Chapter 1
Everyone on the Ghost had turned in for some rest, and Ezra stood in the dim hallway.
"Hey Kanan?" Ezra said, leaning towards his master's door. He rubbed his arm absently as he waited, and glanced up the hallway at the empty cockpit. The Ghost's standby systems blinked and faintly hummed, the only thing keeping it from looking completely dead. Through the cockpit window a night breeze washed through the massive trees that loomed over the craft. The boy shivered despite his layered jumpsuit. Something about this planet had made him feel uneasy. Ezra had managed to get a few hours before he had woken up in a panic, his breathing fast and shallow.
From the back of the ship a whirling noise wheezed out of Chopper. Ezra rolled his eyes. Even when the little bot was recharging he still sounded upset. With a shrug he looked back at Kanan's door and wondered how long to wait. He leaned in toward the door, nervous enough to hazard a knock this time. "Hey, Kana-"
Ezra stiffened as the door slid open, and looked up sheepishly. Kanan groggily swayed and squinted his eyes. He looked down at the boy. Ezra wasn't sure if the scowl was intentional or not.
"Ezra? What is it?" Kanan said, a little worry drifted under his voice.
"I would have waited if I could but I need to know something." Ezra said, arms close at his side. "I uh...is it possible for the Inquisitor track us through the force?" Ezra said.
"What?" Kanan said, trying to hold back more confusion from his voice. Ezra avoided looking at Kanan and fidgeted in the hall. When Ezra did briefly meet his mentor's gaze Kanan saw genuine concern behind the embarrassment. The boy's worry was enough to grab Kanan's attention.
"Its...its not that easy." Kanan paused to focus his mind and finish waking up. He walked back from the door and waved Ezra in. The boy followed tentatively behind him. "That kind of precision usually takes both sides opening up to each other. So unless we go inviting him, the Inquisitor wont be able to find us that easily." Sitting on his bunk, Kanan watched Ezra relax, but noticed not completely. There was definitely something else the boy wasn't mentioning.
"That's...that's good to know!" Ezra said. "I uh, I'll let you get back to sleep then. Sorry to wake you up just for that." Kanan's eyes narrowed as Ezra slowly side stepped towards the door. The boy froze when the door slide shut with the wave of Kanan's hand.
"Sit." He said softly.
Ezra plopped down onto Kanan's meditation chair and tried not to show how uncomfortable it felt. Kanan crossed his arms, "There's more, isn't there?" Ezra's shoulders curled timidly. The older Jedi gave a cocky grin "If I get up this early, I want a full story." Ezra watched his mentor uncross his arms and rest his elbow on his knee. Ezra wondered how Kanan could have so many intimidating poses.
Leaning forward, Kanan waited for Ezra, watching calmly as the boy collected his thoughts. Kanan felt the boy's tension and did what he could to steady him through the force.
"This is kind of...look I don't-" Ezra paused and looked at the backs of his hands. "I keep having these dreams." Ezra closed his hands and looked up expecting to see doubt, but Kanan's face remained focused. "The Inquisitor finds us. The two of us. In the dream I mean. Each time he shows up you...you don't stop him. I watch him kill you, and then he turns on me and I wake up." Ezra quickly said, "Look I'm not a little kid Kanan, I'm use to bad dreams, but these feel different. It feels like he's really here. I've been worried he might actually..." Ezra trailed off and realized he had been rubbing his arm. He felt a slight nudge from Kanan, a warm influence through the force, and looked down, embarrassed by the support. Raising his head back up, Ezra watched his mentor as he tried to push the embarrassment away.
"You've been worried he might actually be connecting with you through your dreams?" Kanan finished Ezra's last statement. Ezra nodded and slouched against the wall, his hands limp in his lap. "How long have you been having the dream?" Kanan asked.
"Just the last few days." Ezra exhaled. "I haven't really gotten much sleep since we got here." Kanan watched his tired young apprentice, seeing just how exhausted he was now that he's guard had been lowered. It was usually a struggle to get Ezra to open up like this, and Kanan was glad to see it.
The older Jedi placed a hand on Ezra's mop of hair and said, "Well I can promise you the Inquisitor can't find you unless you let him, so you don't have to worry about that anymore." Ezra inhaled slowly, and while still exhausted, looked more at peace. He nodded at Kanan and gave a weak, but sincere smile. Kanan ruffled the boy's hair and smirked, "But what's this about me always dying in your dream? I mean, I'm not that bad in a fight, am I?" Ezra looked up at Kanan's mopping expression and let a tired chuckle escape.
"Well if you call the running away we always do a fight, then you're pretty alright I guess." Kanan momentarily seemed genuinely hurt before giving way to an angry smile.
"It takes one to know one, so I guess I'll take the complement." Kanan said with a chuckle.
Ezra grinned slightly and then felt the full lack of sleep catch up with him. He didn't even try to hide the yawn.
"Alright, you better get some rest kid." the older Jedi said. Reaching down he slid his hands under Ezra's arms and picked his padawan up, setting him on his feet. Too tired, Ezra didn't even complain about the help. Kanan kept a hand on Ezra's shoulder as he walked him across the hallway. The older Jedi knelt in front of Ezra. He inhaled slowly and said, "If the dream happens again, I want you reach out for me. Ignore the dream and find the real me, through the force." Ezra nodded a little uncertainly.
"Thanks Kanan." Ezra said. The older Jedi squeezed Ezra's shoulder and stood up, opening the door to the boy's bunk. They both tensed and looked at Zeb as the door sketched a little. After a few moments they both exhaled.
"Get some sleep kiddo." Kanan said and watched Ezra gingerly climb into his bunk above Zeb. The old Lasat might sleep like the dead, strangely silent for such a massive person. Once Ezra was settled, Kanan shut the door and returned to his cabin.
Closing his door, Kanan prepared his mind for meditation. He was concerned by Ezra's dream, and wondered if the boy was strong enough already to be getting premonitions. Taking deep breaths, the Jedi began opening himself to the force, connecting with it and expanding himself through it. He felt the sleeping crew around him, and the bond between himself and Ezra. Sensing the young padawan was resting soundly, Kanan traveled deeper, finding a place in the force were he could focus. Calmly, he searched the flow around him, looking to catch glimpses of the future. If Ezra's dreams were a warning of things to come, Kanan hoped he'd find at least a hint of what to watch out for. As he dwelt on what his padawan had said, the memory of losing his own master returned. Kanan stiffened slightly at the thought, but allowed it to move through him and guide him.
Suddenly Kanan felt a presence outside his meditation, far away but somewhere on the planet. It was drawn to him, almost magnetically, and connected with him. Before he could gather more about the presence Kanan was thrown into in a vivid dream. He was a padawan again, and watched helpless as his master was murdered. He felt through their bond his last moment, the flash of concern and dread for his padawan, and the fresh wound of the bond breaking as his master went still. Kanan withdrew quickly, recoiling as he returned to his cabin and gasped in a few quick gulps of air as he remembered were he was. Frantically calming himself, he felt a small hitch as the memories faded back into the dimness. "What the hell...was that..." He whispered.