed with a repulsor burst that ripped the damaged cannon from its housing.
The Ghost swept over the northern wall and landed behind the bunkers.
Its ramp dropped.
Kanan reached the ground beside Ezra, both lightsabers still unlit. Zeb followed with his bo-rifle extended while Sabine and Chopper moved toward the maintenance corridor.
Hera remained at the controls.
"Ground team deployed," she said. "Falcon, begin loading personnel from the north shelter."
Han brought the freighter down beside the Ghost.
Stormtroopers rushed toward the landing zone.
Kanan ignited his blue blade.
Ezra's green lightsaber followed.
The two Jedi moved ahead of the ground team, catching blaster fire in controlled arcs while Zeb drove through the first Imperial line. Sabine fired over his shoulder, forcing the remaining troopers behind a fuel conduit.
Tony climbed above the pad.
A circular lightsaber hilt caught the light below him.
He recognized it before the blade ignited.
The female Inquisitor stepped from behind a cargo hauler, her repaired mask hiding most of her face. One red blade extended from the ring-shaped hilt.
"You again," Tony said.
Her head tilted.
"You survived Mykapo."
"You sound disappointed."
"I will correct that."
She raised one hand.
The Force seized Tony's right arm and pulled him downward.
He fired his left thruster, twisted with the motion instead of resisting it, and landed hard enough to dent the pad. The impact-dispersal alloy mesh tightened beneath the armor, spreading the shock across his torso.
"Impact distribution stable," Jarvis said.
"Nice when things work."
The Inquisitor attacked.
Her red blade cut toward the same thigh she had breached on Mykapo. Tony brought the right bracer across his body.
The miniature deflector emitter flared.
Red struck blue-white.
Heat surged through Tony's forearm, but the blade stopped against the curved field rather than entering the armor beneath it.
"Right emitter at sixty-four percent," Jarvis warned.
Tony broke contact after three seconds and fired at the deck beside her feet.
The metal flashed white and softened.
The Inquisitor stepped back before the surface collapsed beneath one boot. Tony used the opening to strike her chest with a repulsor blast.
She flew into the side of the cargo hauler.
Tony raised both palms.
"Still disappointed?"
The Inquisitor rose from the wreckage.
Her second blade ignited.
"Not for long."
Above them, four TIE fighters descended toward Echo Flight.
Rae's voice tightened over the comm.
"Four on Echo Lead. They're settling into firing position."
Tony activated Sabine's jammer.
"Jarvis, one full pulse."
The painted module released a compressed burst.
Imperial targeting solutions dissolved into static. The TIEs remained under manual control, but their firing locks vanished and their formation hesitated.
"Disruption duration, two-point-seven seconds," Jarvis said. "Full-power recharge unavailable for four minutes."
"Make the confusion count."
Rae rolled between the first pair.
Echo Two struck one fighter's engine while Rae drove the second away with cannon fire. Echo Three remained over the Ghost instead of chasing the retreating targets.
Sabine's voice entered Tony's channel.
"That worked."
"Remind me to buy you paint."
"I already added it to the list."
The female Inquisitor attacked again.
Tony blocked the first strike with his right bracer.
The field flashed violently.
"Right emitter at thirty-eight percent."
He redirected the blade instead of holding it, turning his body so the weapon slid away from his chest. Her second blade cut toward the exposed flight vent beneath his arm.
Tony fired his boot thrusters.
He rose just high enough for the red edge to miss the vent by centimeters.
"You learned," she said.
"I take feedback well."
She extended one hand.
The Force struck him in the chest.
Tony flew backward into a cargo stack. Containers burst open around him, spilling medical packs and sealed ration crates across the pad.
The alloy mesh tightened again, but pain still drove the air from his lungs.
"Armor integrity at eighty-three percent," Jarvis reported. "No structural breach."
"Tell my ribs."
"Your ribs remain intact."
"Very comforting."
The Falcon's ramp lowered near the northern shelter.
Delta-Seven workers ran toward it under covering fire from Han and several Partisan guards. Chewbacca remained in the turret, blasting the ground ahead of every Imperial squad that approached.
Hera's voice moved across the shared channel.
"First group aboard the Falcon. Ghost has twelve."
"Thirty-one still outside," Jarvis said.
Tony pushed himself upright.
Stormtroopers advanced between him and the evacuation route. Several carried portable shields, creating a moving wall of red blaster fire behind them.
Tony activated his left bracer.
The emitter expanded into a torso-wide curved field. It was barely large enough to cover Tony as he moved backward in front of the escaping workers, forcing them to remain directly behind him.
Bolts struck the field in rapid succession, filling his visor with white flashes. Heat spread up his arm while the indicator dropped.
"Left emitter at seventy-two percent."
Tony kept moving.
The field absorbed another volley.
"Fifty-one percent."
He fired around the edge of the shield with his right palm, striking weapons, knees, and the ground in front of the advancing line.
"Thirty percent."
The workers crossed behind him toward the Falcon.
"Eighteen percent. Thermal cutoff approaching."
"Hold."
"Seven percent."
The emitter shut down.
The curved field vanished.
Tony dropped behind a cargo barrier as blaster fire chewed through the top edge.
"Left emitter offline," Jarvis said. "Estimated cooling time, six minutes."
"So that one's done."
"Correct."
The female Inquisitor landed on the other side of the barrier.
Tony saw her shadow before the blades entered the metal.
Red plasma cut downward.
He rolled away as the cargo barrier split apart behind him.
Inside Delta-Seven's command bunker, Chopper rammed his interface arm into the main terminal.
The droid released a stream of angry binary while the surviving route records appeared above the console. Imperial slicers had already copied portions of the inventory database, but the shelter coordinates remained behind the node's internal encryption.
Sabine planted charges around the memory core.
"Chopper, copy anything they haven't taken. Then erase the rest."
The droid whistled.
"No, you cannot overload the entire reactor."
Chopper argued.
"Because we still have people outside."
Zeb fired through the doorway.
"Less talking!"
A stormtrooper fell backward into the corridor. Ezra deflected another bolt past Zeb's shoulder and sent it into the ceiling.
Kanan stood near the bunker entrance, his head tilted toward the battle outside.
The male Inquisitor emerged from the dust beyond the doorway.
His circular hilt rotated once in his hand.
"Kanan Jarrus."
Kanan ignited his lightsaber.
"You people really need another hobby."
The Inquisitor's red blades extended.
Ezra stepped beside his master.
"You take applications?"
The Inquisitor attacked.
Kanan caught the first spinning strike while Ezra intercepted the second blade from the opposite side. Red, blue, and green light filled the bunker entrance, reflecting across the walls as Zeb pulled Sabine and Chopper deeper into cover.
"Thirty seconds!" Sabine called.
Kanan yielded a step beneath the Inquisitor's strength.
"Take your time."
"You always say that when you mean hurry."
"I know."
Ezra shoved forward.
The male Inquisitor broke contact, spun around Ezra's counterattack, and drove one boot into the teenager's chest. Ezra hit the bunker wall and lost his grip on the lightsaber.
Kanan felt the weapon fall.
He reached out with the Force.
Ezra's saber flew back into his hand before the Inquisitor could claim it.
"Thanks," Ezra said.
"Stay focused."
The Inquisitor advanced.
Kanan raised his blade.
"So should you."
Sabine's first charge detonated behind the male Inquisitor.
The blast collapsed part of the maintenance corridor, filling the entrance with sparks, dust, and broken plating. The Inquisitor forced his way through the falling debris, but Kanan met him alone.
"Ezra, get the workers out!"
Ezra hesitated.
"Kanan…"
"Go. I can hold him."
The Inquisitor's blade struck Kanan's with enough force to drive him backward.
Ezra looked toward Sabine.
She had the copied records.
Chopper had finished the purge.
He turned and ran.
Tony caught the female Inquisitor's next attack on his right bracer.
The emitter screamed beneath the impact.
"Right field at eleven percent," Jarvis warned. "Another sustained contact will breach the defense."
Tony twisted his forearm before the blade could remain against it. The lightsaber slid away, scorching the edge of his shoulder plate without cutting through.
He struck the Inquisitor's wrist with his opposite gauntlet.
Her spinning weapon changed direction, but she maintained her grip.
"You corrected the weaknesses I found on Mykapo," she said.
Tony fired both boot thrusters into the ground.
Dust and debris exploded between them.
"I've had worse performance reviews."
He climbed above the cloud and retracted the right shield emitter before it failed completely.
"Right bracer unavailable for further saber contact," Jarvis said.
"Both arms officially decorative."
"Repulsors remain operational."
"Always look on the bright side."
Hera's voice cut through the comm.
"Twenty-nine personnel aboard. Fourteen remaining."
Tony scanned the base.
Nine workers were moving from the western shelter under Rebel protection. Five remained trapped beside the central pad, where a collapsed gantry blocked the access route.
A young technician crouched beneath the fallen structure, one leg pinned under a support beam. Another worker tried to lift it and failed.
An Imperial officer raised his rifle toward them.
Tony dropped.
The officer fired.
With both bracers depleted, Tony turned his torso and took the shot across the chest plate. The impact rang through the armor and sent him sliding across the pad.
He fired one repulsor.
The officer's weapon flew from his hands.
Tony landed beside the gantry and jammed both gauntlets beneath the bent support.
"Jarvis, lifting strength."
"Right shoulder redundancy stable. Structural load approaching safe limit."
"Safe limits are more of a suggestion."
He lifted.
Servos strained throughout the suit. The support rose a few centimeters, then stopped.
Ezra emerged from the smoke-filled maintenance corridor and ducked beneath Tony's arms.
"I've got him."
The teenager pulled the trapped technician free and dragged him away from the gantry.
Tony released the weight.
The beam crashed back onto the pad.
Ezra looked toward him.
"You good?"
"No."
"Good enough?"
"Apparently."
Ezra lifted the injured technician over one shoulder.
"Ghost has room."
"Then move."
Ezra ran toward the freighter.
Tony rose after him.
The male Inquisitor emerged through the dust from the collapsed corridor. A fresh cut crossed one side of his armor where Kanan's blade had caught him, but his circular saber still spun in front of him.
He landed between Tony and the evacuation route.
The female joined him from the opposite side.
Tony looked between them.
"Two of you. Nice to see the Empire values teamwork."
The male Inquisitor angled his weapon toward the exposed vents beneath Tony's arms.
"You reinforced the shoulder."
Tony raised his gauntlets.
"I take feedback well."
"Not all of it."
He lunged.
Tony fired both palms.
The male Inquisitor snapped one hand outward. Invisible pressure wrenched Tony's wrists apart, sending the repulsor blasts past either side of him.
The Inquisitor crossed the remaining distance before Tony could correct his aim. One red blade cut toward the exposed flight vent beneath Tony's right arm.
Warnings spread across the HUD.
"Right maneuvering intake damaged," Jarvis said. "Flight correction reduced by sixteen percent."
The female Inquisitor attacked his left side.
Tony dropped beneath her first strike, fired a repulsor into the ground, and threw himself upward between them. The damaged intake pulled him off balance.
The male's saber rose after him.
Tony twisted.
The blade passed beneath his boot and sliced away part of the heel plating.
"Flight correction reduced by twenty-nine percent."
"Still flying."
"Poorly."
Below him, the final workers reached the Falcon.
Hera's voice filled the channel.
"All forty-three accounted for. Ground team returning."
Sabine and Chopper emerged from the command bunker at a run. Explosions followed them through the maintenance corridor as the remaining demolition charges destroyed the memory core.
Zeb brought up the rear.
Kanan emerged last, his blade catching fire from the stormtroopers pursuing him through the smoke. Ezra moved beside him once the technician was safely aboard the Ghost.
The male Inquisitor watched them.
Tony saw the choice in his posture.
The Jedi or the armor.
The Inquisitor turned toward Kanan.
Tony fired into the ground beside him.
The repulsor blast tore open the pad and forced him back.
"Eyes up here."
The female Inquisitor pulled Tony downward with the Force.
He struck the deck on one knee.
She raised her lightsaber.
Tony aimed his last working bracer at her, then remembered the eleven-percent warning.
One more block and it is gone.
He fired his palm instead.
The repulsor struck her shoulder, breaking the angle of her attack. The red blade cut through empty air beside Tony's helmet.
He drove his other fist into her abdomen.
The armor's servos launched her backward.
"Ground team aboard," Hera said. "We are lifting."
Tony rose into the air.
Both Inquisitors held their ground. Their attention shifted past him toward the climbing Ghost, as though they were waiting for something.
That bothered him more than another attack would have.
The Ghost climbed from the pad, its ramp drawing closed as the last blaster bolts struck the hull.
Inside the hold, Kanan stopped with one hand on the railing.
The sounds of engines, shouting, and weapons fire seemed to recede around him. A presence entered the canyon, cold and vast, carrying the same crushing weight he had felt above Lothal and on Malachor.
Hera heard the change in his breathing through the intercom.
"Kanan?"
His covered face turned toward the southern ridge.
"Vader."
Ezra froze beside him.
The name moved through the hold.
Zeb pulled the final worker farther from the closing ramp.
"Then we leave now."
On the northern ridge, the concealed targeting housing followed the departing Ghost.
A narrow indicator changed from amber to green.
The launcher fired.
The XX-23 tracer crossed the canyon inside its missile-like shell. It struck the Ghost's aft landing assembly with barely enough force to register against the turbulence.
Its magnetic housing locked beneath a hydraulic support.
The transmitter activated.
Aboard the descending Imperial shuttle, a green confirmation appeared on Darth Vader's control panel.
"Attachment confirmed," Vaal reported over the encrypted channel.
The shuttle entered the canyon.
Its ramp opened as it settled over the southern pad.
Darth Vader stepped into the smoke.
Stormtroopers around him straightened as though pulled by the same invisible command. The rhythm of his breathing carried faintly through the open Imperial channels below.
Tony hovered above the evacuation route.
Vader's mask lifted toward him.
Distance did nothing to weaken the feeling that the Sith Lord was looking directly through the armor.
"Uh," Tony said.
"I see him," Hera replied.
Han's voice followed.
"Yeah. I hate that guy."
"Agreed."
The female Inquisitor started toward the rising ships.
Vader raised one hand.
She stopped.
"My lord?"
"Let them go."
She looked toward the escaping freighter.
"But Stark…"
"Will lead us to the others."
Tony saw Vader standing motionless below.
Too easy.
The thought passed through his mind, but the light cruiser began descending toward the evacuation corridor before he could follow it.
"Hera, cruiser moving."
"I see it."
"Falcon, cover the transports," Hera ordered. "Echo Flight, clear the northern route. Do not chase the carriers."
Han drove the Falcon above the Ghost.
Chewbacca's turret opened fire on the first TIE formation descending through the canyon.
Echo Flight formed along Hera's right side.
"Echo Lead taking point," Rae said. "Echo Two, stay close. Echo Three, watch the transports."
The light cruiser moved between the canyon and the direct orbital path. Its turbolasers fired wide, forcing the Rebel formation toward the northern gap exactly as Vader had planned.
Hera recognized the funnel.
"They're shaping the route."
Han banked beside her.
"Any better ideas?"
"Go through it before they close it."
"That I can do."
The Falcon accelerated.
The Ghost followed through the narrow corridor between the cruiser and the first Gozanti carrier. Hera rolled the freighter along the carrier's hull with only meters to spare, using its bulk to shield the Ghost from the cruiser's guns.
Tony climbed behind them.
His damaged right intake pulled every correction slightly off-center. Jarvis compensated through the remaining stabilizers, but the armor no longer moved cleanly.
"Flight-control degradation at thirty-one percent."
"Still better than Mykapo."
"A low standard."
The second Gozanti crossed the escape path.
Four TIE fighters hung beneath its hull on ventral docking racks, their engines beginning to ignite as the release clamps opened.
"Echo Lead, fighters deploying from the carrier," Tony said.
"I see them."
Rae launched one proton torpedo.
The weapon struck the central docking rack before the fighters could detach. Three TIEs disappeared inside the explosion as the carrier's underside tore open.
The fourth fighter dropped free.
It spun away trailing debris before its pilot regained enough control to retreat.
"Nice shot," Tony said.
"Try to keep up."
The Ghost cleared the cruiser.
The Falcon followed.
Delta-Seven's two evacuation transports climbed behind them while Echo Three protected their engines.
Tony remained at the rear until the final transport reached the upper atmosphere.
"Everyone clear," Jarvis said.
Sabine's demolition signal transmitted from the Ghost.
Delta-Seven vanished beneath a chain of explosions.
The command bunker collapsed first, followed by the fuel stores and cargo pads. Fire rolled through the canyon, destroying the supplies the Rebels could not recover and burying the remaining route records beneath tons of rock.
The Empire had captured a ruin.
Hera's voice came through the channel.
"Tony, return to the Falcon. We jump as soon as the transports clear gravity."
"On my way."
The Falcon lowered its cargo hatch.
Tony accelerated toward it.
Two TIE fighters crossed behind him. Echo Two intercepted the first while Echo Three drove the second away from the Falcon's approach.
Tony entered the cargo compartment and struck the deck harder than intended.
The damaged right intake sputtered before shutting down.
The outer hatch closed.
Air returned.
"Stark aboard," Jarvis transmitted.
Han's voice came from the cockpit.
"About time."
Tony opened the inner door and moved toward him.
"Next time, park closer."
"Next time, walk."
The formation reached jump distance.
Hera transmitted the contingency coordinates.
"First rally only. Nobody returns to Echo until we confirm the system is clean."
Saw had established the protocol after Mykapo. Any unit leaving a compromised battlefield made at least one unrelated jump before approaching a hidden base.
The Ghost disappeared first.
The evacuation transports followed.
Echo Flight jumped in sequence.
Han pulled the hyperspace controls.
The Falcon entered the blue tunnel last.
Silence settled over the Falcon once Delta-Seven was gone.
Tony stood behind the pilot seats while Jarvis reviewed the armor's damage.
"Right maneuvering intake damaged," Jarvis reported. "Both bracer emitters are unavailable pending repair. Three micro-missiles remain."
Han leaned back slightly.
"Small win."
"We got forty-three people out," Tony said.
"Exactly."
"We lost the whole node."
"Node was already gone."
Tony looked through the blue light beyond the viewport.
"Vader let us leave."
Han's expression lost some of its satisfaction.
"You sure?"
"He was standing on the pad. The Inquisitors stopped chasing us the second he arrived."
Chewbacca released a low growl.
Jarvis translated.
"He believes the withdrawal was too lightly contested once Lord Vader appeared."
"Thank you. I was starting to think paranoia was lonely."
The comm opened from the Ghost.
Hera's voice came through.
"All personnel are accounted for. Two serious injuries, both stable."
Kanan spoke from somewhere behind her.
"The technician Ezra recovered is conscious."
Tony rested his helmet against the bulkhead.
"Good."
Ezra's voice entered the channel.
"He said to thank you."
"Tell him to direct all gratitude toward the expensive equipment."
Sabine cut in.
"He also wants to know whether you always make jokes while lifting buildings."
"Only the small ones."
Chopper added a stream of binary.
Jarvis translated.
"He believes your performance would improve if the building fell on you."
Tony nodded.
"Constructive as always."
A sharp stream of binary broke across the channel.
Chopper's tone had changed.
The joking stopped.
"Chopper has an unauthorized transmission coming from our aft hull," Sabine said.
Tony pulled the Ghost's sensor packet into his HUD.
"Jarvis?"
"Analyzing now, sir. The signal is low-energy, Imperial in origin, and carrying navigational reference data."
Hera's voice sharpened.
"Can it follow us through hyperspace?"
"I cannot yet determine the full protocol."
Chopper shrieked again.
Sabine answered him immediately.
"He found a magnetic anomaly near the aft landing assembly."
Tony's stomach tightened.
"They tagged the Ghost."
"Chopper is sending the hull location," Sabine said.
A diagram of the Ghost appeared on the shared display. A small object clung beneath the rear landing structure, hidden behind a hydraulic housing.
Jarvis analyzed its shape.
"Projectile casing. Compact transmitter. The device appears specifically designed to record or relay navigational transitions."
Sabine swore softly.
"XX-23 S-thread tracer."
Han looked toward the blue tunnel.
"Meaning?"
"It was built to follow ships through hyperspace."
Chewbacca barked.
"Yeah," Han said. "I got that part."
Hera's voice became flat and decisive.
"We do not go home."
No one argued.
"The first rally is empty space," she continued. "Once we revert, Sabine and Chopper remove the tracer. Nobody transmits to Echo."
Han nodded even though she could not see him.
"Then what?"
"We attach it to a decoy probe and send it on another jump."
Tony studied the signal.
"Jarvis, can you copy it?"
"I can identify the carrier frequency and record its transmissions. I cannot yet guarantee a convincing duplicate."
"Then don't improvise with the original. Learn everything you can before they pull it."
"Already recording."
Sabine opened a private channel to Tony.
"I'll need help building the decoy."
"You have a probe?"
"Chopper has three."
Chopper objected loudly.
"Two," Sabine corrected.
Tony glanced toward Han.
"After we dump the tracer, we make two unrelated jumps and contact Saw through a relay."
Hera answered.
"Correct. The transports split after the second jump. Echo Flight stays with them until they reach alternate shelters."
Kanan's voice entered softly.
"Vader did not want Delta-Seven."
"No," Hera said.
"He wanted us."
Tony looked down at the damage across his gauntlets.
"And we showed up exactly where he expected."
"You also brought everyone out," Kanan replied. "That matters."
"It also told him we'll do it again."
No one contradicted him.
The hyperspace tunnel began to collapse.
Han leaned over the controls.
"Coming up on the first rally."
Stars snapped into place around them.
The system contained no inhabited worlds, only a dim red star and a belt of frozen debris drifting around it.
The Ghost dropped from hyperspace nearby.
Hera immediately cut its engines.
"Sabine, Chopper, suit up. Tony, bring the Falcon alongside us."
Han looked over his shoulder.
"You heard her."
Tony opened his faceplate.
"I was hoping you'd do the flying."
Han's hands settled over the controls.
"I always do the flying."
The Falcon moved toward the Ghost.
Sabine and Chopper reached the Ghost's aft landing assembly through an exterior maintenance hatch.
Both were secured to the hull by magnetic boots and safety lines. The tracer rested beneath the hydraulic housing exactly where Jarvis had marked it, its dark casing nearly invisible against the freighter's weathered plating.
Tony watched through the Falcon's external camera while Jarvis transmitted an enlarged schematic to Sabine's helmet display.
Sabine examined the device.
"Magnetic lock. Pressure trigger underneath."
"Meaning?" Tony asked.
"If I pull it off incorrectly, it may stop transmitting."
"That sounds helpful."
"It may also transmit a tamper alert."
"Less helpful."
Chopper produced a tool and reached toward the casing.
Sabine slapped his arm away.
"No."
The droid yelled at her.
"We are not detonating it against the hull."
Tony listened to the argument.
"I understand him more every day."
Jarvis projected the tracer's internal structure across Sabine's visor.
"The transmitter rests above the magnetic coupling. If you separate the lower plate while maintaining electrical contact, the signal should remain active."
Sabine selected a narrow cutting tool.
"I can bridge the contacts before we lift it."
Chopper held out a cable.
"See? Teamwork," Tony said.
Chopper rotated his dome toward the Falcon and made an obscene motion with one manipulator.
"Still touching."
Sabine connected the bridge.
The tracer's pulse remained steady.
She cut through the retaining plate and lifted the device away from the Ghost.
"No tamper signal," Jarvis said.
Chopper produced a small navigation probe from the maintenance hatch.
Tony studied it.
"That thing has a hyperdrive?"
"Single-use jump unit," Sabine said. "Recon range."
"Where did you get it?"
Chopper whistled innocently.
Hera answered from the cockpit.
"Do not ask."
Sabine attached the tracer to the probe's casing.
"Decoy ready."
Tony sent a flight path from the Falcon.
"Route takes it past an abandoned mining relay, then through two empty systems. Enough old traffic infrastructure to make the path look deliberate without leading the Empire toward anyone."
"Will they believe it?" Sabine asked.
"No," Tony said. "But they'll have to check."
Sabine pushed the probe away from the hull.
It drifted several hundred meters, oriented itself, and activated its jump drive.
The tracer vanished into hyperspace.
Jarvis monitored the remaining ships.
"No additional transmissions detected."
Hera did not relax.
"Chopper scans the entire hull again. Falcon and Echo Flight do the same. We leave only when every ship is clean."
Han folded his arms.
"That'll take an hour."
"Then we stay an hour."
Tony looked toward the dim star.
"Remind me never to play cards with her."
"You'd lose," Han said.
"I don't lose."
"You lost to Chewie."
"Chewie cheats."
A roar came across the cockpit speaker.
Han smiled.
"He heard you."
"Good."
Aboard the Requiem, the first destination appeared on the tactical display.
Commander Vaal watched the tracer signal emerge in the empty red-star system. It remained stationary longer than expected, then entered hyperspace again along a new route.
"They have altered course," he said.
Vader stood at the head of the table.
"The first system contains no Rebel installation."
"No, my lord."
"The tracer remains active?"
"Yes. It has begun a second jump."
The female Inquisitor studied the route.
"The Ghost may still be carrying it."
Vader regarded the length of time the signal had remained inside the empty system.
"Unlikely."
The male Inquisitor looked toward him.
"They stopped long enough to inspect the vessel."
"Yes."
"And transferred the device to a decoy."
"Assume that they did."
Vaal lowered his head.
"Then the operation failed."
Vader turned his mask toward him.
"No."
The commander stiffened.
"Their response revealed their procedures. They do not return directly to Gerrera's refuge. They use empty systems as rally points, inspect their ships after withdrawal, and prepare alternate routes before reestablishing contact."
The male Inquisitor studied the tracer's second path.
"Should we pursue it?"
"Send one patrol and continue monitoring the signal."
Vaal entered the order.
"And Stark?"
The projection displayed Tony holding the gantry above the trapped technician. Another frame showed him placing himself between the workers and the female Inquisitor.
Vader watched the images repeat.
"He knew the attack was meant for him," the female Inquisitor said. "He came regardless."
"He will do so again," Vader replied.
The male Inquisitor's expression darkened.
"Then we build another trap."
"No."
Vader's respirator filled the chamber.
"We remove his ability to recognize it."
The footage stopped on Tony's armored hand reaching beneath the collapsed beam.
"The next threat will not arrive with a fleet. It will not announce itself as Imperial, and it will leave him no time to consult the others."
Vaal looked toward the tactical network.
"What target, my lord?"
Vader regarded the interconnected routes, pilots, engineers, and Rebel cells surrounding Tony Stark.
"Find the one person he believes he can save alone."
The tracer continued along its uncertain course.
Far from the Requiem, the Rebels scattered into separate jumps, carrying forty-three survivors away from Delta-Seven and leaving the Empire with a signal that might lead to nothing more than an empty probe moving through the dark.
They had escaped.
They had learned.
So had Vader.