They were in the air, but they weren't in the clear yet. While checking on Sabine, Hera looked up. "Zeb, make sure they can't track us."

"Consider it done," he assured her, crossing one arm over his chest. He was glad to have something to distract him, at any rate.

"You all right?" she asked Sabine as she took off her helmet.

She was not pleased, with the situation or her injury, but she was fine otherwise. "Yeah, I'll live." Sabine didn't need pity and she didn't want it.

Ezra, on the other hand, still wasn't completely done panicking. "Kanan, what was that??? Another Inquisitor?"

He exhaled as he sat up, still holding onto his shoulder. "No, something worse. Remember the Sith that Master Skywalker told us about?"

"Yeah, he said the Emperor was one."

"That was the other," Kanan explained, "Offee."

"How do you know?"

Scoffing, he turned to the Padawan. "How many people have you seen with green skin?" When Ezra nodded, silently admitting he had a point, Kanan went on. "Besides, she's the only Jedi I knew of who had her face on wanted posters for almost two years. You don't forget a face like that easily."

Okay, so at least they knew who it was. "How do we fight her?"

"Fight her?" he repeated, furrowing his brow. "Ezra, we were lucky to survive."

"Then that settles it," decided Hera. "I'm going to make for orbit so we can jump away."

"Hera, no," he warned as both she and Sabine stood up to get into the cockpit. "She will have a blockade of Destroyers waiting for us."

Hanging off of the ladder rungs, Sabine put her two cents in. "And this shuttle is slow, with barely any weapons or shields. We're going to have to smuggle ourselves off Lothal for a change."

She kept climbing, but her words got Hera thinking. "Mmm, that's not a bad idea."

Oh, because that's not concerning at all, Kanan thought. "What are you thinkin'?"

"I'm thinking we know the right man to smuggle us off-world," she clarified, turning to follow Sabine.

The Jedi took one glance at each other and realized they were both thinking the same thing: "Not him!"

~

This time, Kallus delivered his report in person. He was in the area anyway, might as well. "My lady, our scans have indicated that the stolen shuttle has not attempted to leave the system," he told the Sith, folding his hands behind his back.

Jadis' face split into a thin smile, one Kallus couldn't see. "They are afraid," she assumed, not turning from her window looking over Lothal's capital. "Good. There is a refugee camp the rebels have provided aid to in the past."

"Yes, 'Tarkintown' they call it," he explained. "You suspect the rebels are in hiding there?"

If only. "No. Unfortunately, the rebels are smarter than that. Regardless, I want you to burn it. First, they were alone, and then afraid. Now I want to make them weak. Use their compassion against them, exploit it."

"Yes, my lady." Kallus soon walked out of the office, leaving Jadis to herself.

Kallus was a good agent, Jadis thought. Much more obedient than Tua, and much wiser. His loyalties were to himself, but he knew that competence and association with the Empire were the two best ways to ensure his safety. A skilled strategist, an efficient organizer. Jadis made a note to herself that Kallus could be relied on in the future. The Empire thrived when its ranks were filled by those like him, it made the jobs of higher officials easier.

She knew burning the camp would do nothing as far as finding the rebels was concerned. She didn't care. If she wanted, Jadis could find where they were right now. The rebels didn't know, but her plan depended on the rebels taking the particular shuttle she had chased them onto. If Kallus' forces managed to corner them on Lothal, she would catch the five of them, but if they chased them back to a fleet, that would be an achievement worth celebrating. No, Jadis badly wanted to chase the rebels off Lothal. If their home was closed off to them, they would get desperate and reach out to their allies. With any luck, they would lead Jadis directly to them.

~

Everyone except Zeb boarded the command ship once their shuttle docked with the Rebellion fleet. Chopper had lagged behind, but he was soon chasing them down the hallway, grunting tensely and rocking back and forth.

"Chopper said a transmitter activated on our shuttle moments ago!" Sabine translated for Kanan, Ezra, and Hera, the last of whom was already running to the bridge.

"What does that mean?"

"It means the Empire tracked us back to the fleet," Kanan explained to Ezra while running after the captain. He was biting back an 'I told you' as he ran and decided if he tried to say it to Hera now, he was going to get stunned.

Hera was the first one on the bridge. "Commander Sato! We need the fleet to jump out of here. Our shuttle was tracked."

Sato, who was talking with Skywalker when she ran in, didn't have time to respond. One of the crew members shouted from his station. "Commander, I'm scanning a ship entering our sector."

She looked at Kanan, who had joined her moments ago with Ezra and Sabine to warn everyone. The rebel who had made the announcement pulled up the radar scans for the others to see. "We're tracking one target. No other ships have entered the system."

"Move Phoenix squadron to intercept!" he ordered, and he watched as the instruction was relayed and the fighters began to appear on the scans. Eight A-wings were racing out to meet him, and Anakin started analyzing.

One single ship? he wondered. It's lightcraft, too. How long is one ship going to hold off before backup comes? He suddenly had a bad feeling about this. No one else seemed as concerned as he did.

Everyone listened to the radio chatter as the fight began. "Fighter coming in at mark 3," one of the leaders announced, and Anakin presumed they started firing long after. As they watched the squadron advance, none of their fighters went down, but neither did the fighter.

"He's dodging," a pilot said, "coming around pretty fast."

"Fleet, raise deflector shields," Hera ordered, hoping they would do so in time.

Anakin's mind was already on a different track. They're not shooting yet, they haven't fired once.

The fighter wound its way in a loop, then approached the fleet. It didn't make an attack run, though, it even leveled off, giving Phoenix squadron plenty of time to take aim at the fighter. Shoot them down, Anakin thought, shoot them down before they pull off whatever they're planning.

"He's headed right for us!" Ezra pointed out. As they got closer, Anakin braced himself for the ship to rock a bit, but it didn't come. Not when it should have, anyway. The fighter passed over them right as the command ship took damage, much more damage than one light fighter should have been able to deal out. The lights flickered as everyone lost their balance momentarily, raising the tensions in the room.

"How can one fighter best our entire squadron?" Sato asked, but Anakin had caught on to the pilot's plan by now.

"That's not what's happening," he corrected, gripping the holotable. "Your squadron is besting your fleet. We're taking friendly fire!"

Hera didn't bother to stay any longer. She had her ship now, and she was not going to let one Imperial pilot take down the fleet. From behind her, Kanan asked, "Uh, what are you doing?"

"Getting involved," she answered, pausing only long enough to answer before darting away again.

Kanan shook his head, but he also shook his finger in her direction. "Not without me, you're not."

Sabine was in, too. Waving to Ezra, she told him, "Let's go. Ezra, come on!"

Before he had a chance to move, though, Skywalker walked up to him. "All right if I tag along?"

"The more, the merrier," he assured her before following the others back to the Ghost.

When Kanan saw Anakin running up behind him, he slowed down long enough for him to catch up. "I need to tell you something."

"I want to listen, but we won't have the chance if that TIE knocks our whole fleet down," Anakin reminded him. "Is it too important to wait?"

The ship took more damage. Phoenix squadron had accidentally made another run at the command ship. The rocking seemed to enhance Kanan's patience. "It's important, but not that important."

"I'll follow up with you on this," he promised, "assuming we don't die first."

"Good call," Kanan quipped, following the Jedi Knight to the cockpit. It was time to take out a TIE.