Zara looks out the window at the pitch black surroundings of the ship. Rex gets out of his seat and makes his way over to her. "Are you okay?" Rex asks. "I'm fine," she chokes out. Yoda looks over to her concernedly. We should head back," she says. Rex then makes his way back to his seat and pilots the ship.
Back on the Imperial ship, a stormtrooper helps Tom down from the ceiling where he was stuck. "A humiliating defeat this is," Darth Vader says, entering the hallway. He looks around at the seared metal, indicators of Tom's earlier battle with Zara. "My deepest apologies, Commander. The prisoner snuck onto this ship, and I tried my best to capture her–" "And you failed," Vader cuts through his words. Tom looks down in defeat as Vader passes him down the hallway.
✦✦✦
On Vader's ship, he makes his way over to a chamber where a Sith awaits him. "I trust that you will not fail me," Vader says. "I can assure you that I will retrieve the prisoner, master," Darth Vera says. Black paint lines her eyes and is smeared straight down her mouth. Her skin is a hue of red, and her dark hair is tucked away. Scars on her back reveal the other times she had failed. Standing from her kneel, she grabs her red lightsaber and makes her way to find the prisoner.
✦✦✦
Meanwhile, it is nightfall as Zara goes to sleep. Their hideout is in a cave that has been furnished as a home. The warm lights from the lantern dangle above her as she lies down to rest on a pillow. Glimpsing Yoda asleep, she notices that Rex isn't there. "I'm on night watch today," Rex says from the balcony of the cave. Zara pulls a blanket over her shoulders and goes to sit by the balcony.
"Things are different now. Tom didn't hesitate to strike," She says. "People change," Rex says, looking into the distance. "That's not him, I know Tom," Zara says. "Then explain to me why your leg is bandaged. That was a pretty bad injury if you ask me," Rex says.
"He's being brainwashed, he has to be," "Whether he is or not, he's still with the Empire," Rex says. "If I can somehow convince him to snap out of it, then he could join us," She ponders. "He's our enemy, Zara," Rex snaps. "He's not your little brother anymore, he would have killed you on that ship if he were ordered to."
Zara halts, looking at him with eyes that seem to finally understand. She looks horrified. "You're right. I have been foolish to think that I could get him back," She looks at the night sky. "It's just that I made a promise that I would take him to the ends of the galaxy where he could see all of these new things that I have gotten to see. But maybe that's just me holding onto the past," She bitterly smiles.
"I know what that feels like. When I was a Rebel pilot, I had a family of other Rebels. The day when the Empire found us was the day I lost my family. While they lost their lives, I lived. I will never forgive the Empire for what they have done," Rex clenches his fist. Zara seems to smile. "I'm glad I'm not the only one who lost something to the Empire. It's oddly comforting." They sit there for a moment.
Late at night, a shadowy figure appears in the room. Yoda awakens, reaching out for a lightsaber, but the figure is too fast, capturing him. In the morning, Zara looks for her master, but doesn't find him. "Did master Yoda venture off?" Zara asks.
"I haven't seen him," Rex says. "Something is wrong, I sense something in the Force," Zara honed in on a distress call from Yoda. "Master Yoda has been captured." She rushes to pack her things. "Then we'll just have to go get him," Rex says.
On Rex's ship, Zara impatiently taps her foot in her seat. "Do you still sense him?" Rex asks over from his seat. "Faintly," Zara says. Yoda then sends her a message through the Force. "I know where master Yoda is," She says.
Aboard an Imperial ship, Tom races back and forth. 'The Commander sent a Sith of all people to this mission. What was he thinking? The Sith are far too reckless,' He ponders. 'I cannot–no, I will not–allow this. I must do this mission myself.'
Traveling to Csilla, a snow planet located in the unknown regions of the galaxy, Rex lands the ship. Zara looks out the window in awe as snow falls on a boundless white field. She gets out of the ship and walks in the snow that goes up to her knees, trudging forward. She collapses in the snow, and Rex goes to check on her when she begins laughing in joy.
"It's snow, Rex!" She smiles. Her tan cheeks have a blush hue on them.
"It's snow," Rex repeats, smiling. "I didn't know that snow made people this happy,"
"Back on Korriban, it never snowed. I had promised Tom that I would take him to a place like this, where he could see snow for the first time," Zara said.
"You said that you sensed Yoda here?" Rex redirects.
"Yes, I can sense him, but he is far from here."
"Then let's go find him," Rex says, starting to walk ahead.
They walk in the snow for a few hours, passing by dead trees and frozen lakes. The snow blinds them after a while, and they take a break from their journey.
"This is temporary, we should gain our vision back in a few hours," Rex rubs his eyes. "If I had known, I would have shut my eyes and let you guide me," Zara says, following his actions.
She then gets a chill down her spine, and she immediately turns around to see Tom. Tom quickly aims for Rex, but she gets to him first and pushes Rex away using the Force.
"What are you doing here?" She angrily asks.
"I could ask the same thing," Tom replies.
"You tried to attack my friend! I don't even recognize you anymore," Zara says, staring at the blurry image of Tom standing in front of her in black armored leather.
"I thought you were Tusken Raiders. I encountered a group of them earlier who tried to take my belongings. I apologize for the mistake," Tom says.
"I'm surprised you're still not trying to attack us, like back on that ship," Zara says.
"I'm calling a truce. I have something else that I'm here for," Tom replies.
"What is there here on this cold wasteland that you would want?" Zara asks.
"Your master," Tom looks directly at her, challenging her.
She freezes, realizing his words. He is after her master. She grabs a stick on the snow, aiming it straight at him.
"Zara, this is pointless. We have to find Yoda while there's still time," Rex says, slightly regaining his vision.
"No, it has to end here," Zara says, staring straight ahead. Ignoring the pain of her leg from the saber slicing into it, she stands tall with her weapon in hand.
Tom accepts the duel, taking out the lightsaber he took from Zara on the ship. It glows bright red, emitting a darkness that hasn't yet fully consumed him. Tom hesitates before throwing it on the snow.
"I don't need it to win," He says.
Zara strikes first, using the stick to try to land a hit, but Tom is agile and goes on defense. He uses the Force to push her back, and Zara angrily grunts. She runs back up to him to strike, but the stick is pulled from her hands by Tom, who throws it away.
"Your comrade was right, there's no time. Your master was taken by a Sith. You mustn't waste time if you want him to live," Tom explains.
"A Sith?" Zara pauses, realizing that she is no match for this. "I can't win a duel with a Sith, it's impossible. I will have failed my master!" She panics.
"That's why you need my help. You are too irrational to defeat them on your own," Tom states.
"Then we have no other choice but to have him help us," Rex says, looking over to Zara. She contemplates before nodding.
"Try anything and the deal is over. Once we get to my master, all bets are off," She says.
"It's a deal," Tom says.
✦✦✦
In a cave far north, Sith Vera holds Yoda hostage, tying him with a rope made especially against Force users. It was created through an ancient Sith technique of embedding the Dark Side of the Force into the fibers of the rope.
"Your apprentice is taking long," Vera says.
"Not risk herself for me, she will," Yoda says. He has been enduring these conditions, hoping that Zara wouldn't come to get him.
"I sensed you sent her a distress signal. Why would you have done that if you didn't think your apprentice would try to find you?" Vera asks.
"Follow it, I did not think she would," Yoda says.
"How foolish. You have sent your apprentice to her death," Vera says.
Meanwhile, the group makes its way North. As they cross a bridge, a Wampa stops them. Its huge claws strike at them. Zara and Tom go to defeat it.
"It looks like you do the saber after all," She mocks.
"It's better than a stick," Tom rebuttals.
Tom slices into the creature's ankle with the saber, and it falls onto the bridge, taking it down with it down the cliff.
"There goes the bridge," Rex says.
"You can see now?" Tom asks.
"Of course, the snow blindness is temporary. I stayed behind in case there was anything following us," Rex says.
"We must find another way to cross," Zara says.
"I have an idea, but it's risky. We can use the Force to push the other to the other side," Tom says.
"That is too dangerous. One slip up and that's it," Zara says.
"Try to trust me on this. What other option is there?" Tom asks.
"He's right. Might as well try," Rex says.
"Fine," Zara relents.
"I'll go first," Rex offers.
Tom walks up, but Zara gets in his way, going first.
"I'm not letting you drop my friend," Zara says.
"Go ahead," Tom says, backing away, letting her go ahead.
"How will this work? Do I just stand here?" Rex asks, looking around.
"Try to remain still," Zara says, picking him up using the Force.
Rex is a lot heavier than the things she is used to carrying using the Force, such as rocks. She struggles to lift him until it suddenly becomes easier. She looks over to see Tom helping her by using the Force. She then looks back at Rex, who floats midair, flailing his arms. Together, they push him over the cliff and land him safely on the other side. Standing up, Rex waves his arms around.
"I can carry you over to the other side," Tom offers.
Zara looks down at the cliff under where the bridge was. There's a knot in her stomach, and she feels bad for even questioning Tom. After all, he is on their side now, but deep down, she doubts him.
"Okay," She says.
Either he drops her and goes on with his mission, or he keeps his word. She decides to trust him fully.
Walking up the cliff, Zara jumps. "No!" Tom calls after her. He uses the Force to pull her up and puts her on the other side. She then does the same for him, pulling him to her side using the Force. Once he lands, Tom is confused and upset.
"Why did you do that?" He asks.
"I decided to fully trust you. You just proved to me that I can," Zara says.
"That was dangerous and foolish," Tom says.
"He's right, you know," Rex adds.
"I'm glad that I have people who will call me out for my rashness," Zara smiles to herself.
"Let's not do any more cliff diving from now on," Rex says.
Zara laughs. Tom can't help but smile. They then make their way North.
It is soon sundown, and they make a camp. A fire is lit, and they sit by it. The frozen wasteland is even more harsh at night, with winds that blow from every direction.
Zara shivers, pulling up her blanket. Rex goes into the tent to get some rest, leaving them to be. The previous tension between them is now gone, replaced by confusion on both sides.
"Why didn't you let me fall back there?" Zara asks.
"We are allies now. I couldn't just let my ally fall," Tom says.
"Back on the ship when we fought, you didn't hesitate to strike." Zara stares at the fire.
"Things were different then, I had orders from someone much higher than me that I had to follow," Tom says.
"The Empire is our enemy, Tom. The same ones who rescued you all those years ago from Korriban had one of their commanders shoot you. Don't forget that," She says.
"You're right. But one bad commander doesn't make the Empire my enemy," Tom says.
Zara sighs, knowing she can't convince him.
"There is also something I need to tell you. Korriban is not the home we once remembered. Korriban is a planet that was once inhabited by the Sith. Many of them had bases there and set up their temples. The home that we once knew was cursed from the beginning," Tom says.
"It was cursed when the Empire set foot where they didn't belong," Zara says.
"You are wrong. Try to remember what happened when the Empire got there," Tom says.
Zara is confused. What could he mean? Was life better after the Empire got there? She thinks back to her memories of Korriban, back to when the Empire was there, to when she had her parents. She then sees her father's face clearly in her memory. His dark hair is the same color as hers, and he has kind eyes. She also sees her mother, when she would hold Zara in her arms, and she would grab onto her golden locks.
She then remembers standing in a line with her fellow villagers getting food from Stormtroopers who set up a tent with food. Had the village never had food? Why, then, did she not remember? Had she suppressed those memories? She also remembers after the fire, when a medic from the Empire had given her bandages and patched up her leg when she had tripped. The medic had comforted Tom, who was crying. How had she never remembered this?
"This can't be. Was I wrong about the Empire all this time?" Zara asks herself.
"That is for you to figure out," Tom says.
"I'm staying here, I would just get in your way," Rex says.
He then turns to Zara. "Be careful," He warns her.
Zara nods, knowing that he was also referring to Tom.