Year: 19 BBY
Location: Ryloth
Sergeant Fox and Kanan observe the Imperial doonium refinery on Ryloth. Fox is the second clone; Kanan did surgery on and removed the Inhibitor chip. He was also willing to join their cause and help fight the Empire. Captain Cole was still back on Corellia, having retaken his post as Captain at the shipyards and was feeding them with information. Right now, the process was a very slow one, but Kanan had patience; he had not forgotten his Jedi training and had only grown further. So patience was something he had more than enough of.
After learning about Vice-Admiral Rampart, Kanan wanted to know more about the man, and so he dug around for information. Captain Cole also helped in that regard, and eventually, they found out more about him. Using a few contacts Cole had here and there, he discovered that Rampart was on Ryloth for some reason, and more Imperial troopers were sent there. To find out why, Kanan, Fox, and his squad travelled to Ryloth to learn more.
"This looks more like a military operation than purely mining," Fox says.
"True. The usual story is that they most likely take most of what they refine here and use it for military purposes. Doonium is used mainly for shipbuilding," Kanan says.
"Sir, we're being watched," Fox says.
Kanan looks to the side and spots a young Twi'lek and an astromech droid spying on them. Both of them had the same idea of spying on the refinery.
"Shall we do something?" Fox asks.
"No. She's harmless."
"And what if she tells someone about seeing us?"
"She is as much in the restricted area as we are. Telling someone she saw us would prove that she was here. She would get in trouble."
"I still don't like it, sir."
"Which is why we're taking our leave now, Fox. Time for Operation: Switch Up," Kanan says.
.
"Did you see that, Chop? Who do you think that was? The one with the Stormtrooper?"
The young Hera Syndulla, the daughter of General Cham Syndulla and Eleni Syndulla, asks her astromech droid, Chopper.
[BooBoop]
"I should tell Uncle Glie and Father about this. Although Father will want to know why I know this," Hera says.
She watches the two men leave, not realising that neither of them is part of the local Imperial forces. Why would their own forces spy on one another?
Chopper chatters again.
"No, we can't leave yet. Uncle Glie told us to stay and gather intel."
Hera lies back on a few rocks and watches the birds in the sky, daydreaming of flying. However, as she is daydreaming, two Stormtroopers discover her.
"Chopper?" she chides her astromech droid.
[Uh-oh]
"Move it!" the troopers say and lead Hera and her droid away from the area.
They meet up with Clone Captain Howzer. He looks at the young girl and sighs, knowing her well. Howzer was deployed to the planet Ryloth, the homeworld of the Twi'lek species, to help liberate it from Separatist control during the Clone Wars. The Republic allied with the native Twi'lek Resistance, led by General Cham Syndulla, the father of Hera, under the condition that the Republic would withdraw once the Separatists were defeated. Together, they succeeded in driving the enemy off-world. Following the victory, Howzer remained stationed on Ryloth for several months, during which he formed a close bond with General Syndulla.
Howzer brings Hera and Chopper to the Syndully residence, where the Twi'leks are handing over their weapons to the clone troopers.
"Sorry about this, General, but they were found inside a restricted zone," Howzer tells Cham Syndulla.
"We were just exploring," Hera scoffs.
"I'm in a tough spot, Cham. Between us, things are a little tense at the moment. I won't report this, but it can't happen again."
"I assure you, it won't. Thank you, Howzer," Cham says.
After the trooper leaves, Hera tries to sneak past her father, but he holds her back.
"What were you doing out there?" Cham asks her.
"I already told you?"
"I want the truth, Hera."
"I sent her," Glie says as he approaches with Eleni, Hera's mother.
"Hera, Chopper, inside now," Eleni says and takes the two away from the two men.
"Sigh. It's not fair. We didn't do anything wrong," Hera sighs.
"The Imperial refinery is off-limits, Hera. You know that."
"Uh, I never said we were at the refinery."
"I have my ways, too. Now then, tell me what you saw. Leave nothing out," Eleni says.
"Well, it was strange, mother, there was another Clone trooper there with another person. The second person was dressed similarly to the clones, but his armour was black, and the helmet was different. I didn't see a face, but they were also spying on the refinery."
"Truly? That is most interesting. Maybe intruders who wear the clone armour to infiltrate the refinery?" Eleni asks herself. "What else?"
.
Meanwhile, at the refinery, Fox and Kanan were having a look around. They had a plan on what to do, but it required 'assistance'. So Fox was about to acquire some. He moves towards a patrol of two troopers and waves at them.
"Hey, over here. I saw something suspicious around the corner," he says.
"Oh yeah, what?" one of them asks as they run forward.
Fox leads them around the corner up ahead.
"Well, I think it's an intruder. What do you think?" Fox asks.
At that moment, they make it around the corner and see Kanan waiting for them with his DC-17 blaster. He fires two stun blasts at them, sending them to sleep.
"Now what?" Fox asks.
"Now you take one of their helmets and take their positions. Tell me when you see something. I'll have a look around and you try to find out where the doonium is headed and whether or not Rampart is on the planet right now," Kanan says.
"As you say, Commander."
Fox leaves, and Kanan levitates the bodies of the clones away from there, to hide them from potential guards. Then, he also makes it further into the refinery. He follows one of the massive pipelines that run deep into the large mountain. He can feel the unrefined material being extracted through them. He hides behind the corner and watches for patrols.
He uses the Force to guide him forward, letting it tell him what he wants to know and see. As he makes it deeper into the refinery, he encounters a set of powerful blast doors, set to either keep the workers in or intruders out. Either way, it is suspicious and further tells Kanan that the Empire has hidden intentions.
Kanan places his hand on the keyboard and uses the Force to guide the mechanism. Right now, he would need a key card to get in, but he simply breaks the mechanism, making it appear like an electrical fuse burned out. The door hisses, and Kanan pushes it aside. He jumps up and grabs the pipes going along the ceiling, hiding from the two troopers walking to the door and inspecting it. And after furtively moving through the area, he finally sees the workers.
Thousands of native Twi'kel workers are responsible for mining the ore and loading it, so that it can be extracted and later refined. No one is happy here; everyone has doubts, it seems. Negative emotions permeate the entire refinery.
[Commander, a Rho-class transport shuttle has just arrived. And you'll be interested to know who it is.]
"Tell me,"
[It's the Vice-Admiral and some hotshot called Cham Syndulla. His wife as well. Must be true big shots.]
"Cham Syndulla? That's the freedom fighter from Ryloth. The Jedi Order supported him during the Clone Wars. So he's in league with the Empire? Where are they now?"
[Just arriving. Can't miss 'em.]
.
Vice-Admiral Rampart shows the Syndulla leaders around.
"As you can see, we are in the early stages. But the Doonium mine here will rebuild parts of the galaxy affected by the war," Rampart says.
"We were told this refinery would not be a military facility. But your soldiers and armament suggest otherwise," Eleni says.
"Under the Republic's rule, your planet was vulnerable, but that is no longer the case. The Empire is dedicated to protecting the interests of Ryloth. Please excuse me. There's a matter I must address. You can see yourselves out?"
Rampart leaves the two Twi'leks alone.
"Admiral Rampart cares more about his own interests than those of our people," Eleni tells her husband.
"I hear Gobi's voice in your thoughts. Don't lose sight of what we're trying to achieve," Cham says.
"I am questioning the cost to achieve it. How can we trust these imperials when they are keeping things from us?"
"We need to try for the sake of Ryloth."
"And if the Empire's version of peace is not the one we can accept, then what?"
What the two don't know is that a single trooper and a hidden Kanan are overhearing them. They observe the Vice-Admiral leave and then Cham and Eleni Syndulla shortly after.
"Seems like they might be useful," Fox says.
"Indeed. But not yet. Cham is still clinging to his idea of peace too strongly to realise that it has long passed. I'm sure the Vice-Admiral is already planning on getting him out of the way. The question is, who would he replace him with?"
"Probably that fat guy, the Senator?"
"Hmm, remind me again who that is?" Kanan asks.
"Uhh... he has that three-part name and is fat. That's all I got."
"Let's see what else we can find out."
*beep beep*
Fox, or rather the trooper whose helmet and coms he has, is contacted. He listens for a moment and then looks at Kanan.
"Seems like something is happening. Rampart just issued an order. Some 'insurgents' apparently. I'm up."
"Good. I'll follow along."
.
Fox boards the Imperial LAAT/i gunship and takes off.
"We're arresting insurgents who tried to smuggle weapons onto Ryloth. Get ready!"
They fly to a canyon, where they get down. The troopers are dispatched and quickly take the two Twi'leks present into custody. The third younger Twi'lek is Hera Syndulla, who accompanied the older two, Glie and the female Serin. Fox follows along and does what the others do. He is a Sergeant, so he knows what to do, but he has no information and finds the current situation strange.
An HCVw A9 turbo tank arrives, and with it, Vice-Admiral Rampart and Twi'lek Senator, Orn Free Taa.
"These three were caught smuggling weapons onto the planet."
"Miss Syndulla, I find your involvement in such matters to be most distressing," Rampart says.
"Cham's behind this! She is the proof. He's potting an uprising," Senator Taa says.
"That's not true!" Hera shouts.
"You being here is enough to implicate him," Taa retorts.
"The public won't see it that way. You said it yourself. He has influence over them. And the fact remains, Cham has not committed a crime... yet. But this Syndulla has," Rampart says and smiles ever so lightly.
"Sir, she's only a child," Captain Howzer says.
"She is an insurgent. Take them away," Taa commands.
The clones walk forward and move them to the turbo tank. Fox doesn't board the juggernaut and instead rides a BARC speeder. As he takes off, he sends a signal to Kanan, who was observing everything. He can tell that their mission has expanded from merely finding out more about Rampart and stealing doonium, to something much larger.
A few minutes after the convoy set off, the expected support arrived. General Cham Syndulla, his wife and some of their supporters arrive on Blurrgs and take out two of the clone troopers riding the speeders. Fox manages to evade the attacks and goes on the attack. He has to make it seem like he's making an effort. He sees Cham having taken one of the speeders and starts to fire at him. Cham evades the shots and knocks Fox off the speeder.
Cham and his supporters eliminate the clone troopers one by one and then finally bring the juggernaut to a halt. Then they enter the tank.
"Mom!" Hera shouts and runs into her mother's arms.
Outside, Kanan approaches Fox, lying on the ground. He holds his hand out and uses Force Healing, getting rid of all the pain and wounds he got during the rather brutal take-down.
"Urgh... did you get the ID of that tank that rolled over me?"
"Haha, you put on quite a 'show', Fox. Very impressive. It looked like you were truly hit there as well. Very good acting on your part," Kanan jokes.
"Haha, very funny. So, what do we do now?"
"We wait. Cham Syndulla and his sympathisers have fallen for Rampart's trap foolishly. Any moment now, gunships will arrive and arrest him. We'll use that chance to find out where they will go. Now that you're up and running again, you can get back to position."
"Urgh, really? I already did most of the work. I might even have a concussion."
"Nonsense. I made sure you're all healed up. Now go, it's almost time."