This story is my attempt to continue on from the story of Rebels and explain the fates and futures of Ezra, Sabine, Hera, Thrawn, Ahsoka and the others after the finale. Eventually, it will become more intertwined with the Original Trilogy and even the Sequel Trilogy as well as brushing the Anthology films, Prequels and TCW a little too. I've tired to keep it as canon complaint as possible although as we get new stories I'm sure it'll start to contradict things and I'm sure there's more than a few oversights and errors on my part already. I'll do my best to keep it in line with canon but be prepared for some minor diversions along the way.
Not long after Rebels ended, I thought a lot about where the story would go from there and how it would tie into to what came before and after it. Over the course of a few weeks, I threw some ideas of mine together and came up with a basic story idea. I don't know what made me write it down like I did but I never thought I'd do anything with it. Only in the last few weeks or so, as I finished up reading Thrawn and struggled to find the inspiration to finish my existing story, did I go back to that old idea. This story is the result of those plans. I hope to see this all through and deliver on this story over the course of many months and somewhere in the region of 50 chapters (48 with my current plan but that may change). It's an ambitious target and I'm under no illusions about how much of a task this is but I wanted to at least try and do something with it.
Each chapter will typically feature a little bit from each of the main characters. Ezra, Hera, Sabine and Thrawn are the main focus to start but over time threads will merge, diverge, be introduced or be ended as the story progresses. Some chapters might focus on one story line or one particular event and I'm trying to make sure that every chapter and section explores something interesting and relevant or impacts the story in a tangible way.
The first two chapters will be prologues of sorts, just to explain what's happening immediately after the finale and to cover one or two things that I wanted to explore but that couldn't be done in the main body of the story. In this chapter: Hera returns to Yavin, Ezra awakens after the hyperspace jump, Thrawn tries to reorganise and Sabine thinks about her future.
Year - 0BBY, approximately 2 days after the Battle of Lothal and the disappearance of Ezra Bridger.
"Ghost to Yavin 4, requesting permission to land."
"Affirmative Ghost. Senator Mothma has been awaiting your return."
"I'll see her as soon as I'm planetside", Hera said reluctantly as she effortlessly guided the Ghost through atmospheric re-entry down onto the isolated jungle moon that hosted the rebel base.
The ancient structures loomed low on the horizon as her trusty vessel drew closer. It was instinct more than effort at this point. Hera Syndulla was such a gifted pilot that even landing, the most complicated part of any flight, was as natural as breathing. In the cockpit seat beside her the bearded Captain Rex took in the sight of home with a hard sigh.
"Coming back to base is never the same, is it?", Rex asked her quietly.
Hera kept her attention on the controls but her heart sank, "Nothing will ever be the same now."
The statement marked the end of the very brief discussion; she was in no mood for talking. Her hands flicked some switches and controls necessary to bring the ship in to a safe landing as Rex silently stood up from his seat.
The old Clone remained standing just to her side, enough to be sure he was still in view, "I can get everything sorted here if you'd like after we touchdown, let you go off and deal with the big-wigs", he chuckled.
The Twi'lek forced a quarter-smile to him, "If you wouldn't mind, Rex. Thing are just... you know, right now."
Rex eyed her sympathetically, knowing all too well what it was like to lose those close to you, "Of course, General. You won't have to worry about a thing." The old soldier saluted out of habit and began to leave before stopping for a moment, "Listen, Hera... we're still all here for you. Me, Zeb, Kallus and everyone. If you need to talk then you know where to find us."
Hera turned back to look at him but couldn't muster the strength to smile again, "I know, Rex. Thank you."
With a nod, Rex disappeared from the cockpit allowing Hera to guide the ship to ground alone. The towering turrets on the perimeter sighted her as she came in and as she descended the tiny green and orange specks on the ground became pilots and technical crews clearing the area. There weren't any faces she immediately recognised among the crews as the Ghost planted itself onto its landing gear. Not that there were many people left for her to recognise anyway. She powered down the engines and pressed a few switches to open the pressure valves and lower the boarding ramp to the ship.
Sitting for a while before deciding to move, Hera inspected the base they'd built. Y-wing bombers, X-wing fighters and U-wing transports lined the landing area as did a bustling crowd of ground crews, soldiers and general staff working around the clock to keep the Rebellion ticking. A few years ago, seeing such a sight would have been unbelievable, the Rebellion really had come a long way. In the past, she'd have grinned and swelled with internal pride. That last part was still there, somewhere, but it was buried beneath a feeling Hera hadn't felt in a long time: loneliness.
Deciding now wasn't the time to dwell on things, Hera steeled herself and got up, her back aching as it had done for a few days now. The stress was probably taking a toll on her body. The Twi'lek found her way out of the cockpit and slowly climbed down the ladder into the cargo bay where Rex and Zeb were already starting to unload the various pieces of equipment they'd brought back with them. Zeb acknowledged her with a nod of his head and returned to his task. Descending the ramp out of the ship, she was greeted by a young officer.
"General Syndulla, Senator Mothma is requesting your presence", he stated with a crisp salute.
Hera never was one to return the gesture, "So I've heard. Let her know I'm on my way."
After the officer commed ahead, Hera walked past the numerous ships and busy throes of people and headed towards the central temple in which Rebel Command was found. Everything was a blur around her, as much from physical exhaustion as from mental, and as she entered the covered hangar of the temple she could barely recall ever walking the distance to it. Just this debrief, then you're done. Hera very rarely found herself as eager to put aside her duties as she did now. There'd been no time to process everything in the last few hours and days, let alone to sleep as well. Rest was all Hera could think of as she entered the Command Room. She knew what she'd have to tell them but she didn't know if she'd be able to keep her composure to do so.
The door opened to show Senator Mon Mothma, as expected, along with General Dodonna, all stood around the strategic planning map in the centre of the Command Room. Also, around it was the not-too-familiar face of General Draven as well as the holographic figure of Senator Bail Organa, stood beside a woman Hera still recognised as his daughter Leia Organa. They look nothing alike, she noted as she made her way to stand at the map.
Senator Mothma greeted her with a warm but somewhat rehearsed smile, "General Syndulla, we've been looking forward to your return. There's only so much we can learn from Imperial news sources."
"It's a relief to be back, Senator. The Tie Defender factory has been destroyed and the Empire has been expelled from Lothal," Hera announced with a distinct lack of her usual fire and enthusiasm.
"And what of Admiral Thrawn?", Bail Organa interjected.
"Most of his fleet above Lothal was destroyed and he himself has been... removed." Hera didn't know how to explain it, to tell Rebel Command a flock of space whales had hyperspaced away one of their deadliest adversaries wasn't something she'd expected to ever have to deal with.
"His fleet has been destroyed?", Mon Mothma asked in surprise.
"Destroyed", Hera confirmed. "It's a... long story. One that I'm not sure you'd all believe."
"I'm sure you'll enlighten us some other time. The fact of the matter is Thrawn's fleet has been destroyed and he's out of the game", Bail Organa reached to stroke his beard, "But what of the other... complications?"
Complications? To call what happened 'complications' struck a nerve in her and she had to fight the urge to raise her voice at him. Remembering she was a General in a war not a delinquent in a cantina fight, she held her tongue and cleared her throat. "I'm sorry to report that... Kanan..." Hera felt the all too familiar feeling of tears creep up on her but she kept fighting them, "Kanan... gave his life to complete our mission."
There was an unmistakable sense of shock at the news, the Rebel leaders had been hoping the death of Kanan Jarrus was nothing more than Imperial propaganda.
Mon Mothma seemed genuinely sympathetic towards her, placing a hand on Hera's arm in comfort, "I'm sorry, General Syndulla, I know you two were close."
Hera wouldn't let herself cry in front of them as hard as that might be and forced herself to look Mon Mothma in the eye, "Thank you, Senator. Kanan did what he had to do and he wouldn't have had it any other way."
"His sacrifice will be honoured and remembered, I promise you", Mon Mothma let her hand fall and turned back out to the Rebel leaders, "I know this news isn't all good, but at least we've put a stop to Thrawn's plans for the Defender."
Bail Organa sighed heavily, "I understand that but it's not worth losing a Jedi over. This cost was too great."
"That remains to be seen, Senator", General Dodonna sounded disappointed at the news but Hera could tell the old General in him was glad the Defenders never would see widespread production.
There was more to tell them and she knew it was best to get it out of the way now. "There's something more. Ezra. Lieutenant Commander Bridger, he's also... gone."
The news of Ezra's loss seemed to take them all by surprise, Hera could swear she saw the colour drain from Mon Mothma's face. "Gone? You mean the Empire-?"
"It's complicated, Madam Senator", Hera interrupted. "Ezra has disappeared, we don't exactly know where to only that he's gone."
Leia leaned forward onto the map table, joining the conversation for the first time in the meeting, "If there's another Jedi still out there we have to track him down. What help can we spare?"
Bail's hand reached forward as if trying to pull her back, "Relax, daughter. I want to help the Jedi as much as you but the Rebellion doesn't have the resources to scour the galaxy for one person."
Hera found herself struggling to meet the gaze of her comrades, "Ezra... finding him might not be something we can do right now", the urge to sob mounted even more but the Twi'lek would not break. Not here. Not now.
Mon Mothma hadn't been prepared for the sudden disappearance of Ezra either, losing one Jedi was enough to sour the mood let alone two. "I see, General Syndulla. I hope you will keep us updated on any developments."
"I will, Madam Senator." Hera let out a deep breath, glad that the task of delivering the hard news was over. "With all due respect, Senator, it's been a long few weeks. May I have your permission to take some time for... readjustment."
"Of course. You're dismissed, General. And thank you for everything you've done, you and your crew have saved countless lives with your actions on Lothal."
Hera answered with a smile and a nod to the other leaders and turned to leave. It was true, stopping the Defender program had saved the lives of countless pilots, civilians and soldiers alike. Kanan and Ezra would have wanted it that way, they were always willing to give of themselves for others. It was a hard consolation to accept but Hera knew one day she'd be happy with it.
She hadn't gotten more than a few metres from the briefing room door when she heard it open behind her. Hera turned to find Leia Organa catching up to her, concern and worry on her young face.
"General Syndulla", Leia began.
Hera smiled thinly at her, "Your Highness, it's nice to see you."
"It's been too long, General. I just wish the circumstances were better." Leia looked down at the floor for a second, "I'm sorry about Kanan, he was a good man."
"Thank you, your Highness. I appreciate that."
"And Ezra too… I owe every member of your crew my life. Everyone here owes them a debt we can't ever repay.", Leia said. "And call me Leia. No need to be formal with me."
Hera nodded, "That's kind of you to say, and it's just Hera."
"Well, Hera.", Leia leaned in and placed a hand on Hera's arm, "If there's anything you need, personal or official, I'll do what I can."
For someone the same age as Ezra, Hera was taken aback by Leia's maturity. The feisty rebel Princess had been something else when they'd first met her, sharp and brave with attitude to match. Hera was pleased to see that Leia had kept that same compassion and warmth despite the stress and danger of her life.
Leia slowly took her hand away but kept her face close. "I don't care what they said in there", she nodded back at the briefing room, "If you get any leads on Ezra then let me know right away. Friendly faces are too few these days, I'd like to help you out any way I can."
Hera admired her conviction. True friends really were a rarity these days but Hera knew she might well have another one right in front of her.
"It means a lot to hear that", Hera said and watched her intently.
Leia stood back, "Anyway, you deserve your rest and I've got meetings to drag myself through. Take care of yourself, Hera."
The Twilek smiled at the young woman, "You too, Leia. Don't get in to too much trouble."
"You know me, Hera", Leia grunted a small laugh. "I'll see you soon", the Princess regarded her warmly before turning back towards the briefing room.
Hera watched her go before making her own way back towards the Ghost. Everything she knew about life in the Rebellion would be different now. She knew she could handle it, it was in her nature to pull through, but she wasn't heartless. Right now, all she could do was take some time for herself and come to terms with everything that had happened.
Maybe rest will get rid of this damn headache too, she grumbled to herself.
"GAH!"
Ezra awoke with a scream and a searing pain in his shoulder. He was on his lying on his back, and the sudden jolt upright caused all the blood to rush from his head. If he'd been standing he'd have nearly fainted. His eyes squinted. Everything hurts. Everything feels... strange. Propping himself up on his elbows, he breathed in heavily to fight the breathlessness he felt. Ugh, what happened? After a few seconds, it all came flooding back. Right... purrgil. Hyperspace.
Ezra finally looked around his surroundings to remind himself what happened. He was still on the Chimaera's bridge, in the same position in which he'd been as the purrgil whisked them all away. They're gone? The purrgil were nowhere to be seen, their seething masses of tentacles and tendrils didn't ensnare the bridge as they had in his last memories. Wherever they had taken them, the purrgil had decided to leave him there and move on. Not that he could tell where 'there' was. The emergency shields had come up across the bridge, sealing it away from the cold vacuum of space. Ezra could only guess as to why they hadn't activated earlier, perhaps something to do with the strange powers of the offending creatures or something as simple as them getting in the way. Either way, they were up now and were keeping them alive.
Then his eyes picked up the slumped mass of Grand Admiral Thrawn. He was unconscious, but left sitting upright against the far end of the bridge, his body facing back towards Ezra. His clothing looked slightly torn and even charred, his head oozing small trickles of blood from several minor wounds and an unusual slimy substance covered areas across his uniform. To Ezra's disappointment, the subtle but consistent rise and fall of his chest showed that the Chiss was still breathing. Other bodies were scattered on the bridge too. Soldiers of various stripes and officers of varying roles, all lying unresponsive on the cold floor. Ezra couldn't tell how many were alive and how many weren't. All his mind thought of now was: what next?
His head clearer and his senses returning, Ezra pulled himself onto his feet. The blaster burn on his shoulder was painful but the fact his arm hadn't been blown off told him it wasn't anything major. Just a flesh wound. With a groan, Ezra turned back to look at the sealed bridge door.
Ezra was relieved to see it was still operational as it opened after detecting his movement. As it slid open, more bodies greeted him. This time of the squad of soldiers that had tried ambushing him in the last moments before the jump. They seemed quite clearly to be breathing yet unconscious all the same despite their lack of direct exposure to hyperspace. Emergency systems were in place for damaged or unusual hyperspace journeys, though Ezra doubted 'hyperspace via purrgil' was a situation the Empire planned for. The fact the ship was still in one piece meant that the failsafe systems had at least activated and saved the life of everyone on the Chimaera and presumably the other Destroyers too.
Great, what now? Ezra took a moment to think of his options. He could stay and do something about Thrawn. Suddenly he realised that there was no telling when Thrawn would awaken and any surviving Imperials were going to check on the bridge as soon as possible. It was out of the question, even with Thrawn's actions and allegiances, to just execute him in his sleep. That left only one option: escape. But where to? Where even was he? Ezra decided such questions could be asked later, he didn't have the time to waste by standing on the bridge pondering.
Reaching down with a pained grunt, he picked up an E-11 from a fallen trooper for protection and limped his way off the bridge. He was still in the process of regaining his footing and balance but every step was making it easier to walk. His shoulder hurt and he must have slammed his hip down pretty hard when he fell, but Ezra was confident he'd avoided any serious injuries. If you don't hurry up, that won't be true for long.
Exiting the bridge, he emerged into a standard imperial corridor. Wisps of smoke flowed across the ceiling and the low-drone of emergency alarms echoed throughout the passageways. Recalling his mental map of a Star Destroyer, compiled by years of infiltration missions, Ezra set off in the direction of the hangar. It was his best hope of escaping, far more so than an escape pod. Escape pods lacked any sort of hyperdrive or advanced navigational systems. Ezra didn't have a clue where the purrgil had left them and he had every intention of finding out as soon as possible.
Turning another corner, the bodies of a few more troopers littered the floors. In the next corridor, several more. All seemed to have been heading in the direction of the bridge. Had the purrgil not come in time, any one of these troopers could have been his end. Without his lightsaber he was barely a match for this many opponents. If only-
"Uggghhhh...",
Ezra's heart stopped as he heard the distinct groan from behind him.
"Ughh.. What the-?", A stormtrooper was stirring from his rest and pushing himself up onto his hands and knees a few metres behind him. Luckily, he hadn't turned around to see Ezra yet.
Great, out of time. Immediately breaking into a sprint, Ezra pushed his aching body as fast as it could down the corridor towards the hangar.
"Hey! It's the Jedi", came the voice from behind him. Karabast.
Under the noise of his own boots slamming on the floor with each step, Ezra couldn't tell if the trooper had started giving chase or alerted the rest of the ship about his presence. It didn't matter now, sooner or later every surviving Imperial on the ship would be converging on his position. He ran down more corridors and spotted more than a handful of downed officers and troopers, all put to sleep by the very sudden but brief loss of oxygen and violent movement of the ship in the seconds after the purrgil whisked them away. As Ezra pressed closer to the hangar, his legs screamed at him to slow down. He hadn't had much rest in the last few days and sprinting across an entire Star Destroyer was not something they were particularly eager to do. Closing on the hangar, Ezra charged through the door into the final corridor to his destination and froze. Three stormtroopers, all awake and upright, were staring right at him.
All the troopers raised their blasters. "Blast him!"
Ezra's hand shot out and a wave of force energy sent them all cascading backwards. Ezra ran towards them, bringing his blaster down and dragging the barrel hard into the helmet of one of the troopers. As he leapt over the stunned Stormtroopers, he quickly turned to face behind him. As expected, the other two troopers were reaching for their blasters. Ezra didn't hesitate now. Even when sprinting, Ezra's attuned force abilities told him exactly where to aim and allowed him to get off the perfect shot. He pulled the trigger twice, sending two bolts straight into the visor of one trooper. As the other watched his comrade fall another volley from Ezra put him down.
The final door opened into the hangar but the scene didn't much help his hopes of escaping. The sudden jump had wreaked havoc on the hangar bays - crewmen and pilots were strewn across the floor, a few ceiling-mounted Tie fighters had crashed down and exploded on the ground and plenty of crates, ladders and munitions boxes had been strewn across the area. Regretfully, some Imperials were already up trying to sort out the mess. Ezra darted behind a fallen crate to plan out his options.
Eight troopers, an officer, two pilots. Wrecked tie... wrecked tie... wrecked tie... shut- Aha! Shuttle! Ezra spied a Sentinel-class Imperial shuttle relatively undamaged on the far side of the hangar, possibly Thrawn's personal one. Some debris had fallen onto it and chipped a bit of the armour plating off but it looked to be in good enough condition to fly. Right now, Ezra didn't care who it belonged to or if it had been a bit damaged. Between him and escape, though, stood a small detachment of Imperials in an open area. There was no way he'd get there without being spotted and in a firefight these odds didn't look good. He'd be easily flanked if he tried outmanoeuvring them. He could try for a runner but he doubted he'd even get half-way before they took him out. His only option was to ambush them and hope the element of surprise could save him. Ezra leaned out from his cover, resting the blaster carefully across the crate to get a stable platform to fire from. He watched the Imperials carefully, waiting for the right moment.
"Hey, you have any idea what happened?", one trooper asked the other.
"I've learned not to ask questions about what goes on anymore, makes me feel better about it", the other replied. The trooper then pressed his finger up to his helmet to receive a message. He nodded several times and turned to the others. "Just got word, that Jedi is on the loos-"
A blast from Ezra's rifle ended his sentence prematurely as the trooper's lifeless body crashed down to the ground. The open ground wouldn't have given Ezra enough cover to reach the shuttle, but it also didn't give the Empire any cover either. Before the other troopers could react, Ezra pulled back hard on the trigger and unleashed a barrage of bolts at the squad. They quickly dispersed and Ezra managed to catch two more of them in the chaos.
"Hangar to command! The Jedi is here! Request- GAH!", Ezra got the officer square in the chest and started to manoeuvre out of his cover.
Three troopers down, one officer. Ezra moved forward quickly and dived behind another crate as one of the troopers took pot-shots at him from the other side of the hangar. Out of the corner of his eye, Ezra was relieved to see the two pilots make a break for the exit, leaving him with just five troopers to face. Five versus one, an unfair fight for them.
In unison, two of the stormtroopers stepped out of cover from their crates as the other three rained blaster fire on him. They were hoping to pin him down long enough for the other two to close in. Bad idea, Ezra thought as his unorthodox solution presented itself. Closing his eyes and with a calming breath, Ezra focused his mind on the crate he was hiding behind.
In an instant, Ezra was leaping out of his cover and the crate flew forward straight into the approaching troopers. The move had taken them off-guard and both were bowled over by the projectile. Taking advantage of the distraction, Ezra covered a fair few metres of ground between him and the shuttle whilst firing indiscriminately at his attackers. A lucky shot caught one of the three covering Stormtroopers in the chest, knocking him out of the fight.
The two stormtroopers he'd knocked over were scrambling to their feet and jumping for their own cover from Ezra's attacks.
"Kriff it! Where's our reinforcements?!", one screamed into his helmet.
The trooper beside him was just as irate, "Can we fall back?! This guy will kill us!"
"Get your head straight! The Admiral will have us both court martialled if we retreat!", the other replied angrily.
Taking the chance, Ezra leapt up once again with a series of blaster bolts from his rifle. This time though, the troopers were more prepared. As soon as he stood up he was diving back down again, a handful of shots nearly grazing his arms and chest. Karabast, I knew this was going too well.
The troopers were starting to get their act together now. One of the soldiers made some hand gestures to the other three and they all began spreading out whilst firing towards Ezra's position. Even now, he was still too far away from the shuttle to make it without getting shot. He was out of options and out of time, so he reached out to try a new strategy.
Ezra focused on the troopers through the force, reaching out to them to feel their minds. Fear, anger, confusion, shock. He felt it all. Then he got what he was looking for; the trooper he wanted. That same one who seconds earlier had wanted to retreat. Where there's a suggestion, there's an opportunity. Ezra remembered Kanan's lessons on Jedi mind tricks. They weren't all powerful, they only worked when the idea was already in the target's head. With immense focus, always conscious of the Imperials closing in around him, Ezra made that link with the trooper.
You will fall back.
Ezra felt no reaction and hardened his efforts.
You will fall back.
"Fall back! Fall back!"
A grin flashed on Ezra's face at the words. One of the troopers started sprinting away from Ezra's position as the other three stared at him in confusion. It was all the time Ezra needed. He brought his blaster up from behind cover and blasted the closest trooper, taking him down in three hits for good measure. By the time the final two opponents had turned back to him, Ezra was running toward the shuttle and firing the blaster with one hand behind him. Realising they'd been outmatched, the two troopers simply ducked behind some crates for shelter, not even bothering to risk firing back at him.
The ramp was already lowered on the shuttle and as he ran up it he found no crew or Imperials present. Ezra smashed his hand against a button in the main hold to close up the ramp from any pursuers. He found his way into the cockpit and threw his rifle aside, sliding into the pilot's chair and activating all the engines and systems he'd need. Weapons check, shields check, fuel... nearly empty. Ezra wanted to smash his head through the kriffing viewport. Not even enough fuel for an hour's jump. An hour couldn't get you from Krownest to Mandalore, let alone anywhere Ezra wanted to go. He still didn't even know where he was. Now that he was here it started to hit him how lost he truly was. His hands went straight for the navigation system and switched it on. The screen made his heart sink. The Unknown Regions.
His mouth fell open and he felt his face drop. Uncharted territory, days in hyperspace from anywhere he knew in a stolen ship with low fuel and with no hope of someone ever finding him. No... you know you can count on her. Ezra's mind focused on her, on her memory and his faith in her. No matter where he was, she'd come for him some day. With a sigh he skipped over the last few checks and brought the ship off the deck, hovering it towards the hangar entrance, a number of tiles and cables sliding off the shuttle as he did so. The reinforcements the Imperials had wanted were arriving as Ezra left but their weapons couldn't do much against a well-shielded shuttle. Ezra gave them a mocking grin and salute as he sailed the ship out of the Star Destroyer's shields.
There wasn't enough fuel for a long hyperspace jump but putting even a bit of distance between him and the Empire was essential. The trouble was the location. There weren't any known safe hyperspace trajectories this far out in the galaxy. A bad jump could send him slamming into a planet or asteroid belt. It was a risk he'd have to take though and one he could only trust his instincts to see him through. Ezra calmed his mind, trusting the force to guide his actions. Unconsciously, he drifted the ship to the side as he put distance between him and the fleet. Clearly, the crews were still in disarray as not even an attempt was made to shoot down his shuttle.
Staring out at the blankness of space, Ezra felt a twinge in the force. Ezra had no idea what it was but instinctively he followed it and steered the shuttle towards the mysterious source. Activating the hyperdrive of the ship, the stars stretched out in front of him and the ship lurched forward with the familiar feeling of inertia. It was only as his ship entered hyperspace that he realised how much of a mistake he'd just made.
Every defeat is a lesson learned. No warrior can hope to have a career only of victory. Failure is often the greatest teacher in any walk of life and none more so that in paths of war. An error only becomes a mistake if it is allowed to be repeated, a situation any warrior must take strides to avoid. The most unexpected strategies, like the most successful, can only ever be used against a good strategist once. After that, they are merely one more strategy with which a true tactician cannot be beaten.
"Grand Admiral?!", the voice echoed. "Grand Admiral, are you hurt?"
Thrawn's eyes peeled open to see the face of one of his bridge crew staring down at him, shaking his shoulders to jolt him awake.
The officer grabbed his comm and started shouting into it, "Get a medical crew to the bridge, now!"
Raising his head with a faint groan, Thrawn looked up at the officer, "That won't be necessary, Captain."
His face contorted into a look of shock and concern, at least some of it genuine. "But... Sir?"
The Chiss wasted no time in standing himself up and inspecting the state of his command bridge. "My injuries are not serious", he told him dismissively.
His red eyes scanned the bridge for any evidence of the young Jedi who'd condemned him to this fate. He saw chaos around him; a few officers were standing up and recovering from their journey and Thrawn could see a few more of his personnel had yet to awaken. Smashed material from the viewports and pieces of terminals and ceiling tiles were thrown across the ground during the creatures' attack. Thrawn noted his own condition too. A few scrapes and burns but nothing serious, and the oozing stains from whatever manner of creature had intervened. His immediate concern was not any of these things. His attention turned to Ezra Bridger, or more so the lack of him.
"Where's Ezra Bridger?", he demanded as his eyes shot quickly to the Imperial.
The words sparked him to attention and a flash of nervousness appeared on his face. "Uh... he's escaped Sir.", the officer fumbled.
If looks could kill, the bridge officer would have been flayed on the spot. Thrawn glared at him, "Escaped?"
"He awoke earlier, Sir. M-most of the ship was still... incapacitated. He was already in the hangar by the time we knew he was escaping", the man had taken half a cautionary step back from the Admiral.
Thrawn's reaction didn't move beyond a disapproving glare, "Do we have a damage report on the other ships?"
"Uhhh, no Sir."
Calmly, the Admiral walked past the officer and towards the communication terminal. He hailed Captain Pellaeon and Captain Sarlis on the other two destroyers. "Pellaeon, Sarlis, what's your status?"
His hail went unanswered for a few seconds before the blue image of Captain Pellaeon flickered to life around the holographic table. His uniform was torn, his officer's hat absent and his own wounds similarly unattended. Pellaeon was perhaps old among Imperial Officers, easily into his late 50s with a heavy white moustache, but Thrawn had found him to be far more sensible and competent than most others in the Imperial Navy. He was no Vanto, the Captain's mind didn't possess the same talent for strategy and was unlikely to pick them up as much under Thrawn's command, but his military sensibility had been evident as soon as he joined the Seventh Fleet. Thrawn had also found Pellaeon to blend well with his own values, likewise seeking to avoid unnecessary violence and also willing to at least try to see the bigger picture in any situation. Thrawn had developed a certain respect for the man.
"Grand Admiral. My crew seems to be alive and mostly well but the ship has suffered extensive damage. I'm trying to get a crew down to assess the damage, though from here things aren't looking great."
Any response was interrupted by Captain Sarlis' appearance at the holo-table. She, like Pellaeon, had suffered apparently minor injuries, although appeared to have made some attempt to clean herself up. Sarlis was about as new as could be to the Seventh Fleet, having been hastily assigned to Thrawn on his trip to Coruscant mere days ago, and it was already clear that her position was one earned through favours, not by merit. Her black hair was tucked neatly under her cap and her olive skin was clear of blood or dust. A clear symptom of a career that so far had been a matter of appearances over achievement.
She stood rigidly to attention, "Sir, my ship is in chaos. I've got people down all over the ship and most of our systems look like they're damaged."
"Relax, Captain Sarlis. I want your damage reports immediately, we need to know what we're dealing with", Thrawn commanded.
Thrawn noticed the hesitation in Captain Sarlis a few seconds before she decided to speak, "Sir, what happened? What were those things?"
"Such questions are not our concern right now. The creatures are gone, right now I am only concerned with the state of this fleet."
"Y-yes, Sir. Understood, Grand Admiral. Sarlis out." It was easy to pick out the clear undertones of both fear and confusion in her voice.
Thrawn nodded to Pellaeon, "Same to you, Captain. Full damage report as soon as possible."
Pellaeon gave a weary nod, "Yes, Sir. Pellaeon out."
As he ended the communication, the Grand Admiral saw a squad of Stormtroopers entering the bridge. The Sergeant approached Thrawn with a salute. "Sir, the Jedi Bridger escaped into hyperspace using your personal shuttle."
"I see... thank you, Sergeant", Thrawn acknowledged before making his way to the map display. As the map flickered on, Thrawn's eyes absorbed every detail of it without a word. The Unknown Regions? Not unsurprising for mindless creatures not to stick to conventional routes. He hadn't expected that such as unguided jump would leave him anywhere familiar and now his assumption was confirmed.
The Stormtroopers and other bridge staff all found their eyes drawn to the map. The murmurs and whispering started almost immediately as others realised that they were in an almost defunct fleet floating out in the Unknown Regions beyond known space.
A technician was the first to put the realisation to words, "The... The Unknown Regions."
Thrawn's voice and composure remained stoic and calm, "It would appear so."
"But, how?", the confusion clear in the stormtrooper Sergeant's voice.
"Evidently the creatures possess some capacity for hyperspace which Bridger was no doubt aware of. They've brought us here and moved on, leaving us damaged and isolated without a clear path to the known galaxy." Thrawn's arms were clasped neatly behind his back in an at ease position. "The question now is where will Bridger escape to?"
Snapping to attention, an eager officer stepped forward, "Sir, I can dispatch pursuers along his last known trajectory immediately."
The Grand Admiral waved him off with his hand. "That would not be a wise choice. There are no known safe hyperspace routes in the area and we can't afford to waste resources on such a dangerous task. Also, without a knowledge of his fuel supply and the ships's condition it would be impossible to determine which of the thousands of potential systems Bridger has ended up in. Caution and patience will serve us better here."
The officer shrunk away with the denial, stepping back but keeping his eyes on Thrawn, "What shall we do then, Sir?"
Thrawn furrowed his brow in deep thought, "Focus on repairing our long-range communications. The sooner we re-establish contact with the Imperial Network the sooner we can resolve this issue."
The officer saluted, "At once, Grand Admiral." Turning on his heel, the officer left and the stormtrooper squad peeled off with him.
Thrawn turned and walked back up the command bridge, taking in the chaos around him. This was the second time he'd been foiled by a mysterious, unknown and unpredictable creature. The 'Bendu' as it called itself had prevented the total capture of Phoenix Squadron on Atollon and now these other creatures took a victory at Lothal away from him. As his mind replayed the events of Atollon he came to a sudden realisation.
"I see your defeat. Like many arms surrounding you in a cold embrace."
Despite his losses, Thrawn was almost amused. The Bendu's prophecy had, admittedly, played over in his mind countless times. Never though had he expected it to be so literal, to be seized by a mass of tentacles as they pulled him and his fleet into the cold vacuum of hyperspace. And it was, after all, a defeat.
Begrudgingly, he realised that the Lothal rebels had pulled a victory from almost certain defeat as they had several times before. The fault was Pryce's. In her foolishness she'd undermined Thrawn's own plans, enabled the rebels to thrive on Lothal, achieved their objective for them and gotten herself captured by them to boot. Her incompetence had finally caught up with her and brought her rule of that backwater to what was certainly an explosive end. Rukh had failed him too. Not as completely as Pryce but he'd proved unable to inflict any major loss on the rebels. Indeed Pryce's choice to kill the Jedi Kanan Jarrus was the only significant loss he was aware of inflicting on the Lothal rebels. It was a disturbing and noticeable trend in the Imperial Navy. The glory-seeking Admiral Konstantine had also cost him a complete victory on Atollon. Without the destruction of his Interdictor, there would have been no call for aid to Sabine Wren and her Mandalorians which had enabled escape for the rebels.
Once more, those below him and those he could never have anticipated had undermined his efforts.
The point was irrelevant now. Thrawn had lost. He wasn't above admitting it. It was a new experience, but one he would learn from to ensure it never happened again. If there was one thing that made him feel even a whiff of fear, it was the knowledge that he'd have to answer for these events to the Emperor himself...
Sabine stood on a rooftop of her temporary accommodation on the outskirts of Capital City, staring out at the open plains of Lothal. The same disgusting orange colour still stained the skies of the once beautiful planet, a constant reminder of the devastation the world had suffered. However, where others saw scars and ruin Sabine instead saw work to be done. She wasn't just here to protect Lothal, she was here to rebuild it alongside its people. His people... her people now too.
Ezra hadn't left any idea of how long he'd be gone for or where he'd be going to and Sabine doubted he knew anyway. Not for a second did she doubt that'd he come home though; Ezra's final message made it clear that someday he'd see them all again. She trusted him to follow that promise through, more than she could trust anyone else in her life.
For now, she had to focus on the immediate future and what she was actually going to do with herself. She hadn't been on her own for so long that it felt almost like starting from scratch again. It was probably too early to lay out a plan right now, Lothal was still adjusting to freedom and likely would be for months to come, but in time it'd become clear what needed to be done. Kicking the Empire out was one thing, keeping them out was another. Defences would have to be built, militia forces trained, infrastructure repaired, emergency plans drawn up and so on and so forth. None of that was to mention all the other non-military tasks of housing, education, transport and more that the new government would have to sort out. Sabine smiled to herself a bit, sometimes it seemed like fighting a war was the easy part.
Thoughts of war drew her mind back to the sky and from there to Hera. She'd left almost a day ago and should be at Yavin base by now. It wasn't the first time Sabine had left the Ghost crew but this was probably the last and watching the freighter fly off into the atmosphere had torn at her heart in a way she couldn't have prepared for. It wasn't as if Hera, Chopper, Zeb and the Ghost were out of her life now - Sabine knew that the bond they'd all built wasn't going to change because they weren't around as much - but it only just started to sink in that the life she'd once known was well and truly over. Things wouldn't have been the same anyway, not without Kanan or Ezra. To not be able to hear Kanan and Hera's marriage-like bickering or to never again spend hours with Ezra just talking about life in whatever corner of the Ghost was quiet enough, it all persuaded her that staying on Lothal was the best choice, even without her duty to Ezra keeping her there.
"Deep in thought?", a voice interrupted from behind.
Sabine couldn't hide a jolt of surprise that caused her head to snap back and see Ryder Azadi, reinstated Governor of Lothal, emerging from the stairs to the rooftop.
The older man chuckled as he walked to her side, "Sorry, didn't mean to startle you."
"It's alright", the Mandalorian smiled, "How's the new job going?"
Ryder sighed with a shrug, "A hundred times more chaotic than I remember. So, about as expected really."
"You sound almost like you don't want it back."
Azadi grunted a laugh, "It's the good kind of tiring. Besides, the first time around everyone knew the Empire was closing in. All we could do was muscle them out of any interests they had on the planet and hope they didn't think we were worth the trouble to go after just yet. Now... I don't know."
Sabine raised an eyebrow at him, "You don't think the Empire will come back?"
"Maybe, maybe not. They stripped Lothal of almost everything they could, there's not much left here. Our loss for now, but it also means there's not much else here the Empire could want. Plus, with your Rebellion kicking up a fuss, the Emperor might not think we're worth the effort."
"That's surprisingly optimistic, especially from you", Sabine pondered a moment. Everything Ryder said was true, and with the destruction of the Temple the Emperor had also lost his own personal interest in the planet. Maybe an independent Lothal wasn't so far-fetched after all.
Ryder cleared his throat, "But that doesn't mean we aren't going to prepare as best we can and that's why I came to find you. How'd you feel about being the Head Training Officer of the Lothal Defence Force?"
That had caught her by surprise. She knew she'd have some role in the new military, maybe a weapons officer or at most a squad leader, but to be in charge of the training for a planet-wide defence force?
She took a few seconds before choosing her answer, "Why me? You could have asked anyone with more knowledge of Lothal or someone who has official military experience. Wouldn't someone like that be a better fit?"
The Governor looked right at her "I don't need just anyone with fighting experience, I need someone with experience fighting the Empire. Someone who knows their tactics and equipment. No one in this sector of the galaxy knows how to fight the Empire better than you."
Sabine considered it for a while longer. She'd handled the responsibility of the darksaber before, a leadership position far more dangerous than this. She was going to be on Lothal anyway and Ryder was probably right in saying that she knew how to fight the Empire more than anyone here. On second thought, it made far more sense than she'd first realised.
"Alright", she shrugged, "I'll do it."
"Thank you, Sabine. I'm glad to hear that. It's not like we'll be starting this tomorrow, there's work to be done first, but when the time is right I'm glad to know you'll help us out", Ryder looked back out over the plains with renewed optimism. "Having you will be good for the troops too. Nothing will whip them into shape like a strict, no-nonsense Mandalorian warrior."
Sabine scoffed at him with smile, "Strict? No-nonsense? Come on Ryder, you know me better than that."
"Oh, I do", he grinned, "But the recruits won't."
The Mandalorian shook her head with amusement and joined Ryder in enjoying the view. Head Training Officer of the Lothal Defence Force. Both of those titles could use some work, but they both represented a future for Lothal and a future for her. If she could use her experience to protect this planet then she'd do it in any way she could. It's the least she could do for her own sake as much as Ezra's.
"There is one other thing", Ryder began after a long silence, "Some of the local leaders and I want something to remember those who gave us our freedom."
Her head tilted to look over at him, her interest piqued. "What kind of something?"
"A memorial for Kanan. We were thinking maybe the fuel processing plant; the area has to be used for something and I can't think of anything more fitting for it." Sabine didn't answer him, the memory of Kanan was still raw and fresh right now. After a few seconds, Ryder continued, "We'd thought we'd ask you and also for you to run it by General Syndulla too. We don't want to do anything that upsets someone."
Sabine swallowed hard, "I think it's a nice idea. I'll ask Hera as soon as I can but I'm sure she'd like it too."
Ryder nodded, "Okay, we'll see what we can do."
She turned away from him, the sudden shift in the conversation still throwing her off a bit. It was strange to think of Kanan in this way, he was a father to her for so long and now... now he was already being talked of like a memory. Still, the Governor didn't settle and Sabine could tell there was something else.
After a minute or so, she was proved right. "It's not just Kanan...", Ryder started, "We also want something as a memorial for-"
"He's not dead, Ryder", Sabine cut him off.
Ryder opened his mouth as if to say something but wisely chose to keep quiet. She wasn't under any illusions about how this looked to anyone else. But no one else knew Ezra, not like she did, and something inside told her he was out there somewhere waiting until he'd be back at her side. It was bad enough to be thinking about Kanan's death and she didn't want to wake up every day to something that even suggested Ezra was gone too.
Looking back at him again, she sighed, "It's difficult to explain... I just know."
"I understand. Or rather I've given up trying to understand things like that", Ryder smiled sympathetically at her, "If you do think of anything we can do for him though, you let us know."
Sabine nodded silently, "Thanks, Ryder."
"Or for you", he continued, "We all know what it's like to lose people we love and we're all there if you need anything from us."
She smiled to herself at that, it was too easy to lose sight of the fact that she'd already helped these people so much. She still felt Ezra and Kanan did more than she ever did, but it warmed her heart to be reminded that people were grateful to her too. Freeing Lothal had been a team effort for all these years, a team effort she was no small part of. Not that she particularly wanted to take much credit, if anything the less public attention the better, but having a bit of pride in what she'd achieved might help lessen the blow of what she'd lost.
"I appreciate that", Sabine replied. "But I doubt I'll be scrambling for a memorial any time soon", she chuckled.
"Well if you change your mind, I'll get things organised", Ryder laughed as he turned back out towards the horizon. "It's getting late, I'd better get back."
"I'd better get down to bed too", Sabine said, looking down to the rooftop beneath her feet. Ryder had been kind enough to give her a house to use for however long she needed, a house she hoped Ryder was prepared to get back under a few coats of paint.
Ryder turned to leave with a warm smile and a nod, walking back towards the stairs off the roof. As he went, Sabine again looked up to the ever-darkening horizon around her. Despite all the destruction and all the painful memories, she knew the planet would pull through and she'd be along for the ride. As she cast a long gaze from east to west, taking in as many details of her new home as possible, a thin but towering speck on a faraway hill caught her eye. A speck that was very familiar. At once, she knew exactly what it was, and not a second passed before a new idea formed in her head.
"Hey Ryder", she called to him just before he disappeared from view, "There might be one thing you could help with."
I hope people enjoyed this so far and I'd happily welcome any feedback be it positive or negative. I've never done something like this before and I'm eager for people to help me improve it.
I'll say a little something about each section here. Hera's return to Yavin is mainly there to explore Hera's feelings after the finale and to establish her friendship with Leia. I won't explore it too much, that's already seen in a few comics already, but it will be relevant at one or two points in the story going forward. Ezra's section is my first time writing a real action scene and any feedback on it will be appreciated. I didn't want him to stay with Thrawn like in every other story and their separation is essential for their futures. Thrawn was a challenge to write, particularly from his perspective so to speak (without Vanto or Pellaeon as an observer). I wanted his section to explore the different ways that he, Pellaeon, Sarlis and the others reacted to failure and confusion. That little paragraph from the beginning of his section is an idea ripped straight from Thrawn and I found it quite useful in clarifying what I wanted to do with his section. As for Sabine, I just wanted to explain her thoughts on Lothal and her future plans there. If you didn't guess from the character tags, genre tags or my writing history, then I'll give fair warning of some Ezrabine in this story. It's not the entire plot or anything but it's there and does get some focus throughout.
One other thing, Sarlis is indeed an OC but rest assured there won't be too many of them. A new one will be introduced next chapter but other than that we'll mainly be focused on established characters. They'll be tame too and not Starkiller-esque demigods or evil genius masterminds.
Chapter 2 is sitting in the wings waiting for some final editing and will hopefully be added soon. I'm not going to commit to any schedule for publishing, all I'll say is that I'm inspired to write in a way I haven't been for a long while and I'm hoping I can make good use of it. As for my existing story 'Heart's Day', it'll come at some point. I just don't have the drive for it right now and I can't force it either. I apologise for that, it bothers me that I'm leaving it on ice but it is what it is.
Lastly, a huge shout out to WestwardGlance for proof-reading all of this and being an indispensable source of advice and/or grammar lessons for me. I'm not sure there's anyone here who hasn't read his stuff yet but if somehow you haven't then you don't know what you're missing.
Anyway, in the next chapter and the second part of the prologue: Ezra emerges from hyperspace, Hera makes a discovery, Sabine gets some news and Thrawn answers to the Emperor.
P.S - I hope the size of the author's notes didn't scare you all off, they're long even by my standards. This one just had to cover a lot, you won't have a wall of text to read in the future, I promise.
