I'm working on the sequel to First Steps, I promise, but after "An Inside Man," I had to write something about Kallus escaping the Empire. I'm sure this will be AU pretty soon, but I managed to slip it before any more Kallus development onscreen, so it technically hasn't been Jossed yet.
This fic does have a torture scene with an IT-O droid (the same sort that was used to torture Leia on the Death Star). It's not graphic, but it's there. If that's not something you want to read, consider this your warning.
The title comes from this Albert Camus quote: "The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion."
Disclaimer: I don't own Rebels.
This is how things stand.
Kallus is certain that Thrawn knows he's the mole. He doesn't think anyone else - namely, Governor Pryce - has figured it out yet. However, Thrawn knowing is bad enough. He's going to use Kallus to his own advantage, he's already said as much.
Which means that Kallus can't risk passing on any more information to the rebels. For one thing, he doesn't know if the information would be leading to a trap. For another thing, he can't risk Thrawn detecting his signal. It's supposed to be undetectable, but Thrawn has a reputation for doing the impossible.
Kallus also can't ask the rebels to help him escape. It'll put them right in the Empire's path. Thrawn will no doubt be waiting for just that to happen, and Kallus will not be the one who leads the rebels into a trap.
So this is how things stand: Kallus is stuck with the Empire, under the command of someone who knows of his duplicity, and there's no way out of it.
If Kallus is to get out of this, the only way he can do so is by himself. He's fairly certain Thrawn is going to keep the knowledge of Kallus' betrayal quiet for now, which means that Kallus may have time to escape if he does it fast. He'll need to be careful, and he'll probably have to switch ships half a dozen times before he loses the Empire and can go to the rebels, but it just might work.
The problem is, Thrawn has probably come up with the same plan already, along with a way to counter it.
Well, Kallus has never been known much for his spontaneity, but he'll have to give it a try if he wants to get out of the Empire's clutches. Any plan he comes up with will be countered by Thrawn, so it's best if he doesn't have a plan at all.
It's the move of a desperate man, and Kallus doesn't think Thrawn recognizes quite how desperate he is yet.
"Agent Kallus."
Thrawn's voice is soft, but it still sends a shiver up Kallus' spine. "Do you need something from me, sir?" Kallus asks, turning to Thrawn with a expressionless face.
Remember, you have nothing to hide. It's not true, but Kallus needs to pretend that it is.
"There are rumors of insurrection in some areas on Lothal," Thrawn says in a deceptively gentle voice. "Take care of it."
"With pleasure, sir," Kallus replies, inclining his head and marching off. This is the perfect chance for him to escape.
A bit too perfect.
Kallus goes to the suspected area of Lothal and finds no rebels. He doesn't look particularly hard either, but that's neither here nor there. He has a few troopers put up signs about rules and curfews, loudly threatens retribution for anyone going against the Empire, and returns to the Imperial command ship, where Thrawn is waiting.
"You found no hint of insurrection?" Thrawn asks.
Kallus shakes his head. "No, sir. But I left a few troopers there, in case any rebels appeared."
"Well done, Agent," Thrawn compliments. It still makes Kallus feel slimy somehow. "You are dismissed."
Kallus inclines his head and leaves the bridge. He goes to his quarters and changes into fresh clothes. He heads down to the mess hall and eats.
Then he goes to the hanger, steals a ship, and takes off.
Kallus chooses a Lambda-class shuttle, the only ship with a shield in a hanger full of TIES. He's certain that Thrawn is aware of this, and there's probably a tracker on the ship, but Kallus doesn't plan on keeping it long enough for that to matter. He powers up the deflector shield and begins the calculations to jump to lightspeed. For a moment, he thinks he's going to get away with it.
Then a blast from the Star Destroyer rocks the shuttle and Kallus retracts that thought, funneling power to the shields and the hyperdrive. He sits at the pilot's chair, wishing he had a copilot. A Lambda shuttle can't outfight a Star Destroyer, but it might be able to outmaneuver it. Kallus is about to find out.
The next blast rocks the ship and depletes the shields, but Kallus doesn't bother even trying to fire back. He knows there's no point to it. His ship has guns, yes, but they're not effective enough to go up against a Star Destroyer. He's going to have to dodge the blasts and hope that his shields can absorb whatever manages to hit him.
"I could use the calculations for lightspeed," Kallus tells the ship under his breath, aware that it won't do anything to help and doing it anyway. The faster he can make the jump, the faster he can get away. He'll have to ditch the shuttle quickly, but he'll be able to find another ship. He's young, able-bodied, and strong. It won't be hard for him to find some post on a ship that he can use to get farther away from Lothal.
The Star Destroyer fires again and Kallus is just barely able to dodge it. He wishes he had a copilot, or better yet, an astromech. The Lambda shuttle isn't meant to be flown with one man alone.
The computer chirps that the lightspeed calculations are ready just as another blast hits the shield and disables it. The blast rocks Kallus forward, but even though it stuns him, he's still thinking straight enough to punch his way into hyperspace, leaving the Star Destroyer behind.
It's not an escape. Kallus knows better than to think that. The second he drops out of hyperspace, the tracking beacon that's undoubtedly somewhere on his ship will activate and the Empire will send troops to retrieve him. But it is the first step at getting away, and for right now, the first step is enough.
Kallus lands on a planet that he knows has a minimal Imperial presence. He doesn't doubt his tracking beacon is already being followed, but by the time anyone finds the shuttle, he'll be long gone.
He hopes.
The planet isn't particularly busy. It's part of the reason the Empire doesn't have more of a claim on it. There's not all that much to claim. Still, there are ships leaving, and Kallus runs a hand over his freshly-shaven face and goes to barter a place onboard.
A pilot that Kallus is fairly certain is smuggling Imperial weaponry offers Kallus a lift, provided he helps fix a few problems with the ship. Kallus is fairly handy and promises to do his best. They get on the ship and take off quickly. Later, Kallus is grateful for it. The Empire set up a blockade of the planet not even half an hour later.
"You on the run?" the pilot asks as they take off.
"Does it matter?" Kallus retorts.
"That's a yes, then," the pilot replies. "So am I. I've got a lot of Imperial weapons on here."
"Are you bringing them to the Rebellion?" Kallus asks. This might be his chance.
But then again, he hasn't left a convoluted enough trail. He needs to change ships a few more times before he goes to the Rebellion base. He can't bring the Empire down on it.
"Yes, but not directly," the pilot replies. He holds a hand out. "Nevus, by the way."
"Kalazeb," Kallus replies, the strange combination of his name and Zeb's the first thing that pops into his head. It's far from perfect, but it's an alright fake name for now.
"Sure," Nevus replies, sounding a bit doubtful. Kallus doubts that Nevus is his real name either.
"Where do you trade off the weapons?" Kallus asks.
"On Cygnus Prime," Nevus replied. "But I can let you off somewhere else, if you want."
"Cygnus is fine," Kallus replies, shaking his head. He'll get off there and switch to another ship. At some point, he can comm the rebels to let them know what happened. They have a code phrase for this exact situation.
"You just wandering, then?" Nevus asks.
"You're asking a lot of questions," Kallus retorts.
"Don't get a lot of interesting passengers," Nevus counters. He shrugs. "Doesn't matter. The hyperdrive still needs fixing, and I didn't bring you on here for the conversation."
"I'll get right on that," Kallus replies, wishing once again for an astromech. The rebels' C1 unit would be very helpful right now.
The issue with the hyperdrive is easy to fix. Within the hour, it's fully repaired and back to its normal speed. Nevus gives Kallus a few more tasks around the ship, none of which are particularly difficult, then tries to engage him in conversation again. It goes about as well as it did the first time.
"You don't give up any secrets, do you?" Nevus remarks.
Kallus snorts. "It depends on the secret."
Nevus sighs. "With the hyperdrive working again, we'll get to Cygnus Prime in two days. If I find anything else for you to repair, you can do it."
"Is there any other crew on board?" Kallus asks, just to make sure.
"Just us and the droids," Nevus replies. "And they get a memory wipe after each mission. No one here's gonna betray you."
Kallus can't help but be shocked that such naïveté can be found in a smuggler. "I hope not," he replies, letting a hint of a threat trickle into his voice, and then he walks away.
The trip to Cygnus Prime is uneventful, to Kallus' relief. He gets off with the cargo as Nevus wishes him a cheery goodbye. There's more of an Imperial presence on Cygnus than he would prefer, but he manages to barter his way onto a luxury yacht as a bodyguard. The yacht will take him as far as Colstev, which is as good a place as any.
From Colstev, he manages to get a ride to Peresid, and from Peresid he goes to Jakku. When he leaves Jakku on a ship bound for Geest, he thinks that maybe the Empire has lost his trail.
He's wrong.
Geest is a miserable, rainy planet. Kallus ducks his head in an attempt to avoid the downpour. Unfortunately, Geest is also home to strong winds, meaning that the rain falls sideways more than it does down. Kallus' thin cloak is no real barrier for the cold wet.
There's more of an Imperial presence on Geest than Kallus had expected. He pulls the cloak tighter around himself and thanks the stars that he's shaved his sideburns and dyed his hair. With a bare face and nut-brown hair, he looks every inch an ubiquitous traveler who's had the misfortune to end up on Geest in the height of one of its ever-present storms.
Then Kallus notices the specific insignias on the troops and realizes that he might not be able to hide from the Empire so easily anymore, assuming he ever was hiding at all. These troops report to Admiral Konstantine.
Kallus and Konstantine aren't friends, but they've worked together enough that they know each other. Konstantine can probably predict Kallus' movements better than anyone else, except perhaps Thrawn. And he might just recognize Kallus, his disguise be damned.
Geest might end up being more difficult than Kallus had thought it would be.
The real question is how Thrawn - because this has Thrawn's fingerprints all over it - knew to send Konstantine to Geest. There are two options. Either he deduced it somehow, in that strange way he seems able to deduce anything, or ditching the Lambda shuttle didn't get rid of the tracker after all. Kallus would like to think it's the former, but he has to be prepared for the latter.
If Thrawn has somehow gotten a subcutaneous tracker into Kallus, getting that out is the most important thing. Escaping Geest won't mean a thing if Thrawn is able to follow him around the galaxy at his whim. But before Kallus panics and slips, he needs to be rational.
Is there any way Thrawn could have gotten a tracker into him? And even if he did, how would he know to send Konstantine to Geest? The troopers, according to the locals that Kallus casually asks, have been there for the past two days. Kallus has been on the ship for the past four, and even if Thrawn could somehow figure out where the ship was going, Geest is in the middle of a cluster of five planets. Somehow, Thrawn knew that it would be the one.
And then Kallus remembers the shifty youth on Jakku and realizes that it's not a tracker, it's just that he was careless.
There was a young boy on Jakku who asked Kallus far more questions than he was willing to answer. The boy had slipped off before Kallus got onto the ship that took him to Geest, but he might have been watching. If he recognized Kallus from the HoloNet announcement of his fugitive status, then he might have been tempted by the hefty reward for information that led to Kallus' capture. And if he told the Empire that Kallus was on a ship heading to Geest, it wouldn't be hard at all to send Admiral Konstantine and his men as a welcoming committee.
Kallus weighs his options the best he can. Konstantine's presence will make things difficult, but not impossible. Kallus thinks that he can outwit the man if he tries hard enough. The only problem is, Konstantine may well know that as well. And if he's prepared for it...
It's all a matter of bluffs. Can Kallus bluff Konstantine? Is Konstantine bluffing him already? Can either of them outwit the other?
Kallus takes a deep breath. He can't go right to a shipyard. The troops will be waiting there. He expects the only reason he wasn't ambushed when he landed is that the pilot let him off, along with some smuggled goods, in the slightly less than legal drop off area. There are probably troopers interrogating everyone on the ship right now, looking for Kallus. He can't expect the crew not to give him up. Before too long, the Empire will know with certainty that he was on board that ship and got off at Geest. If there isn't a blockade set up already, there'll be one in minutes.
Kallus has two options. He can either get on a ship and try to fight through the blockade, or he can lay low on Geest for a while and hope that the Imperial presence diminishes. Neither one is a great idea.
The communicator nestled against Kallus' chest reminds him that there's another option, but he's not going to call the rebels down for a rescue mission he knows they can't do. He'll get off of Geest by himself or he won't get off at all.
Kallus slips into town, keeping his head down and pulling his cloak tighter around him. The one thing he's learned, both as an ISB agent and as an undercover rebel operative, is that rebel cells exist everywhere. There must be rebels on Geest who'll be willing to stir up some trouble for long enough that Kallus can get away from the planet. All Kallus has to do is find them.
It's not the same as calling on the Phoenix Squadron, he tells himself. This is just asking for a distraction. He's not asking for a rescue, just for Imperial eyes to focus elsewhere for a short while. If the rebels on Geest are anything like the ones on Lothal, they'll be able to organize that with ease.
Kallus pulls his hood down as far as it can go and hopes that the rain doesn't interfere with his dyed brown hair. He'll need every advantage he can muster if he's going to get off Geest without the Empire knowing.
The rebel cell on Geest isn't that hard to find. Unfortunately, the Empire has discovered the same thing.
"Stormtroopers are on their way here right now," Kallus snaps, wishing that he had a bit more time to establish a relationship with the rebel leadership here. As it is, he's been working with them for two days, and now he's telling them that they're about to be raided. It's not the best way to bond.
"They can't get in," the young rebel leader says, tossing her hair. "Vince, are the ray shields operational?"
"You can't stop the Empire with ray shields!" Kallus snarls. "You need to evacuate right now."
"They're operational," Vince replies. "But Anouk, do you think-"
"Set them up," Anouk demands, leaning forward. She can't be older than twenty. Barely able to remember the rise of the Empire, if she can remember it at all.
"You're all going to die," Kallus says sharply. "If any of you survive, they will envy the dead. I know how this works-"
"If you're so worried, then leave," Anouk retorts. "But we're not going anywhere."
Kallus presses his lips together. There's no winning this fight and he knows it, but it doesn't feel right to leave these rebels behind either. Damn you, Garazeb Orrelios, he thinks with irritation. If not for him, Kallus would never have ended up in this situation.
"If you really want to stop the stormtroopers, you're going to have to do more than just set up ray shields," Kallus says, leaning forward. He misses the weight of his modified bo-rifle on his back, but the blaster at his hip is no less lethal and far less noticeable. "What other defenses do you have?"
Anouk's smile is full of teeth. "We've got a few."
Half an hour later, Kallus is hiding behind a crate, his blaster at the ready. Anouk is next to him with Vince on her other side. There are other rebels behind other crates, and others are setting up other traps. Kallus managed to talk Anouk into sending the elderly and the young off to hide.
"You do realize that you'll never be able to come back here," Kallus tells her softly. "The Empire will destroy everything you leave."
"We're going to destroy it ourselves," Anouk replies, her face pale but determined. She puts a hand to her pocket, where a detonator sits. If she triggers it, the entire base will blow.
"Troopers will be here in two minutes," Vince says softly, watching the feed from the camera outside the base. "They've brought an AT-ST."
"It won't be able to get in," Anouk says with false confidence.
"Aim for the legs," Kallus recommends grimly. "Especially the joints. If one of the legs fails, the whole thing falls."
"How many troopers?" Anouk asks, looking at the feed.
"About two dozen," Vince replies, his voice shaking.
"They underestimate us," Anouk says, grinning.
"Don't make the same mistake," Kallus warns, leaning over to look at the feed. "Those are specialized troops. They'll be quick and deadly."
"So will we," Anouk says with confidence, holding her blaster at the ready.
Kallus grips his blaster. He's been working against the Empire for a while now, but he hasn't shot any of his old colleagues yet. The troops that are coming for them might include officers that Kallus knows.
He tightens his grip on his blaster. He knows perfectly well that this will be kill or be killed, and Kallus is not going to die here. These troopers have made their choice, and Kallus has made his.
"Fire!" Anouk screams as the first troopers come into range, and Kallus takes his shot.
The Empire has underestimated these rebels, that much is clear. Half of the troops go down in the first minute. But the other half is wary now, and Kallus can see one of them calling for reinforcements. "We should leave," he tells Anouk in an undertone. "More troops will be on their way."
"We're winning," Anouk replies, her eyes bright with adrenaline. "We're not going to run away."
"They're calling for reinforcements," Kallus growls. "If we don't get out now, we'll be overrun."
"I think he's right," Vince says quietly. "We should start the evacuation."
Anouk blinks. "I'm not leaving," she snaps. "I'm not leaving this base so long as it still stands."
"Organize the evacuation," Kallus tells Vince. "Anouk and I will draw the rest of the troops inside while you get everyone out."
"Then what?" Anouk demands.
Kallus points at Anouk's pocket. "Then we get out and detonate those bombs. The stormtroopers will go up with the base."
Anouk smiles slowly. Kallus feels a shiver run down his back and is abruptly glad he's not fighting against her. "That sounds like a great plan," she says. "Vince, do as he says."
Vince scurries off. Slowly, the room begins to empty of rebels. "Are you sure they'll still fight us, even with everyone else gone?" Anouk asks.
Kallus has already snuck over to one of the other crates. The rebels hiding behind it have just left. They took their blasters with them, but there are fallen blasters everywhere.
"They won't know everyone else is gone," Kallus replies, opening up one of the compartments of the blaster. "Not if we set some of these up to fire automatically."
Anouk immediately follows Kallus' lead. Improvising madly, Kallus manages to jury-rig a remote to start the other blasters. Once the troopers enter, the blasters will start firing.
"They're coming," Anouk says, looking at the feed from the cameras. "A lot of them."
Kallus peers over her shoulder. There are a lot of troops. There's no way the two of them can defeat them all.
But they don't need to defeat them. They just need to lure them inside.
"If they capture me, I'm going to detonate the bombs," Anouk says bravely. "I'm not letting them take me alive."
"They're not going to capture you," Kallus replies, which isn't exactly certain. The Imperial troops are strong, and while no one's ever accused stormtroopers of being smart, they're not idiots either. Kallus and Anouk may well be overrun, and they might not be able to get out of the base in time.
But Kallus isn't about to let the stormtroopers take him alive either, so if he and Anouk have to go up with the base, so be it.
Before too long, Kallus and Anouk can hear the footsteps of the stormtroopers. "Are you ready?" Kallus asks in a low voice.
Anouk holds up her blaster. "I'm ready."
When the troopers enter the hall, Kallus activates the remote. The automated blasters he and Anouk set up begin firing, and in the midst of the storm of blaster bolts, Anouk and Kallus do the same.
"We should get out of here," Kallus hisses. "We need to lure them farther into the base."
Anouk nods. She stands up, making herself an obvious target, and then she starts running. Kallus follows her. Somehow, they don't get shot.
"Do you think that got their attention?" Anouk asks brightly. She and Kallus are both firing indiscriminately over their shoulders as they run. The troopers are following.
"It would seem so," Kallus replies dryly. Anouk laughs. For a moment, it seems as if they're going to get out.
Then Anouk screams and flies forward, a smoking wound in the center of her back.
For half a second, everything seems to freeze. Then time moves again and Kallus crouches next to Anouk, pulling out the detonator in her pocket. He lays a hand on her head for a moment, the most he can give her as a benediction, and then he starts running again.
Anouk might be dead, but Kallus is going to finish what they started.
The troopers are faster than Kallus is, but they won't have the advantage for long. He's close to a corridor that ends in an exit. Once Kallus gets out, he'll blow up the base with all the stormtroopers in it.
And then, just as Kallus reaches the door and prepares to put in the access code, a voice yells, "Freeze!"
Slowly, Kallus turns around. There are half a dozen troopers behind him, all with blasters at the ready. "Put down your weapon and surrender," the trooper in front says.
Kallus hasn't managed to get out of the base yet, but he's not going to let the Empire take him alive. "Go to hell," he tells the stormtroopers, and he detonates the bombs.
When Kallus opens his eyes, it's to a grey, metal ceiling.
Slowly, he turns his head. Every part of his body aches. Somehow, it seems he's survived the bombs.
But then his vision focuses and his heart sinks. He's in an Imperial cell. The Empire has gotten its hands on him again.
He would rather have died at the base.
"Agent Kallus," a familiar voice remarks.
Kallus sighs. "Admiral Konstantine."
Konstantine strides into the cell as Kallus slowly and painfully pushes himself upright. "When Grand Admiral Thrawn first said you'd defected to the rebels, I thought he had to be mistaken. And yet here you are." Konstantine smirks. "Oh, how the mighty have fallen."
Kallus doesn't say a word. He watches Konstantine dispassionately, as if he couldn't care less. Although he'd never admit it, his heart is pounding in his chest.
"You know what happens next," Konstantine tells Kallus, and oh stars, how Kallus does. He's seen dozens of rebel interrogations, presided over many of them, and he's not looking forward to being on the other side of things this time. "If you cooperate," Konstantine adds, "this can be painless."
Kallus bites back the urge to laugh. Nothing in the Empire is painless. "I'm not going to tell you anything," he says firmly.
Konstantine sighs. "So be it," he replies, gesturing at two stormtroopers. They grab Kallus under the arms and drag him out of the cell. Kallus doesn't bother trying to resist. He needs to save his strength for resisting the interrogation.
To Kallus' surprise, the room Konstantine leads him to is empty. He had been expecting to see a torture rack, but there's nothing.
Then a small droid floats in and Kallus' blood runs cold.
"Do you recognize the IT-O droid?" Konstantine asks. "Your bureau was developing them, after all. They're still not quite perfected, but the ISB has agreed to allow me to use you as a test subject for their efficiency."
The droid floats closer to Kallus, its sharp needle glinting in the light. The stormtroopers are still holding Kallus in place. There's no way he can escape. "If you tell us what we need to know, I can send it away," Konstantine offers.
"I won't tell you anything," Kallus states firmly.
Konstantine purses his lips, then he snaps his fingers. The IT-O stabs Kallus in the neck with the needle. The stormtroopers drop him and leave the room. Konstantine follows them. "We still want him alive for now," he tells the droid, then the doors slide closed behind them.
Kallus looks up at the droid, which he knows is scanning him. Already, Kallus can feel his new susceptibility to pain. His discomfort from his wounds from the explosion is steadily increasing. He knows that the drug the droid just gave him is decreasing his pain threshold. If it works as the ISB intended, the droid should be able to cause unimaginable pain with very little effort.
But Kallus is no stranger to pain, and he will not let it break him.
The droid hovers closer. He will not let it break him.
A crackling electric prod emerges from the droid. It's almost close enough to touch Kallus' skin. He will not let it break him.
Even in the other room, where Konstantine is overseeing the interrogation, Kallus' screams are agonizingly loud.
When Kallus is thrown back in his cell, the very feeling of being dropped on the ground makes him cry out in pain. He has no idea how long it's been since he was first brought into the room with the IT-O. All he knows is that his whole body hurts, and that he didn't give up the rebels. He was strong enough not to give them up.
"We will continue this tomorrow, if we must," Konstantine declares. "We will break you, Kallus."
"You can try," Kallus retorts.
Konstantine nods once and one of the stormtroopers kicks Kallus in the gut. Kallus screams in pain. His body is battered by the explosion and the interrogation, and the drug still hasn't worn off. Everything hurts, more than Kallus has ever hurt before. But he still refuses to break.
Konstantine scowls. "I'll be back tomorrow, then," he says, just as the ship shudders. Kallus knows that feeling.
Someone is firing at them.
"What's going on?" Konstantine demands into his comm.
"Rebels are firing on us, sir!" comes the tinny reply. "A fleet just came out of hyperspace!"
"Some of your friends, no doubt," Konstantine tells Kallus dismissively. "We'll take care of them easily enough." Konstantine and the troopers file out of the cell, leaving Kallus on the floor.
For a moment, Kallus looks up at the bunk, but he dismisses the idea just as quickly. He can't imagine hauling himself up on that. A moment later, the ship shudders again, this time more harshly. The shields must be taking quite the hit.
Kallus hopes the ship goes down.
He can only resist the IT-O for so long, he knows that. If the rebels succeed in their mission and destroy the ship, Kallus won't have a chance to give them up. He won't have to face interrogation again.
The ship shudders again, and the door to Kallus' cell opens.
There are two stormtroopers there, but as Kallus eyes them blearily, he can see that something's not quite right. One of them is much too short.
"It's him," the shorter trooper says, looking around. "Kanan, we don't have much time."
So it's Jarrus and Bridger. It's not surprising that they're part of this attack, but Kallus can't quite puzzle out what they're doing here.
"Kallus," Jarrus hisses.
Kallus tries to push himself upright, but his body is too weak. "What are you doing here?" he croaks instead.
"What does it look like?" Bridger snaps. "This is a rescue mission." That's strange, but Kallus files it away for later. For now, if they're going to get him out, he won't complain.
"Can you walk?" Jarrus asks, stepping into the cell and crouching in front of Kallus.
"I don't think so," Kallus replies. He can't even sit up. There's no way he can walk.
"Alright." Jarrus grabs one of his arms and hauls Kallus upright. It hurts, but Kallus swallows his cry of pain. "Ezra, we're gonna need to find a way off this ship without anyone seeing us."
"What level are we on?" Kallus asks hoarsely. His throat still aches from screaming.
"Fifty-two," Bridger replies. "And our ship is two floors up. Any bright ideas?"
Kallus closes his eyes, trying to visualize the design of the ship. "There should be an access tunnel in the next corridor. We can climb up the ladder to your ship."
"Are you gonna be able to climb?" Jarrus asks.
Kallus nods. "I'll manage." It'll hurt, and he isn't sure how fast he can go, but he'll manage.
Bridger finds the access tunnel first and crawls in. "It's pretty small, Kanan," he warns. "Keep your head down or you'll hit it on the ceiling."
"You next," Jarrus tells Kallus. He helps Kallus lower himself to the ground. Calling on any strength he still has, Kallus crawls in after Bridger. Behind him, Jarrus follows, putting the cover for the tunnel back in place.
"I'm not seeing a ladder," Bridger accuses.
"Go forward a bit more," Kallus replies. "It should be there."
Bridger mumbles something Kallus can't make out and crawls forward. A moment later, he calls back, "Found it."
Kallus crawls after him, Jarrus behind him. When they reach Bridger, he's already holding on to the rungs of the ladder.
"Two floors up, here we come," he announces as he begins to climb.
"You next," Jarrus says. Kallus eyes the ladder for a moment, then he reaches out and grips the rungs. Moving only makes his body ache more, but he doesn't exactly have another option, so he follows Bridger up the ladder. He can hear Jarrus behind him.
"Where are we gonna come out?" Bridger asks Kallus when they've climbed the two floors.
"Take two lefts and a right," Kallus replies, trying to picture the layout of the tunnels in his mind. The image keeps trying to slip away, but he doesn't let it. "We'll come out two hallways away from the cargo bay. I'm assuming that's where you left your ship."
"You can't get us any closer?" Bridger demands.
"No," Kallus retorts sharply.
"It's good enough," Jarrus says firmly. "Let's go, Ezra."
They make their way to the ship without too much trouble. Jarrus practically has to carry Kallus by the end, which would be embarrassing if Kallus weren't too exhausted and pained to care.
The ship is a small TIE bomber, barely big enough for three people. Where the rebels got it is anyone's guess. "I'll strap him in, you get us out of here," Jarrus tells Bridger, guiding Kallus to a chair. Kallus allows himself to be dumped in it and doesn't protest when Jarrus straps him in like a child. His limbs feel far too heavy to move. The drug has worn off, he thinks, but that doesn't mean that his whole body doesn't hurt.
The engines roar to life, and really, Kallus should be doing something to help, but his eyelids are too heavy, and within moments he's slipped away into unconsciousness. After all, Jarrus and Bridger can handle this by themselves.
Kallus wakes up in a sterile, white room. He doesn't recognize it. His heart immediately begins to pound.
"Hey!" The voice is familiar. Kallus blinks a few times before Zeb comes into focus, leaning over him.
"Where..." Kallus croaks. His throat is unbelievably raw.
"You're on a rebel ship, on the way back to Chopper Base," Zeb replies, offering Kallus a glass of water. Kallus manages to prop himself up on his elbows to drink it, but just barely.
"Kanan and Ezra rescued you," Zeb adds. "Would've gone myself, but we figured they would stand out less."
"How did you know?" Kallus asks, lying back down. His whole body still hurts. The ISB will be pleased, at least. Their IT-O droid worked well, even if Kallus didn't talk.
"The rebel cell from Geest asked for backup," Zeb replies. "One of them saw you taken by stormtroopers and heard one of them call you Kallus. We weren't gonna just leave you in Imperial hands."
"I didn't give you up," Kallus tells Zeb. His head is still spinning a bit, and he doesn't think he's going to manage to stay conscious for long, but he knows that's important. "I didn't tell them anything."
"Never thought you would," Zeb replies. He runs a hand over Kallus' head. It's shockingly gentle. To his embarrassment, Kallus finds himself leaning in towards the touch. He hopes Zeb doesn't notice.
"We'll be at the base soon, and we can get you better medical care," Zeb adds. "What did they do to you?"
"New interrogation droid," Kallus replies. He's too tired to explain anything beyond that. He wishes Zeb would stop asking him things and let him sleep.
"Did it inject you with something?" Zeb asks. "There was something in your blood that the med droid didn't recognize."
"A drug," Kallus replies blearily. He knows about it, but he can't remember the specifics. "It makes you more susceptible to pain." The words slur a bit, but they're still understandable. Kallus' eyes flutter close, but he forces them open again when Zeb begins to speak.
"Thrawn declared you an enemy of the Empire. There's a reward out for you." Zeb is quiet for a moment. "How'd he find out?"
"He knew there had to be a mole after what happened on Lothal," Kallus replies. "I don't know how he figured it out, but he knew it was me."
"And so you ran?" Zeb asks. Kallus hums in agreement. "How'd you end up on Geest?" Zeb asks. "Why not come to us?"
"Had to obscure my trail," Kallus replies. "Didn't want to lead the Empire to you." He's lost the energy to speak in complete sentences. He thinks he's understandable anyway.
"Why did you defect?" Zeb asks quietly.
"I asked questions, like you told me to," Kallus replies. "Didn't like the answers." He's always known the Empire can be brutal, but he's told himself that there's a reason. Looking at the records, it's clear that there often isn't. Kallus was sickened to see how many non-human species were driven to the brink of extinction simply because they weren't human. He put up with the Empire's actions because he thought they were for the greater good. When he saw that they weren't, he was out.
Zeb is quiet again. Kallus closes his eyes. "Uh," Zeb begins, sounding a bit frantic. Kallus cracks open one eye to give Zeb a dirty look. All he wants to do is sleep, but apparently Zeb has something against that.
"Sorry," Zeb apologizes, rubbing the back of his head. "I'm not supposed to let you fall asleep again until we get to base and they can do a full med scan."
"You could have just told me," Kallus mutters, trying to pull himself into a sitting position. Zeb quickly leaned over to help him. "Why am I not supposed to sleep?"
"They want to make sure there aren't any other side effects of the drug in your system," Zeb explains.
Kallus closes his eyes. "There aren't supposed to be," he replies, trying to remember. "It's supposed to reduce the pain threshold and prevent unconsciousness. But its effects have worn off by now."
Zeb shrugged. "It still showed up on the scan," he replies. "Better safe than sorry, I guess."
"How long until we reach the base?" Kallus asks. He'd like to sleep sooner rather than later, if possible.
"Not long," Zeb promises. "So, uh..."
"Why did you come after me?" Kallus asks. "It was a risk you didn't have to take."
"We weren't gonna leave you," Zeb counters, sounding shocked.
"I suppose I do know too much," Kallus murmurs.
"No, it's not-" Zeb frowns. "You're one of us now. A rebel. And we don't leave people behind."
Kallus goes quiet. The ship trembles around them, a feeling he recognizes. "We've come out of hyperspace."
"Nearly at the base, then," Zeb replies. "You can get looked over properly."
Kallus nods. An awkward silence descends between the two of them as the ship lands. Only when they begin to hear the sound of footsteps outside does Kallus speak.
"Thank you."
Zeb blinks. "For what?"
"For everything," Kallus replies. He can't elaborate any more than that. From the suddenly soft look on Zeb's face, he understands.
"You're welcome," he replies, and then someone comes in and transfers Kallus onto a hoverchair to take him to the med center on the base. After that, Kallus knows he'll have to explain the story of how he left the Empire, and then will come the near-impossible task of bringing justice back to the galaxy, but Kallus thinks he's ready for it.
He's a rebel now, after all, and this is all part of the package.