Chapter 1

Ezra had missed the stink of the city; the noxious belches of speeder exhaust, the various vendors' produce wafting into the air of the market, the average odors of grime and unkempt alleys. And of course the hot, sweaty smell of crowds of people. It wasn't so much that the smell was what he missed, but rather what it meant. For cities meant many people. And many people meant fat slobs with thick wallets, practically begging to be pickpocketed.

It was so hard to restrain himself; if Kanan knew he had been stealing, never mind if Hera found out, he'd be scrubbing out the ventilation ducts of the Ghost for a month. And Zeb would not let a minute go by without poking fun at him.

"Kriffing Lasat," Ezra muttered under his breath as he hefted the crate of supplies onto his shoulder. He smiled at the fact he was able to do so. The four years he had spent with the crew of the Ghost, he had grown into his seventeen years rather well. While always agile and lithe, his training had added on a layer of muscle not overly pronounced but still chiseled and hard. He had also put on height, finally taller than Sabine yet still not quite at Kanan's level. The twin scars on his cheek were worn proudly as badge of honor.

The changes had not stopped at his body. His wardrobe had also been updated. Gone were the orange and yellow, replaced instead with navy pants and a dark jacket. The blaster at his hip completed the smuggler look he was going for, and hidden in his jacket was his lightsaber, ready at a moment's notice to slice through Imperial troopers.

His errands complete, Ezra turned to return to the Ghost, weaving in and out of the people bustling about the bazaar. So many people jostled him, so many opportunities to slip the credits out of someone's pocket. He ground his teeth in frustration.

Walking the straight and narrow was just not fun at times. He missed the rush that came with scoring a target and counting out his daily haul. Not to say that he would ever leave the crew. They were the only family he had now since he learned of the death of his parents. Kanan and Hera were as loving as any mother and father could be. Zeb, while annoying to no end, filled the role of big brother and kept his life interesting while not fighting stormtroopers. Chopper was, the pet maybe? It was unclear Chopper's role in the family. And Sabine…Ezra wasn't sure what Sabine was. She wasn't really a sister and she was undoubtedly more than a friend. So what did that make her?

Something glinted in his peripheral vision, pulling him from his musings. His thieving curiosity finally won out and he followed the shimmer. He found himself at a jeweler's stall and his eyes grew wide at the trinket that had caught his attention.

The amulet wasn't bulky or gaudy or encrusted with precious stones. Rather, it was incredibly simple in design, just an oval-shaped pendant of a polished, gunmetal grey color. What caught his interest was the script. It was written in Mandalorian. Sabine had taught him some words over the years and he had at best a rudimentary understanding of the language. He couldn't read this though, although he recognized the words "together" and "warriors".

"Look kid, you gonna buy something or just stand there staring until your eyes dry out?" the Devaronian vendor asked of him. He had golden rings around his horns and a gold tooth in his dissatisfied sneer.

"Do you know what this says?" Ezra asked, slightly perturbed.

The vendor shook his head. "Not a clue. Got it off an off-world merchant. Said he took it off a dead Mando. Doubtful. No Mando's gonna let you raid its corpse." Ezra nodded. As if Sabine would ever let anyone touch her paints or blasters, even in death. No doubt she had them rigged to explode if they were tampered with.

"How much you asking for it?" Ezra asked with interest.

"Seventy-five credits. Not a cent less."

Ezra's wallet cringed. Money was still tight despite their time with Rebellion. Most of the funds went towards supplies, fuel and repairs to the Ghost. And it wasn't as though Ezra got a monthly allowance.

"I can give you fifty for it," Ezra countered. He wouldn't be able to get those jogun fruits he had been thinking of but for some reason, his stomach had been silenced.

"Seventy-five kid," the vendor snorted. "Can't pay for it, then beat it. I got paying customers to deal with."

Ezra ground his teeth in annoyance. Stormtroopers firing at his head he could handle. Inquisitors trying to separate his head from his shoulders did nothing to irritate him. But impolite vendors? They just managed to rub him then wrong way.

A thought came to mind that curved the corners of his mouth into a devious grin.

He tapped into Force and waved his fingers. "You will give the necklace to me for twenty-five credits."

The Devaronian raised an eyebrow. "What did you say to me kid?"

Ezra scowled and delved deeper into Force. "You will give the necklace to me for twenty-five credits," he repeated. The vendor was silent for several seconds.

"I will give the necklace to you for twenty-five credits," he answered, his words slurred and monotone.

…

Ezra chuckled as he pocketed the necklace. He was getter stronger in the Force, although the mind trick had always been more difficult for him to master. The last time he tried it he wound up pissing off a Black Sun operative and had a bounty on his head for weeks until Kanan had dealt with it. If Kanan knew he was using the Force for frivolous tendencies…he shivered at the thought.

Suddenly he felt a disturbance. It wasn't one of danger, not even warning. Rather, it seemed the Force was merely telling him to turn and look around.

Nothing seemed out of place. People ate away at their day, doing whatever their life demanded of them. Merchants sold, consumers bought, browsers looked but didn't touch and loiterers drifted around. But the Force had yet to be wrong. Something was definitely amiss.

Someone jarred into him and nearly knocked him down, hurrying away before he could say anything. It was girl barely younger than him, dressed in a unbuttoned red pilot's vest and fighter pants, complete with a chute harness buckled at her waist. Her boots were unlaced and appeared worn. Her hair was interesting; similar in length to Sabine's but the right side of her head was shaved, all the remaining hair falling over the left side of her face, and highlighted with purple streaks. She also had a strange mark tattooed on her right cheek, a black glyph that Ezra couldn't read.

He scowled at the back of her head, imagining it bursting into flames. Hefting the crate of supplies higher on his shoulder, he thrust his free hand back into his pocket.

His feet stopped as if magnetized when he found the pocket empty.

The crate on his shoulder fell to the ground forgotten as he pulled his pockets inside out, frantically looking for the amulet. Not in either of his pants pockets or his jacket's pockets. His heart pounded in his ears and his breath began to come quickly. Suddenly, his thief's mind added up the situation.

"Hey stop!" he turned and yelled after the girl, who was already hurrying away, the necklace chain dangling from her closed fist.

The already packed market only seemed to become more congested as Ezra pelted after her. She was speedy as a womp rat, weaving in and out through the crowded bazaar. She ducked under, spun around and leapt over stalls, carts and people, demonstrating an uncanny acrobatic capability. Ezra found it difficult to keep pace with her despite his Jedi training.

As he ran, someone suddenly stepped in front of him and while he avoided them, he did manage to catch the corner of a restaurant cart. He fell to the ground hard and felt something slimy cover his face as a chiss's lunch spilled all over him. He snorted in disgust as he felt whatever was in the meal still moving.

Ignoring the outburst of the angry alien, he wiped the gunk off his face and continued his pursuit, but now the thief was even further away and weaving through the most crowded section of the bazaar.

Coiling his legs, he felt the ground fall away as he leapt up to land atop a discount junk shop overflowing with derelict droids. He could see her below, speeding away. Reaching out with the Force, he tore out the lowest of a stack of crates, sending the rest of the pile tumbling to the street in front of her. She scurried over without breaking stride.

Ezra grunted in frustration. He jumped from roof to roof, steadily gaining on the thief with every bound. She ducked down a side alley, out of view. He dropped from the roof and landed in a crouch before continuing the chase.

"Get back here!" he yelled. The girl paid him no mind as she kept running…

…directly into a suit of white armor.

Ezra skidded to a halt in front of the squad of stormtroopers as the girl scooted away.

"What's going on here?" the trooper demanded. "Who are you?"

"Uh…I'm so sorry sir. My, uh sister was just trying to race me home," Ezra sputtered. "I bet her five credits she couldn't beat me and she's very competitive." He knelt to pick up the girl, who stared at him with a blank expression. "Play along," he hissed through his teeth.

"…yes, that's what was happening," she answered. Her voice was raw and husky, yet still feminine.

"Yeah. So, if you don't mind sirs, we'll just be on our way." He gripped the girl's arm began to lead her away.

"Hold up there, let me see your identification," the commanding trooper ordered.

"Of course they didn't buy it," Ezra mumbled as he drew his blaster.

The street erupted in blaster fire after the first trooper went down with a smoldering hole in his chest armor. Ezra scrambled for cover, dragging the girl along with him. Citizens screamed in terror at the firefight, running away as fast as their legs or other appendages could carry them.

"Great plan," the girl spat as she shot back with her own pistol, hitting a trooper between the eyes."

"Well I didn't hear you offering any suggestions," Ezra answered, squeezing off two shots. "Oh and by the way, I want that necklace back!"

"Well too bad, you can't steal something that's already been stolen!"

"I didn't steal it!" Imperial blaster fire came very close to Ezra's head. The girl's blaster arm stretched over his body and she downed the trooper trying to flank them.

"You got a Devaronian to give you a bargain! I don't what you did, but no way it was legal!"

"Maybe it was just my charming personality," Ezra argued as he shot two troopers who had climbed onto the roof.

The girl glared at him. "You know what…" Before she could tell him, something thudded beside them.

They both went flying as the thermal detonator exploded.

Ezra's ears whined from the blast. Everything was fuzzy. He saw several blurs of white. Stormtroopers. Half moved toward him, the half toward the girl, who lay in a similar position on the other side of the street.

The rebel pushed himself to his knees. He couldn't hide anymore. There were just too many of them. "I'm gonna be in so much trouble for this," he muttered as he unclipped his lightsaber. The troopers recoiled from the appearance of the vibrant green blade.

Then Ezra heard a second pop-hiss.

The girl brandished a blade of hot, yellow plasma, looking at Ezra with the same open-mouthed astonishment he knew he had.

"What the hell?"