Star wars Rebels is not mine. It belongs to Disney.
As soon as Hera, Sabine, Zeb, and Rex got word that the Phantom was entering Atollon's atmosphere, they rushed to the docks to meet them. They couldn't wait to hear about what happened with their three friends on Malachor, and what knowledge they gained. As the ship landed, none of them had a bad vibe or feeling of dread. In fact they were all smiling.
That changed when the Phantom's door's opened, revealing Ezra with bandaged eyes, Kanan guiding him, and Ahsoka nowhere in sight. Hera let out a gasp of horror, which matched the immediate change in her facial expression. She rushed up to the youngest member of her crew. She grasped his cheeks, and ran her thumbs over the bandages.
"I'm okay, Hera", the newly handicapped boy assured the green twi lek, in a far less-than-convincing voice. Even though he couldn't see her, he sensed her familiar presence with the force.
"You are not okay Ezra! You're blind for crying out loud!", Hera exclaimed. Being reminded of his condition caused Ezra to break down. His body shook, his lips trembled, he balled his fists, and he would have cried if his tear ducts hadn't been destroyed by that crimson lightsaber. Without saying another word, the Ghost captain pulled the poor Lothal orphan into her arms. She closed her eyes and shed silent tears. Ezra, who was still just a boy, had lost both of his parents, permanently, to the Empire, had to survive seven years on the treacherous streets, been hunted by darksiders, and was now blinded. Hadn't this poor child suffered enough?
Kanan looked from Ezra and Hera to Rex. The Clone Wars veteran noticed the Jedi looking at him and eyed him as well. Kanan shook his head, giving Rex a silent message that Ahsoka was gone. Rex didn't cry, but he did lower his head and had a profound look of sadness. Zeb and Sabine were incredulous. They couldn't believe what was right in front of their eyes. They deeply regretted not demanding to come with the Jedi trio. Maybe they could have prevented this. After about thirty seconds, Hera released Ezra from her hug.
"Why don't you explain to them what happened Kanan, while I take Ezra to the medbay," Hera said calmly, but emotionally. She got behind the young Bridger, placed her hands on his shoulders, and steered him towards the Ghost at a speedy pace. For a few moments everyone watched them go, then Zeb said, "What the heck happened on Malachor?!"
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Hera removed the bandages and bandage clamps over Ezra's eyes, and gasped again upon seeing their condition. Where they were once a beautiful, radiant, electric blue, they were now an extremely faded, pale blue color. It was like the life had been sucked out of them, which it had. She also saw the angry red slash mark of a lightsaber on his eyes and nose. That must have been very painful. It made silent tears roll down her cheeks again. Resisting the urge to embrace him again, Hera put down the bandages and picked up a small bacta canister. Unscrewing the metal top, she picked up a medical rag, poured a decent amount of bacta on it, and told Ezra to close his eyes. Gently she wiped the healing substance over his eyelids and bridge of his nose. He grit his teeth and gripped the medical bed he was sitting on. The Bacta was making Ezra's already painful injury feel even worse.
"I know it stings Ezra" Hera said sadly. "But you need it to prevent infection, Okay?" The unfortunate teen just nodded quietly, saddening the green twi'lek even more. Ezra was very strong for a fifteen year old, now he seemed as helpless and vulnerable as a baby. Afte she finished wiping, Hera Syndulla attached a spray nozzle to the open bacta canister.
"Open your eyes for me, sweetheart", Hera said in a maternal tone to the young man she had welcomed with open arms. True she felt some reluctance, due to both his age and life as a street urchin. But she ultimately decided to have faith in both Ezra and good fortune. While her faith in the young Bridger had paid off, this horrendous accident had dashed her hopes that things would be alright for him. Ezra obediently opened his dead eyes, and Hera quickly sprayed the Bacta directly on both eyeballs. He moaned miserably ; his eyeballs were much more sensitive than his skin, and therefore much more painful when having the chemical put on them. Hera resisted shedding tears again, and carefully wrapped the bandage back around his eyes and put the clamps on. She grabbed his hands, which were still gripping the medical mattress, and gently rubbed them.
"It hurts so bad", Ezra genuinely whined. He so wished that his tear ducts hadn't been cauterized, so he could cry and release his pain.
"I know love", Hera said comfortingly. "I'm sorry."
It had been the first time she had called him that. Usually she limited that affectionate moniker to Kanan. But with him disabled now, it was crucial that he know how she felt towards him, and that she would support him.
"I'll try to gather up some credits to get you artificial eyes, even though they're extremely expensive. If I can't do that, I will help you adapt to this upsetting development. So will the crew. We we all be here for you."
Hera placed her forehead against his own, almost trying to send her comforting, loving, thoughts directly into his brain.
"I'm suprised you haven't asked me who did this to me?"
"I didn't know if you were ready to tell me honey."
Ezra was reminded of his mother, Mira, by Hera's loving words. It was both endearing and painful at the same time.
"Have you ever heard of Darth Maul?" Ezra asked bluntly. At Hera Syndulla's flabbergasted expression, he remarked, " By the look on your face, which I can sense though not see, it seems you have. Continuing, he said, "We met him on Malachor, he pretended to aid us against Vader and the Inquisitors, and to access a Sith temple and holocron. Then he purposely separated me from Kanan and Ahsoka. I had a vision of him killing the Inquisitors, then blinding Kanan with his saber and trying to kill Ahsoka. I got to their location just in time to stop it."
Hera was both shocked and deeply touched that Ezra had sacrificed his own sight, to save Kanan's. He'd gone from a selfish street orphan, to a selfless hero. She couldn't be more proud. She moved her forehead back from his, replacing them with her lips. Ezra froze like a statue.
"I'm going to get the full story from Kanan, you stay here and rest, okay baby?", Hera asked, referring to him with an even more affectionate term. He nodded dumbly, to which she smiled, ruffled his hair, and then departed.
When she left the room, Hera got a furious look on her face. She hoped and prayed that Maul would come after Kanan and Ezra, so that she could make him pay for both what he did and what he tried to do, without having to track him down. Nobody handicapped her boy and got away with it. She didn't care if he was a Sith or not. There was a way for a non-force user like her to bring him down.