Ezra and Sabine were in their small ship, with Sabine as the pilot. She brought them closer and closer to the Tatooine atmosphere.
Why are we landing here again?" Sabine rolled her eyes and pointed to the fuel gauge. "Because of that, genius.
Oh, right." There was an awkward silence. "So... how do you think the others are doing?"
"They're doing fine, and we're doing fine. Let's just get this fuel, so we can get to Yavin 4 as quick as we can." Sabine answered quickly.
"After a small pause, Ezra spoke. "What's so important on Yavin anyway?" Ezra asked, curious. He knew there was something there, but the rest of the crew wouldn't tell him. Suddenly, Sabine's eyes widened. "Now's not the time!"
"What? You guys never tell me anything! Can't you just trust me-"
"I said shut up!"
"But-"
"Look at the radar for a second, will you? I've got better things to worry about right now!"
Ezra looked at the radar, seeing about six TIEs on them. Alarmed, he quickly looked"How long have they been on us?"
"I don't know, I didn't notice them untill they starting shooting at us! Watching the radar was supposed to be your job!" Sabine yelled as she flew, dodging their blasts. Her flying was crude, but it kept them alive.
"Sabine, I hope you know what you're doing!"
"I'm fine, I'm fine, I've got this under contro-" A TIE Fighter got lucky. Unfortunately for Sabine and Ezra, dangerously lucky.
Sabine was frusturated. "This was the last thing I needed!" she said. She turned to Ezra, a hint of anger still gleaming in her eyes. "Alright, there are two one-person pods." She began to stand up and make her way to the back of the ship. Ezra quickly followed. "We'll meet up at Mos Eisley." She began to climb into a pod.
"What's Mos Eisley?"
"The most dangerous city on this dust bowl- if you can even call it that." She said, closing the door on her pod and launching off."
Frustrated, Ezra kicked the wall. He had no idea where Mos Eisley was. Suddenly, a jolt in the ship and a flashing red light accompanied by a loud beeping reminded him of what he had to do. He quickly climbed in his pod and launched off.
His landing was rough, far from any smoothness he could have hoped of. His pod slid over the sand dunes, fling him up in the air and hitting the ground with a thud. He slowly climbed out of his pod, rubbing his head. "Ow..."
"He put a hand over his eyes, shielding them from the desert planet's two suns. He saw something in the distance. It looked like... like a house of some sort. A smooth round roof, buried in the sand. As he began walking toward it, he realized that it was closer than he thought. He began to approach it slowly. He thought it was empty, untill he heard faint voices coming from the inside.
"What actually happened to my master, Master Kenobi?" Ezra peeked inside the window. A Togruta and an older man were inside, sitting at a table and eating.. The Togruta looked about Kanan's age, and the old man reminded Ezra of the man on the Holocron. Actually, even the name Kenobi sounded familiar...
"Ahsoka, we've talked about this before. He was on Christophis, when the… command was given to his clones. They- they shot him."
"Master, I respect what you say," the Togruta replied. "But I can sense that you're lying. Tell me the truth."
You're not going to like it."
"I don't care, Master Kenobi. No matter what happened, I want to know."
"Are you su-"
"Tell me!"/p
The old man sighed. "A Jedi that I don't know the name of turned to the Dark Side, becoming the Darth Vader you now know. Your master was one of the few bold enough to face him. I'm sure he put up a fight. But it wasn't enough."
The Togruta swallowed. "Thank you." The two ate in silence for a little bit. A silence Ezra couldn't resist breaking. "So... who was your master?"
They both stood up, shocked. The Togruta drew a green lightsaber and pointed it at him. "Who... who are you?"
Ezra slowly lifted his hands. "Put the laser sword down, please." The Togruta only shoved it closer to him. "It's called a lightsaber, and answer my question first. Who are you?"
Ezra gulped. "Please, just put it down."
"Who are you!?" The Togruta yelled, anger still boiling.
"Ahsoka!" the old man said. "Put it down!" The Togruta hesitantely put the lightsaber away. She was still obviously angry. "Now answer my question!"
Ezra slipped into the window, landing on his feet. He didn't know these people, but he bowed just in case. "I am Ezra Bridger of Lothal, and I come in peace. My ship was shot down by some TIEs and I am supposed to meet my friend in Mos Eisley."
The Togruta and the old man looked at each other, seeming to have a wordless conversation before laughing a little bit. "Oh no." Ezra thought. "Did I do something wrong?"
They turned to him. The Togruta spoke first. "I am Ahsoka Tano, and this Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. You have no reason to bow. And you said something about getting to Mos Eisley?"
"Obi-Wan Kenobi!" Ezra thought. T"he man on the Holocron!" Ezra thought about saying something, but he thought better of it.
"Actually, yes. My friend and I took seperate escape pods, and we're supposed to meet up in Mos Eisley. Problem is, I have no clue where Mos Eisley is."
"Well, you're in luck." Obi-Wan said. "Because it just so happens that Mos Eisley is fairly close to here."
p"Oh, okay... but can you help me get there? All of these sand dunes just kind of look the same.
"Of course!" Obi-Wan answered, chuckling a bit. "Ahsoka will accompany you in our speeder." Ahsoka seemed a little shocked by this, but quickly returned her cool. "I would be happy to. Ezra- I need to speak to Obi-Wan for a minute, if you could go outside and prepare the speeder as much as you could."
Ezra was confused, but he wasn't going to ruin his chance to get to Mos Eisley. "Of course."
Ahsoka shut the door. "With all due respect, you know that the Imperials are everywhere. I'll be killed!"
"Obi-Wan sighed. "Ahsoka, you'll be fine. Just stay with him until he meets his friend, then come back." He handed her one of his old comlinks from the war. "Use this if you have any trouble."
"You kept these?" She asked, putting it on.
Kenobi pointed at her clothes. "You kept your clothing style."
Ahsoka couldn't help but smile a bit. "True, true." she said, as she walked out the door, her now long montrals swinging ever so slightly.. Just as she was about to press the button to open it, Kenobi spoke. "And Ahsoka-"
"Yes?"
"Stay safe."
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;" She smiled. "I'll try, but you know trouble seems to have a way of finding me."
Ezra had been trying to pull the speeder out of the little garage sort of thing it was in. Frusturated, he remembered what Kanan had taught him. He focused on the speeder, and it moved out of the garage. When it was finally in the proper place, he smiled, proud of his work.
Ahsoka walked towards him. "Nice job," she said. "I didn't know you were a Jedi." Startled, Ezra turned red, embarrassed. "I- I- I'm just being trained by my- uh, friend."
"Really? Who is this friend of yours? I might know them."
"Kanan. Kanan Jarrus."
"Kanan…" Ahsoka said, thinking. "Odd. I don't remember a Kanan. Was he a Jedi during the Clone Wars?"
"I think so."
"Hmm..."
Ezra could see she was lost in her thoughts. "Um… Miss Tano? We should probably get going."
Ahsoka snapped back into reality. "What? Oh, of course. Right." Ezra and Ahsoka both quickly slid into the pod, speeding towards Mos Eisley. Ahsoka had some questions for Ezra.
"Ezra, correct?"
"Yes."
"I'd hate to be... intrusive... but why exactly was your ship shot down by TIEs?"
"Well, you see, um… Ahsoka, my friend and I are part of a… group, you could say… that, uh, may or may not be fighting against the Empire."
"So we both are being hunted by Imperials." Ahsoka said./p
"You're being hunted?"
"I was a Jedi during the Clone Wars. Well, for most of them. Now, they're hunting all people who can use the Force."
Ezra didn't know what she meant by "most of them," but he didn't press that matter. "Kanan was talking about the Clone Wars once. I don't remember them."
"I don't think you were born. But yes, this "Kanan" would most definitely remember them. They were hard for all of us."
They rode in silence for a few minutes, when finally Ezra spoke. "I heard what happened to your master. I'm sorry."
Ahsoka paused for a minute before answering. "Thank you," she said, blinking back the tears brimming in her eyes.
Ezra knew it was a matter he shouldn't press, but his curiosity got the best of him. "Ahsoka," he said quietly. "Who was your master?"
Ahsoka sat quietly for a moment before answering. "Anakin Skywalker. He was my master, and I know that he didn't go down without a fight."
Ezra suddenly remembered a conversation with a Kanan.
Kanan looked at Ezra seriously, his blue eyes piercing him. "Ezra, are you sure you want to know?"
"Yes."
"A Jedi named Anakin Skywalker turned to the Dark Side. He ordered the clone troopers to kill the Jedi, he killed all of the Jedi. All of the padawans. Even the younglings. He is the Darth Vader you know today. He must be stopped, Ezra."
"Ezra?" Ahsoka said, snapping him back into the present. "Are you okay?
"What? Oh, yes, of course, I'm fine."
"You know something I don't, don't you?"
"What makes you say that?"
"I can sense it. It's something about my master, isn't it?"
"Ahsoka, you're not going to like this."
"I can handle it.''
"Ahsoka- do you know who Darth Vader is?"
"Who doesn't nowadays?"
"Well- he's your master."
"Ezra, that's not funny."
"No, I'm serious! Your master turned to the Dark Side. Darth Vader is your master!"
Ahsoka stopped the speeder, lurching Ezra and herself forward."No, that's not true!" She was reassuring herself now more than Ezra. "Obi-Wan told me he was killed!"
"Ahsoka, I think he wanted to protect you."
"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. I can ask him! I'll ask him right now!" She rose the com link and began to speak into it. "Obi-Wan, is it true that Anakin turned to the Dark Side?"
" "Where did you hear this?"
She looked at Ezra. "It doesn't matter. Is it true?"
Obi-Wan sighed into the com link. "Unfortunately Ahsoka, yes. I shouldn't have lied. I just-"
"It's fine. Thank you."
"I'm sorry Ahsoka."
"Let's not continue that conversation," Ahsoka said tightly. "Who's your friend?"
"Sabine Wren. Also a rebel."
"I figured that much."
They rode in silence for more time, until someone broke the silence again. This time, it was Ahsoka.
"How do I join these rebels?
"I'm sure they'd let you join our crew."
"Great. Because if anyone is going to deal with Skyguy, it's going to be me."
Ezra suddenly noticed some structures in the distance. "What's that?"
"Our destination."
pAs they grew closer and closer, a disgusting smell tickled Ezra's nose. "What's that?!"
"Jawas," Ahsoka answered. "The smelliest creatures you will ever meet."
They finally reached Mos Eisley, but there was an Imperial checkpoint."
They pulled up to where several Sandtroopers were standing. "Show us your IDs."
Ezra was unprepared for this. Luckily, Ahsoka was.
She waved her hand. "You don't need our IDs."
"I- don't need your IDs."
"We may move along."
"You may move along."
They kept going. Ezra turned to Ahsoka. "How did you do that?"
"Just an old trick, one I suppose Kanan hasn't taught you yet."
"Nope."
They were speeding around the city, until finally they parked in the lot of a cantina with a no droids allowed sign on the front.
Ezra and Ahsoka walked around for a bit until he saw Sabine's signature Mandalorian armor. "There!" he said.
"Are you sure?"
"I'd know that armor anywhere!"
They ran towards the figure, and sure enough, there was Sabine.
"Sabine!" Ezra said, excited.
"Hey kid." Sabine said. "Who's your friend?" she said, motioning towards Ahsoka.
"I'm Ahsoka Tano, and you must be Sabine Wren."
"You told her who I was?"
"She's a Jedi, and she wants to join us against the Imperials.
"Great, we could always use more help." Sabine said, still eyeing Ahsoka suspiciously.
Ahsoka walked a couple steps. "I'll be right back, I just need to contact someone." She quickly darted into another alleyway.
Sabine and Ezra began speaking in hushed voices. "So what else do you know about Miss Tano?"
"Her old Jedi Master was Anakin Skywalker."
"Isn't he the one Kanan said-"
"Yeah, she… she just found out."
Ahsoka came back around around the corner. "Okay, I just told Master Kenobi I was joining you guys. So what's your plan now? How are we getting off this rock without the bucket heads noticing?"
"I think you and I are going to get along great. Anyway, the Ghost is coming to pick us up as soon as they can get here."
"The Ghost?"
"Our ship and crew."
"Alright then."
Suddenly, Sabine gasped. "I just realized something." She said, putting her helmet on. "I haven't made my mark on this city yet." Sabine puled out one of her pistols and her sprayer and ran off.
Ahsoka turned to Ezra. "What exactly does she mean by, 'making her mark?' "
Ezra shrugged. "Just follow her. You'll find out soon enough." They both ran after her. They finally found her, spray painting a symbol on the side of a building. A couple of Imperials noticed her just as Ezra and Ahsoka got there.
"Hey you! Stand down!"
Sabine looked at them. "Why? I'm just doing some artwork for the city! This place definitely needs some color."
"Well, your 'art' is an act of treason. Now put your hands up!"
"Is 'no' and okay answer?" Sabine asked innocently.
The stormtroopers began firing. Ezra, Sabine and Ahsoka all ran and took cover behind some boxes. Sabine took her blasters and began firing back. Ezra and Ahsoka looked at each other and nodded. Ahsoka jumped over the boxes, and pulled out her lightsabers. Ezra pulled back on his slingshot and began firing at the troopers.
Ahsoka's two green lightsabers had been unused for a while, and it felt good to finally take them out again. She began blocking the blasts, making it easier for Sabine to fire at them. They soon had subdued the troopers, when Sabine picked up a message. Kanan's voice projected from her comlink. "This is Specter 1 to Specter 5. We have landed in Docking Bay 94. We are holding off some troopers. Get here as fast as you can."
"Great. I've got Ezra here, and we brought another friend too."
Kanan's sigh was loud on the com link. "I don't like the sound of that. Just hurry up!"
Ezra spotted some more troopers running towards them from behind. "Guys?"
Ahsoka thought for a second. "I know where Bay 94 is. I can take you there."
"Great," said Sabine. "Let's go."
They finally reached Docking Bay 94, and sure enough, the crew of the Ghost was holding off some troopers. While coming in, they dealt with all of them, except for one who seemed to be their captain.
"Ahsoka!" Sabine said. "You have the last one?"
"Yeah, don't worry about it!"
While she was talking, the trooper kicked Ahsoka's lightsabers out of her hand. The rest of the crew didn't see, as they were already on the ship, making lift off preparations. Ahsoka kicked him, using his chest as a platform to backflip off of, sliding on the ground and picking up her lightsabers. While she flipped, she kicked his helmet off.
He lifted his blaster up to shoot her, but she cut it in half. She kicked him in the chest, knocking him down. She jumped and landed on him, her knee on her chest. She pointed her lightsaber at him, ready for the kill, when she looked at his face.
A horrible mistake.
She suddenly realized who it was. "Rex…" she whispered.
He tried to escape her hold, but it was a lost cause.
Sabine poked her head out of the ship. "Ahsoka, hurry up!"
Ahsoka put her lightsabers away. The trooper was confused. It was obvious that he didn't remember anything. The Empire had reduced them down to just numbers. Expendable soldiers with no value. She knew she was supposed to kill him. But she couldn't. She raised her fist. "I'm sorry…" she said. She punched him with all her might, knocking him out.
"Ahsoka!" Sabine yelled.
Ahsoka ran towards the ship, reaching it. "Sorry." she said.
They walked into the ship as the door closed behind them. Ahsoka sat down next to Ezra, who began talking to her. "What took you so long?"
Ahsoka sighed. "Nothing." she answered.
Sabine sat down too. "No, seriously, what happened? You just kind of, froze up."
"I'm sorry." Ahsoka replied. "I don't know what happened either."
Kanan opened the door from the cockpit. "Hey guys-" He looked at Ahsoka and gasped. "Ahsoka?"
Ahsoka looked at Kanan. "Caleb?"/p
"Master, did she just call you... Caleb?"
Kanan sighed. "Yes. I- I was born Caleb Dume. I changed my name to Kanan Jarus when I went into hiding."/p
Ahsoka looked him up and down. "Well then, Kanan." Ahsoka said. "How'd you escape?"
Kanan stared at her in disbelief, as if she had just appeared out of thin air. "You're alive?"
Ahsoka looked herself up and down. "Well, I don't know," Ahsoka said. "I think so."
Kanan smiled slightly. "Your attitude remains the same."
"I'd say the same for you."
He looked at her long montrals. "You look- older."
"Well maybe I am-" she said, mocking his pause. "Older. And so are you."
There was an awkward silence before Sabine spoke. "So where'd you two meet up?"
Kanan looked at Sabine. "We were younglings in the same class at the Jedi Temple. But Sabine, I have a question for you."
Sabine leaned against the wall. "And that would be-"
]"What were you guys talking about before I got here?"
"Oh- well she kind of froze up before killing an Imperial today. I was just asking her why."
Kanan looked at Ahsoka, raising one eyebrow.
"Caleb, I mean Kanan, can I talk to you for a second? Alone?" Ahsoka said quickly. Kanan walked into a room, Ahsoka following closely behind. They closed the door behind them. "I-" Ahsoka began, but Kanan interrupted her./p
"You're not one to freeze up before killing an enemy. What happened?"
"Cal- Kanan, it was a clone."
"Which one?"
"Rex. Captain Rex.
"Captain Rex, right. 501st Legion "
"Yes, my- my master's legion."/
"You know that your master is-"
"Yes, Kanan, I know." Ahsoka said curtly, folding her arms.
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;" "Ahsoka, I'm sorry, but if you are going to help us, you are going to have to do what you have to do. It was hard for me too. But you have to get over it. These aren't the same soldiers we fought with. These are different men. Different people. These are empty shells. Do you understand?"/p
"But-"
"Do you understand!?"
Ahsoka sighed. "Yes." It felt odd for her to answer to him, like he was her master. They were about the same age, she was even a couple years older than him. She began to slowly walk out the door.
"Ahsoka, one more thing."
"What?"
"If we would ever be battling Vader, would you be able to-"
"Yes, Kanan. I would."
"I'll try not to force it on you, but-"
"I know, it must be done. I'll- I'll do what I have to."
Kanan offered her a weak smile. "Good."
