Alarms blared throughout the Rebel command ship as soldiers and pilots raced around screaming orders at one another. A message had just come in for Mon Mothma and she had ordered everyone to their stations and all ranking officers to the command centre.

On the Ghost, Hera was busy with Jacen, who was throwing a fit, so she had to send Rex to the briefing instead. Perhaps it was the alarms that had scared her little boy, or maybe he’d just sensed the coming conflict. Hera sighed, a warship was no place to raise a child, but there was nowhere safe left to leave him. Sabine had offered to take care of him on Lothal but she had her own problems to deal with there, and caring for a child was no easy task. Fortunately, Jacen was a joy to everyone around him. Everyone in the alliance loved him and were always ready to babysit when they had time off. He was a light in the darkness, and a constant reminder of what they were all fighting for.

Hera had just managed to calm him down when Rex burst onto the ship looking harrowed, followed by Kallus and Zeb. They hadn’t been at the briefing but Rex must have picked them up on his way back. Before Hera could say anything Rex said, “You’d all better sit down…I’ve got bad news…”

They sat in complete silence, with their eyes wide as Rex told them about the briefing and the coming attack on the new Death Star. Hera couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“Another Death Star?”, Zeb muttered in disbelief, voicing Hera’s exact thoughts.

“How did they build another one so quickly?”, Kallus asked, “The first one took over 20 years.”

“Apparently it was easier the second time because they knew what they were doing…can’t believe this is happening all over again…We’re gonna have to contact everyone we’ve ever met for this one…”, rex replied, shaking his head. Hera understood how he felt. He’d been fighting longer than any of them, and he was getting tired of this. Every time they one, the Empire just kept coming back, it was getting easier by the day to lose hope. 

Rex shook her out of her thoughts, “There’s more”, he said, “It’s not all bad. This could potentially be a great opportunity for us. The weapon’s not fully finished, and according to our intel the Emperor himself  is overseeing the final stages of its construction. We also have the plans to the station and the analysts have found a weakness so if we can blow this thing up then…”

He didn’t dare finish, they didn’t dare hope for too much, but they all knew what he meant. “Karabast”, Zeb said, “This could be it.”

“This is going to be the riskiest, most dangerous operation we have ever attempted.”, Kallus replied.

Finally, Hera spoke, “This is our chance. Our last chance. We give it everything we’ve got, and when this is all over, we’ll either be free or our children will. Rex, are we prepped to fly?”

“Yes sir”

“Alright. Kallus, start the pre flight check while the rest of you contact everyone we know who could possibly help.”

“Sabine?”, Zeb asked.

“She’s too far away, this whole op will be over before she can even get here.”, Hera replied sullenly. “Send her a coded transmission and let her know what’s going on. If this goes sideways she can bring backup.” She paused for a minute, thinking. “Rex, I have a feeling we’re gonna need some more crew on this one. Bring Wolf, and see if anyone’s volunteering to be my co-pilot.”

“Sure thing General…um, also, I volunteered to go with General Solo’s strike team. I’m better at ground assault.”

Hera nodded, “Try to stay on comms and keep us updated. I’m going to talk to Lando…” She rolled her eyes and walked off the ship, unable to believe that he’d not only joined up with the rebellion, but had also been made a general…the smooth talking sleemo.

She and Lando talked over their attack plan and decided that the Falcon would enter the death star and take out the reactor while the Ghost covered the cruisers. The Death Star may not have been operational but they were sure the Empire would have left a fleet of ships to protect it.

When Hera returned to the Ghost, everyone was ready and Jacen was crying again. She hated the idea of taking him with them but they didn’t have a base anymore so the safest place for him to be was definitely with her. Zeb didn’t seem to like the idea, but he didn’t see a better option either.

As soon as Hera managed to calm Jacen down again, they were on their way. She smiled, hoping that tomorrow would be a better day for her son.   

Photo Credits: Star Wars Rebels