A.N. This is the fourth in the Never Alone series.
Story order: Never Alone, Renewal, Visions, Carbon
You can skip from Never Alone to Carbon if you want, but Renewal and Visions will explain 10 months' progress that altered Kanan and Ezra's perspectives, and how Darth Vader influenced the rebels from afar...
- 10 months after Never Alone
Cold.
Kanan.
Where...?
Thoughts so disjointed he didn't know what he was saying. Kanan…
Cold. Just on the edges of his mind, past the sluggish pulses that reminded him he was alive.
Trapped... What was movement? His body didn't care. Easier just to sleep… just to…
Kanan. He needed his master's help. He couldn't remember why.
Cold. Better to slip inside and forget it. Faintly Ezra panicked, wondering why he couldn't move.
Ka…..
One slipup.
One tinny cadet voice that he would never forget.
The kid wasn't even anticipating a trap.
Then again, Kallus wasn't expecting to blunder into him while chasing down a Loth-cat. A Loth-cat that had stolen his ID chips, to be precise. Trapped in the Imperial academy, with the title "agent" as his ambition once more, pathetic twits under his tutelage; it was sheer luck that someone decided to play undercover stormtrooper.
Bad luck for the kid, he was travelling alone.
No Lasat in sight. No Jedi Master (which would have been highly favorable). The only accompaniment was an unremarkable female, who was most likely a real cadet whom the boy had befriended. (Her academic scores were impressive enough to indicate several years of study.)
Hence, one scared Loth-rat and a slam to the temple later, and Skywalker was insensible, wadded into a cargo pod like an ordinary blaster shipment. A shipment to be transferred under Commander Kallus' orders.
The Emperor would be pleased.
Kallus saluted casually as he strutted past the academy students. A new fifth level cadet fingered her helmet as he approached. Pausing, Kallus recalled how she had spoken with Skywalker earlier.
He eyed her keenly, then shrugged his suspicions away. If the cadet had any concerns for her friend, there was no evidence to incite suspicion. She mentioned briefly to an officer that "Cadet Jahba" had not been seen since the morning meal, and the officer warned her that persistent breaching of the rules often resulted in a day spent in the isolation decks. The cadet was experienced enough to know the implications. A nod, a salute, a flicker of anxiety in her otherwise stoic expression, and she continued to her classes.
Pity she wasn't that Mandalorian girl. Two prizes would have earned Kallus considerable merit.
For now, he had what the Emperor wanted.
Tighter security measures, an open trap, a wayward Jedi, and soon Kallus' promotion and more would be returned. There would be no mistakes this time. Kanan Jarrus would goad the rebellion no longer.
If Kallus failed, he still had the padawan.