Author's Note

And so we have returned! Thank you all for your patience, sorry this took so long, I've been meaning to get back into the swing of things.

Hope you enjoy the nice surprise.

OC Mariana Trench is property of Jade Dawn.

A Surprise, But A Welcome One

Rainbow and Fluttershy leaned against the arms that held the ramp down on the freighter. They had to leave in a few minutes, and were waiting for their volunteers to come with. Rex and Hurricane had already agreed to join them, but now they needed the rest of their fighters. And thanks to Rainbow, Hurricane had a new suit to take into the field. The helmet was the same, along with the chest armor that was now painted with the bright-light orange and dark azure stripes to match the helmet. But he now wore a longer kama with heavy pocketed pants overtop his boots, and had a metal backpack strapped to his back, holding a few grenades and poppers.

Thankfully, they soon started to pour in one by one, each of them looking at one another with confident expressions and serious grins, under the echo of a rock band’s song to hype them up for the mission. Ten more troopers added to the four who were already waiting.

“Rainbow Dash, I want you to meet the rescue team I assembled,” Fluttershy introduced. “I don’t know how well you know them, but I spoke to each of them personally for this assignment,” she turned to face them.

“Jade Dawn: victor of Star Commander’s Discovery mission." An Equestrian in his early twenties with green skin and dark brown hair gave a cute but friendly wave to say hi.

“Mariana: smuggler for hire.” Another Equestrian, dressed in a teal button-up and ragged pants, clutching pistols by her holsters smirked.

“Battletrap: Second place winner for strength, gearing against Bulk Biceps." One nod from a man dressed in clone commando armor and horns plastered on the helmet.

“Nauls Turanda: One of the most trusted officers for comms and interference.” A purple Twi'lek, tipping the brim of her farmer's hat with a friendly demeanor.

“Zap Zap: last surviving member of Team Ferrix.” Another commando, dressed in dark red, sand blue, and tan colors, giving a thumbs up to acknowledge them.

“Six Shot: Gunslinger, winner of the Marksmen Games.” A man dressed in cowboy gear, all the way from Appleloosa, twirled his revolvers around before putting them back.

“Pulsar Parker: Friendly neighborhood Mandalorian.” A Mandalorian with red and blue colors, a spider-themed motif on the chest armor, and grappling hooks on gauntlets stood proudly.

“Masha Turganova: their Dathomirian magic gave permanent nightmares for the Commandant on Ashalan.” They gave a cute grin as they adjusted their blackened robes and making sure their sleeves stayed adjusted, branding the Rebel badges.

“Vee Noceda: imitation is second to none when it comes to infiltration.” A young woman with miscolored eyes and dark tan hair that flowed out to her back, wearing a short black jacket over her standard fatigues.

“And finally… Triggerhappy. Quick on the draw, in and out of work.” A quiet sniper with a few scars over their face gave a subtle nod of acknowledgement, before flicking a toothpick to the side, away from the crew.

Rainbow had an impressed nod on her face as she looked at their crew. “Not a bad roster, Fluttershy. Let’s see how well these guys do on a rescue mission. Come on everyone, we’ve got some debriefing to do,” she ordered, leading them to follow her inside the ship.

Once they were given the okay to take off, the ship pushed itself up off the ground and took off for the sky, leaving the landing pad of Yavin IV. A watchtower observed them as they left, waving an unseen goodbye to them as they set off for their mission. And as soon as enough distance was made, the ship jumped into hyperspace.

--

An hour passed since the team left in space, with the leaders assessing each and everyone of their team members skills and abilities through the various files they had on hand. Once they had finished discussion, they turned their attention to the rest of their soldiers who gathered together.

Standing in front of the group, Rainbow Dash and Commander Hurricane kept their attention as they addressed the plan. “We’ve tracked convoys coming and leaving, prison ships and cargo freighters. We believe these ships have locations for prison camps, places where we could find where they're moving our captured fighters, and what important projects the Empire has planned. Rescuing the prisoners is still priority one; but an additional objective has been added,” Rainbow began. “We need to access their logs, and find out where the ship was coming from, if we are to rescue Bon Bon's daughter, Flurry Heart,” she emphasized, showing a hologram of her.

“Even if we don't find her, it could still give us the advantage we need, and track down some more Imperial shipping yards. More cargo, more credits, munitions, any necessity we need to build ourselves back up. We’ve taken multiple hits lately, and we’re desperate for a victory," Hurricane added.

The group gave a few nods, acknowledging the two clones addressing the plan.

“Captain Rex, all yours,” Hurricane looked to his left, stepping aside to let him come forward.

The Jedi smiled to him before addressing the troops this time. “There shouldn’t be any allusions to the risks involved. What we’re doing is extremely dangerous, as is any other mission in this war. Cover your backs, watch each other, leave no one behind. We stay together, no matter what. Understood?"

"Sir yes sir!" Everyone said in unison.

Rex nodded to Rainbow, letting her take the center again.

"Now, here's the plan for how we approach. We're going in under the guise of being a bounty hunter giving some prisoners for payment. When the doors open, Masha is going to use their Dathomirian witchcraft to scare them, send the troops flying back into the hangar, or at least, give them a taste of what's going to happen," Rainbow began,

The witch had a smirk on their face. "I'd be honored."

"Good. While you do that, Battletrap, Six Shot, and Vee will help you fight the others in the hangar. There's going to be more forces to take on a few people starting a riot. Fluttershy will stay with you to give an extra edge of Force on your side. In the event that they slip by and try to board the freighter, Triggerhappy will be standing guard by the ship, and taking out as many as possible. While that happens, Captain Rex will take Pulsar, Mariana and Jade through the prison block to get the prisoners out, we need a lot of quick draws to make sure they get moving. Zap Zap, Nauls, Hurricane, and I go to the bridge to stop them from taking off into hyperspace, and get any information we can before they try to erase it. Does anyone have any other questions?"

No one said a word, collectively shaking heads to show their understanding.

"Alright. Then get yourselves ready everyone, we've got a ship to raid!"

--

The freighter pulled out of hyperspace to the cruiser's location, helmed by Nauls and Rainbow Dash.

"Unidentified cruiser, you are flying in restricted airspace, please state your business."

"Imperial command, we have Rebel sympathizers that have valuable information that you want. May we speak?" Nauls spoke.

"Hmm... I suppose we could talk. But let's make this quick, we are on important business. Name your price, drop the prisoners, we'll have a trooper to dispense your payment, and then be on your way."

"Understood sir," the Rebel officer responded. "We appreciate your time. Hail the Empire!" And shortly after cutting off the coms, the Twi'lek shivered in disgust. "I don't want to say that again."

"I get it," Rainbow patted her shoulder.

The freighter docked alongside the cruiser, with a hallway door attaching to the side of the ship to pass through. Everyone grabbed their weapons, priming them for a fight and stood to the sides, allowing Masha to take the center. With a wink, they took the first steps to the door, watching them open up.

Midnight troopers waited for someone to approach on the Imperial's side of the hall. Another set of doors slid open, revealing a feminine-looking Dathomirian on the other side. They looked up with a smirk, flashing the small gap in their teeth; a minor imperfection to their form.

“Where are the prisoners?”

“Maybe they are the prisoner,” the trooper assumed with a shrug. “Either way, hands up.”

The Dathomirian said nothing. With no words, and warning, they began to hover in the air, feet levitating off the ground. Their black skirt whooshed in the sudden lack of gravity that only they had access to, appearing as a wild banshee from Bogland, Equestria.

Their eyes turned solid black as they continued to hover, creeping the troopers out more and more.

Behind them, Rainbow and Hurricane smirked to each other, waiting for the moment to strike. And they were more thankful that the Rebellion was becoming more inclusive to allow races that were once enemy, now ally.

The troopers were pushed back into the open hangar, where the rest of the ships were parked. Everyone’s attention was turned towards the scary looking being that was hovering right into the bay. Not everyone was drawn to their enticing sight, others were very quick to give the orders.

“Shoot them! SHOOT THEM!!!”

A few of them did fire, but the blaster shots were kept locked in place in front of them

Swift motions of their hands, the Dathomirian witch gave a few chants of a dialect no one would understand.

“Unnchanta… REE-HEIL,” they growled.

Two hands aimed forward, and the blaster bolts came charging back, firing at crates, bouncing off walls, and hitting a few troopers in the process. And before the Imperials could recover, they were met with several crates flying at them at full speed, this time, courtesy of Fluttershy and Rainbow who ran in behind them.

“Alright everyone, focus your attention on them, they’re going to flood this hangar with more troopers,” Rainbow ordered. “Fluttershy, think you can lead the attack here?”

“I got this!” Fluttershy confirmed.

"Everyone who's assigned to me, come on! The rest of you, keep the troopers busy,” Rainbow ordered. “We’re going to get prisoners coming your way, guide them back to the ship. Which means do not scare them, that includes you, Masha,”

“Understood!” The witch acknowledged.

“Troopers, attack those insurgents, now!” A squad commander ordered.

Swinging a heavy chain with a grapple around, the commando Battletrap grabbed hold of a nearby crate before swinging the chain back and throwing it towards one of the troopers.

“CATCH!!!”

One of the troopers was belted by the crate, but it didn’t stop more from charging in. One by one, each of the Rebels moved on their own while helping each other attack. Pulsar Parker, the Mandalorian who relied on his acrobatic abilities, swung around the top of the hangar and gripping more smaller pieces of cargo that his weight could throw, swinging it at troopers who tried to fire at him.

Taking notice of him, three of the troopers tried to fire at him, only for trooper Vee to come running in and zapping them all with a stunner, choosing to not take away life so quickly. She understood that death came with war, but she opted to not kill if she didn’t have to.

Masha meanwhile, lifted some troopers in the air, throwing them across the hangar where they slammed against the walls and came back down with a heavy thud.

“Who are these guys!?” One of the officers sputtered.

Six Shot, with both of his arms mounting smaller cannons, raised them up as he fired multiple rounds towards the pilots and troopers standing on one of the platforms above that led to the TIE Fighters, just as Masha swooped by via their magic.

Fluttershy swung her spear around, kicking and knocking the wind out of troopers that tried to come near her. Swinging it around, she bonked another trooper in the head before using a roundhouse kick to knock them down. One of the officers managed to slip behind them with two troopers, trying to run to their ship to find out how many others were on board.

But when the doors opened, they were met with a man with a dusty coat and smuggler's grin as he aimed two simple revolvers at them.

"I didn't invite you three inside."

And quick on the draw, Triggerhappy got a shot through a trooper's helmet, one shot through a trooper's leg, and even a single bullet through the officer's chest, sending him dropping to the ground. Clicking the guns again, he double-tapped on the three invaders, making sure they didn't get back up right away.

"When in doubt, use double the shots," he smirked, twirling the revolvers and putting them back in his holsters.

Rainbow and Hurricane charged forward, accompanied by the squad that they ordered to accompany them, running towards the prisoner controls. Two rooms leading to two separate prisoner halls were in front of them.

“Free the prisoners in this hall, we're going up to the bridge!” Rainbow ordered, moving to the hallway on her left, leading to the elevator.

“Roger that!” Rex nodded. “Mariana, can you take out the guards?”

“On it!” The Rebel nodded.

The woman in the smuggler’s coat swung around the corner, firing blasts at the various Midnight troopers that were seeing her running their way. Mariana performed a roll before using her legs to balance herself up, firing at her left and then her right. She smirked as she saw her targets moved down before playfully sticking her tongue out at the scared officer.

“Nighty-night, boys!” She taunted before hitting the officer with another shot.

The doors opened up as she continued her run, firing at a few more troopers with her blasters. She looked around, ready for any others to come towards her… until a probe unit hovered around the corner, ready to fire at her. She stood back, recognizing her weapons wouldn’t do any lasting damage, until a powerful blast hit it from the back of the head, sending it flying around until it fell on the ground. Looking up, she saw Jade Dawn, holding a blaster with both hands, blinking awkwardly.

“… that actually worked?” Jade questioned. “I thought these things were hard to blast.”

“And that’s why you use the DC-15s,” Rex commented, passing by.

Mariana just smirked to Jade, giving him a peck on the cheek. “My hero.”

“Heh, i-it’s nothing…”

“Come on, lovebirds, we’ve got people to rescue!” Pulsar called, running past them.

“Right, rescue, come on!”

One by one, each of them worked to open the doors, slamming their fists or firing at the controls to have the doors open autonomously. Prisoners who were shook by the sudden alarms, stepped out of their cells; dressed in white jumpsuits with either orange or neon blue streaks against one sleeve.

“What the…” one of them, an Arisian captain with an emerald peg leg looked around. “What’s going on?”

“It’s a prison break, captain,” Mariana grinned. Slipping her foot under one of the dropped blasters, she kicked it up and grabbed it, passing it to the bird pirate. “Mariana, at your service, Captain Celeano.”

The captain was a bit surprised, but smiled warmly to the smuggler.

More prisoners were being freed, some given whatever blasters they could get their hands on, and were guided out by Jade and Mariana through the halls to make it back to the ship. Rex continued to get the rest of the doors open, ensuring that their group had every single person before moving on.

--

The prisoners ran through the hallways and entered into the hangar bay, where the fighting continued. Everyone ducked for cover from the blasts that were coming, and narrowly dodging the shots coming from the Midnight troopers hitting them.

“Guys, we could use a hand!” Jade called out, watching Masha zip around them again.

“I’ll cover you,” Battletrap called. Reaching for his back, he pulled out a rotary cannon, firing at rapid fire speed, taking out multiple troopers standing around them, to provide cover.

Guiding them back to the ship, Mariana and Jade stood next to the Equestrian commando, taking aim behind some crates to add to the shots, in case some of them evaded being mowed down. The prisoners kept running past the trio, making their way to the hallway where the ship was docked, with the help of Six Shot leading them inside, to ensure that they made it inside.

After a while, the rotary cannon stopped firing shots, making Battletrap scream in anger, and grab it in a way he could use it as a bat, bashing it against the head of one of the troopers that tried to charge at him.

“… remind me to never get on your bad side,” Jade blinked.

Fluttershy slammed another trooper against a wall before turning to the group.

“Is that everyone?”

“I think so, but Rex and Pulsar didn’t come back yet, and neither did Rainbow’s group,” Mariana pointed. “Should we go back?”

“Make sure they’re still alive, we’ll keep them occupied in here,” Fluttershy ordered.

“Understood,” Jade nodded. “Come on, let’s go!”

--

Rainbow and Hurricane dashed around corners with Zap Zap and Nauls close behind.

"Alright everyone, get ready," Rainbow stood in a fighting stance. Zap Zap and Hurricane primed their blasters one last time, ready to attack. Once Nauls cracked the access codes for the door, everyone charged inside to attack. Multiple troopers inside tried to fight off the intruders but with no avail.

Hurricane took out two on the left with simple blaster pistols, while Zap Zap mowed down the three on the right with her DC-17 interchangeable blaster. One officer was left, who simply raised his hands in friendly protest as the rebels moved inside. Nauls quickly went to work on the consoles, checking all security logs for information and details.

"Where were you taking those prisoners?" Zap Zap growled.

"And where did this ship come from?" Hurricane added.

"I won't tell, never! You scum are all the same! You'll just kill me if I tell you!"

"Oh because that's what you'd do, right?" Rainbow sneered. "Normally I'd say, shoot him, but I'm in a good mood right now, so I'm giving you a chance. Tell us what we want to know?"

"Boss, I have half the information decrypted, but they've erased the databanks!" Nauls reported.

Rainbow briefly looked back at Nauls but turned to the Imperial officer with grit teeth. "Alright. I didn't want to do this. But if you're not going to tell us, then I guess we have to play rough, don't we?"

That chance never came to pass. The officer, recognizing the odds against him, bit down hard, and an electric shock was set coursing through his body, and killing him instantly, dropping to the ground. The Jedi growled with annoyance before turning off her saber.

"Was there anything that we could track down?"

"Possibly. I have the information downloaded, and I was able to turn on the all-clear signal, so we have some time to spare before any Imperials find us," Nauls reassured, standing back up.

"Okay. Well, we've done what we can, then," Rainbow sighed. "Rex, how are the prisoner sweeps going?"

--

"The rest of the staff have been taken care of, we're conducting one final sweep before we leave," Rex responded through the coms.

"We'll meet you down in a second," Rainbow replied.

Bodies of troopers laid on the ground, with Pulsar grabbing any weapons so they didn't forget anyone. The elevators soon opened, with Rainbow's crew joining the sweep as they made their way to another cell block, one that hadn't been checked yet.

Fluttershy and Zap Zap moved behind them, now circling the massive room for any more troopers. As they searched, Rex and Pulsar got a better look at the prisoners; multiple cryogenic freezers were in the room, ones meant to hold the most dangerous or important prisoners inside. Circling around, they took at every pod, trying to see if anyone was locked in one.

“Pulsar, here!”

Pulsar extended a hand without looking, grabbing the thrown manifest from Zap Zap to take a look. “Thanks. Okay, looks like they got a few troopers; all from… Remnicore Company?”

“Sunset told us about them briefly, she said they had captured or wiped out,” Fluttershy clarified.

“I think that company was all the ones who weren't on ice,” Pulsar read. “But there’s one particular prisoner that they’re ordering to be terminated upon arrival.”

“Who?”

“The last pod there,” Pulsar pointed.

Rex turned around to look at the last cryogenic tube. He wiped away some of the condensation building up on the outside of the glass to get a look inside. And what he saw made him step back with a gasp. His hands shook as he saw it and leaned in to get a better look, as much as he could.

“It… It cannot be,” he was at a loss for words. “She… She’s alive!”

"Who is it?"

"Come over here, and see!" Rex urged.

Rainbow and Fluttershy dashed to the sides, both sharing a gasp.

"I... I can't believe it," Fluttershy cupped her mouth. "It... It's really her!"

"Is there a way we can get her onto the ship safely? Is she connected to anything?"

"Negative, there's no life supports holding her, she's just frozen," Nauls checked.

"Alright, open the pod, and get back to the ship," Rainbow ordered. "And we better move fast before the Imperials get wind of their ship being delayed."

A bright light peered into the eyes of the prisoner that had been held captive in the frozen chamber. Pain resurfaced as she steadily woke up, trying to readjust to the new surroundings. Her orange hand reached up as she tried to block the light from her eyes, looking at her bare arm.

She slowly sat up, realizing she wasn’t dressed in her regular attire; instead now stripped down to a tank top and shorts, in a comfy bed and wool blanket. Just then, the door opened, and she looked up to see who walked in. The sight made her freeze. Tan skin, short blond hair, and familiar 501st armor… she knew him anywhere. And in turn, Rex only smiled more to see his old friend.

A Togruta woman, now in her early 30s, orange skin with white tattoos on her face, light grey-white and blue montrals. She looked up at Rex, a surprised expression on her face. But when he got closer, holding a tray of breakfast foods, her smile only got wider.

“Rex… it’s really you,” she said with a smile.

“Ahsoka,” he said, pulling her into a hug. Ahsoka was surprised by the sudden yank out of bed, but she just embraced her old friend back, happy to see him again. It was hard to even believe he was still around. He looked at her with a chuckle, “You got older.”

“Had to happen sometime, Rex,” she smiled, hugging him again. “But you… you haven’t aged a day.”

“Ain’t that the truth,” he laughed. “How do you feel?”

“I… better, actually,” she said, looking at herself. “The last thing I remember was the explosion and then… that was it.”

“Explosion?” Rex asked, perplexed.

“I was on assignment by General… wait, you don’t know who I’m talking about, do you?”

“If you’re wondering whether or not I’m with the Rebellion, I am. I’m back in the game,” he answered her, straightforwardly. “Now what happened on your last assignment?”

“I was helping some prisoners escape, but one of the Midnight troopers fired a rocket at me. The explosion must have knocked me out, because I remember seeing a bright flash and… that was it. I don’t even know how long I was out. I still need to find Kanan, I need to tell him the crew made it.”

“Um…” Rex paused. “You might want to come up with us,” Rex said, offering her the cup of coffee. “You’ve missed a lot.”

“How much?”

“Ahsoka…” he said with a sad sigh. “You have been missing for three years.”

--

The freighter containing the rescue crew continued its journey through hyperspace, with the crew finally calming down from their success. Mariana, Jade, and Zap Zap sat with the freed prisoners to provide comfort and company as they tried to reel themselves back to reality. Nauls and Six Shot moved some of the cargo they had stolen during the raid to the bay area, while Ahsoka sat with the Jedi and clones.

“Here, drink this, it will help you,” Fluttershy offered, showing a cup of hot cocoa on a plate.

“Thank you,” Ahsoka graciously accepted. She took a sip, enjoying the frothy flavor of chocolate. “I don’t know how long I have been locked in that chamber, the last thing I remember was helping a cell evacuate, and then I was knocked out. Have I really been gone for that long?”

“I’m afraid so, at least according to Sunset,” Rainbow shook her head sadly. “But the fact of the matter is, you’re here, you’re back, and your safe. But we’re still nowhere near finding Flurry.”

“We’ll find her, Rainbow. I know we will,” Hurricane patted her shoulder.

“Who is Flurry?” Ahsoka asked, curiously.

“It’s… complicated,” Rainbow hesitated. “She’s strong the Force, I’ll give you that.

“There are still more Jedi around? I thought all of us were gone,” Ahsoka stated.

“Not entirely. I mean we’re here aren’t we? And we do have Force users on our side, right?”

“This is true,” Ahsoka thought, taking another sip. “But I thought all that was left was just me, General Shimmer, Kanan, and Mint.”

“Well… Kanan isn’t exactly around anymore,” Rainbow rubbed the back of her head awkwardly.

Ahsoka was taken aback. “What…? What has happened, how long was I gone?”

“Ahsoka, you might want to stay sitting. We have a lot to cover,” Hurricane hissed awkwardly.

“We have a few hours until we return back. I think I have time for a long story,” Ahsoka said with a wistful smirk, looking at her new friends.

"Well, it all started on Tatooine..."