Enjoy my new story, 'Test of Strength, Test of Mind'. I think you'll like it!


Ezra's POV


My eyes opened slowly and I groaned. I had a pounding headache and my eyes adjusted, revealing I was in a cave. There wasn't too much light but I could just see… Kanan! He was lying on the ground next to me, unconscious! I tried to get up but my body protested. My arm was jammed under a large rock and was most likely broken. I finally managed to get up, ignoring the intense pain rippling up my right arm. I rolled Kanan over so he was lying on his back and I lay his head on my lap. "Kanan! Wake up!" I said, shaking him gently. What had happened to us? Memories came flooding back…

"Spectre 1, there's too many of them! We need to find cover!" Hera said to Kanan.

Kanan looked around desperately and finally pointed at a cave entrance. "There. Let's go everyone!" he shouted to the others.

"What about the shipment?" Sabine yelled back, trying to avoid the squadron of troopers shooting at us.

"Forget it! We need to go!" he said, standing up and bolting for the cave. No one hesitated. We all ran with him. We ran through the cave and I turned my head to see the troopers changing their aim from us, to the roof of the cave. That's when I realised. "Kanan, they're gonna bring the roof down!" I shouted. We ran into a large clearing and Kanan stopped and looked back. Hera gasped as the ground shook and the entrance to the cave began crumbling, coming closer and closer. Kanan's eyes widened as he saw it was still weak above our heads. "Watch out!" he yelled as he pushed me away from the falling roof. Then there was darkness…

I was pulled out of the memory as Kanan let out a groan and his eyes opened slowly. "Kanan!" I exclaimed, hugging the older man. I pulled back as he sat up and held his head in his hands. "W-what… happened?" he finally managed to say. I shrugged. "The roof collapsed on us I think." He nodded and pulled out his com link. "Anyone there? This is spectre 1. I repeat, is there anyone there?" he spoke. A crackling noise could be heard over the com until we heard Zeb's groggy voice say "This is spectre 4." Kanan let out a small sigh of relief. "Can you see anyone else Zeb?"

"No. It's just me here. What about you?" Zeb groaned.

I reached out to take the com and reply but my arm protested, sending burning pain through my muscles. I let out a scream, not able to contain it. Kanan quickly held me still as he gently examined my arm.

"What happened over there?" Zeb crackled over the com.

"Ezra's with me, but I think he's broken his arm," he replied, letting go of me.

"He what?!" Hera yelled over the com link.

Kanan looked shocked by her sudden appearance in the conversation but replied "Hera! Glad you're okay. Yeah, his arm is broken."

"Oh no! Ezra, are you okay?!" she replied in a concerned voice.

I snatched the com from Kanan's hand and said "I'm fine. Is Sabine with you?"

"No, not that I know of. What do we do now?" she asked in a worried tone.

Kanan looked around and saw a tunnel leading off of our little clearing. "Hera, is there a tunnel or something where you are?"

After a moment, she replied "Yes."

"Hmm. Okay, we'll leave that as a last resort. Can Chopper find us?" Kanan asked. I stiffened as Hera replied "He should…"

Zeb cut her off and laughed nervously "Oh yeah… funny story actually… Ezra and I may have… pulled out his power core…"

"You what!?" Hera yelled.

I pulled the com close and replied "It was only going to be for a little while… I guess we forgot… sorry."

Hera sighed. "Fine. There's no point arguing about it now. Plan B?"

"We may have to. Sabine are you there?" Kanan said.

There was no answer. Kanan sighed. "We need to get out of here as soon as possible. Everyone, go through the tunnels and try to find a way out."

"But what about Sabine?!" I exclaimed.

He put a hand on my shoulder. "Let's hope for the best. Once we're out, we'll be able to find her properly. Who knows, her coms probably just broken." I nodded reluctantly. Kanan stood up. "Everyone know the plan?" Kanan said. "Got it, spectre 4 out," Zeb replied. "Yes. And Kanan, look after Ezra. Spectre 2 out," Hera said. It was silent for a moment as Kanan attached his com to his belt and offered me a hand up. I took it and we started walking through the tunnel.

We finally made it to a small area with three tunnels leading off of it. "Great. What now?" I asked, looking up at my mentor.

Kanan thought for a moment and said "You wait here. I'll scout out the first part of the tunnel and if I think it's a way out, I'll come back and get you."

"Why can't I come?" I asked.

"Because, it might be dangerous. Who knows what's in these caves? I don't want your injury getting worse either," he said, pointing to my right arm. I sighed and sat in the middle of the circle. It was surprisingly bright in here. Kanan walked into the tunnel on the left first. "Good luck," I mumbled. "I don't need luck," he said in a cocky tone. I rolled my eyes. He just smirked and disappeared into the darkness. I closed my eyes and tried to relax my arm. It still hurt, but crying about it wasn't going to help anything. I took a deep breathe, and relaxed my muscles.

"Nothing," said a voice. My eyes shot open and I gasped. Kanan was standing in front of me. I thought I was only sitting there for a minute but obviously time flies when you're not thinking. "What's wrong?" he asked. Something about this didn't feel right. I could feel it in my gut, and my gut never lies. I reluctantly stood up. "That tunnels a dud. Come on, let's check out the next one," he said, walking to the one to the right.

"I thought I was supposed to stay here?" I said, giving him a puzzled look.

"I changed my mind. Come on," he said.

I pushed the feeling away and followed him into the dark tunnel. Maybe I was just imagining it… or maybe I wasn't…