The planet Eritt wasn't much like Lothal at all, even if it was also classified as an outer rim agricultural planet. Instead of plains and grassland there were forests over most of the uninhabited spaces, ranging from thickly canopied giants in the warmer regions to more sparse prickly evergreens closer to the poles. Ezra wasn't entirely sure if the constant rains were planetwide or just everywhere they happened to go, but that was the other biggest difference. Instead of being clear, slightly chilly, and dry most of the year Eritt was wet most of the year. A good day was foggy and grey with a light drizzle on and off, a bad one meant Ezra wasn't sure how anything could survive unprotected without drowning, and sometimes the downpour was accompanied by thunder and lightning that could be felt clearly even inside the Ghost.
Ezra wasn't sure if the lack of anything resembling Lothal made him any more or less homesick, but it took him less than a day to decide he thoroughly hated all the changes. Even if the cheap wet weather gear had fit correctly (it didn't) and managed to keep from leaking (not a chance) the damp got into everything. Even when it wasn't actively raining it was hot and muggy during the day and cold and clammy at night. If it wasn't for the fact it was very conveniently located to hyperspace lanes and hosted a relatively huge and unguarded shipping port he'd question Hera's decision to stay so long. As it was, even just the knowledge of what was going where was invaluable to the rest of the rebellion. Sabine had flawlessly made her way to the inside, passing as a low level Imperial supply clerk where between her and Chopper they could reroute important supplies, cover up minor thefts and hide the trail. Eventually someone would figure out that there were supposed to be six crates instead of five, or that the fuel shipment was supposed to be taking a safe route instead of pirate and rebel infested space, but it would be nearly impossible to tell where the screw up had happened. That was the plan anyway, and unless (until) the plan went south and they were found out it meant the rest of the crew was stuck doing the grunt work and keeping their heads down
Ezra made his way to one of the gun ports, peering out through the film of water coating the clear material and trying to judge the weather before sliding down the ladder to head to the galley where Zeb was already eating his own breakfast.
"Looks like a foggy one today." He offered, clearing his throat to try and get rid of the nagging tickle feeling that he'd woken up with. Zeb grunted in response.
"Supposed to start raining again in a few hours, chance it'll turn into a downpour by afternoon. Such a surprise." Zeb grumbled it, not looking up from his food.
"Wonderful." Ezra rummaged, looking for something hot to drink that wasn't caf. Normally he wouldn't be interested knowing the heat that waited outside of the Ghost's comfortable temperature controlled climate, but maybe it would ease his throat. He thought Sabine had a stash of teas somewhere, but either she'd hid them in her room or taken them with her when she moved into the Imperial housing. Either way he settled for some juice instead, sitting down at the table. "Not a chance we're doing something inside today?
"Sorry, not a chance." Kanan poked his head in to watch them. "Huge shipment of mining explosives coming in and we need to make sure they get on the wrong ship, and that means loading them ourselves as much as possible so no one notices anything unusual."
"You know, it would go a lot faster if you and Zeb were the ones unloading and I drove the transport." Ezra said hopefully.
"Not a chance, kid. You're barely old enough for the driving test as is, hazardous materials take extra licensing." Kanan said.
"It wouldn't be that hard to get around that." Ezra pointed out, even if he was fairly sure it wouldn't do any good. "Why start playing by the rules now?"
"Because the more obviously we break them the more chance we have of blowing Sabine's cover. Be ready to leave in 30."
"Good try, but looks like you're stuck with me standing in the rain." Zeb reached over to playfully pop at his shoulder with a fist.
"Uh huh. I think I've become numb to the smell of wet Lasat by now." Ezra swatted at his arm just as casually, then finished off his juice in a couple gulps. That was a mistake and he coughed when the liquid stung instead of easing the tickle.
"Easy, don't choke. Too many opportunities to drown out there to do it in here, eh?" Zeb grinned at him.
"Real funny." Ezra rolled his eyes, smiling. "I think that sounds like I deserve to get changed first."
Ezra finished getting his gear on, rubbing at the outside of his throat as if that would ease the ache that just seemed to be steadily getting worse and finally admitted to himself he wasn't just tired. He was getting sick. The last thing he wanted to do was spend all day hauling crates in the rain.
"Kanan?" It took poking around half the ship before he finally found him in the cargo hold, touching up some of the waterproofing on one of the speeders.
"Yeah? What is it?" Kanan applied the last of the sealant before he glanced up.
"I don't think I can do it today. I don't feel that great. I think I'm coming down with something."
"How do you feel?" Kanan stood, pressing the backs of his fingers to Ezra's forehead, then the side of his neck. "It doesn't feel like you've got a fever."
"I'm tired and my throat's sore."
"Open up and tilt your head back so I can look?" Kanan waited until Ezra obediently opened his mouth to lean in, tilting his chin a little to get the light better and peering in at his throat. "I don't really see anything. If you don't think you can do this at all I'm not going to make you, but we do need you out there today. If you're not there they'll assign someone else and they might ask questions. Do you think you can manage?"
"If I have to, but…" Ezra looked away once Kanan let go of his chin. "You did say if someone was feeling hurt or sick before a mission they should say something."
"I did. I know it's not all that exciting and probably doesn't feel like we're doing much, but we are. After this shipment we'll have several days off, so try and think of it that way?" Kanan gave him an encouraging smile.
"It's not that it's boring, I know this is important, but…"
"I'll get the thermometer. If you've got a fever you can stay and we'll figure something out, alright?"
"Alright." Ezra followed as Kanan got the device from the med kit and held it to his ear. He held still until the thermometer beeped. "What's it say?"
"Normal." Kanan gently ruffled his hair.
Ezra sighed "Guess I can manage one more day."
"That's what I like to hear." Kanan smiled encouragingly and then went to grab his jacket, Ezra right behind him.
Zeb made a soft annoyed grunt as he gently eased the crate into place, holding it still while Ezra grabbed the strapping to ensure it didn't go anywhere in flight. The equipment had gone in first and that went quickly enough, but the explosives themselves required delicate handling. It slowed them down to a crawl, with both of them working on each individual crate instead of taking multiple at a time. The only good thing was it took just as long to get them loaded onto the smaller transport for Kanan to shuttle out to the ship.
"How many more loads after this?" Ezra checked the fastenings before stepping away, straightening up and rubbing at his shoulders. Talking was getting more painful and it meant that their usual back and forth banter was almost non-existent. He missed it a lot more than he thought he would, the good natured grumbling and insults made things go a great deal faster. Sometimes if he was in a good mood Zeb would even tell stories from before he joined the Ghost crew, details deliberately sparse just in case anyone was listening in.
"Just one or two." Zeb started trudging back out to the ramp of the ship to see if there was any sign of Kanan yet.
"I'm going to grab a snack then. You want anything?"
"Nah, rather wait until we're done and get some real food. But you go ahead, just don't take too long."
"Back in a flash." Ezra smiled, stepping back out into the rain and heading towards the small mess hall. It wasn't much, but there was free food provided for the workers, or at least free in the sense that a small portion of the paycheck went towards it. It also wasn't much to speak of, mostly cheap packaged rations and cheaper caf. Once in a while there was fresh fruit, but if it was worth eating it got grabbed up quickly. As far as Ezra could tell from listening to the other workers talking, it honestly hadn't changed that much since the Empire took control. Eritt had always specialized in exports, from exotic woods to make luxury furniture and knick-knacks, as well as spices for those who preferred the natural version over the cheaper synthetic counterparts. The spaceport hadn't needed many upgrades to turn it from mainly exporting and importing goods, to a useful shipping hub for the Empire. Some people were happy that the cargo was different, some were annoyed, but that was fairly typical. Everyone hated management, but Ezra wasn't sure how much of that was because the Imperials were terrible and how much of it was everyone always liked to blame the people in charge.
Right now all Ezra cared about was that it was far too long a walk to the mess hall. About halfway there he wished he'd not bothered. He just wanted to sit and rest, and once he grabbed something to drink he'd be turning right around to trudge back. He hated feeling this tired and weak, where a brisk walk across the port made him winded, and he only made the mistake of opening his mouth to pant once. Finally though he was stepping out of the rain and into the mess, tugging his hood back to look around and reaching to his pocket for his registration card.
His empty pocket.
"Karabast."
"Is there a problem?"
Ezra turned a little too quickly, he hadn't even noticed the security officer nearby.
"Uh, no, no problem, I was just heading back…" Ezra tried to inch away.
"Back where? Let's see your security clearance. And speak up"
"I have it, I swear, I just left it back in my room. I can get it, or someone can get it for me." Ezra scowled as his shoulder was roughly grabbed.
"That's enough, come with me."
