A/N: So, here's something that just came up. I've been watching the first season of Star Wars Rebels recently and this plot bunny just wouldn't die. It's a bit of an experiment and I might continue it depending on the reaction I get from it, so please let me know what you think.
'Anomaly' will be updated soon for those who are wondering and remains my priority. Regardless, I hope you all enjoy this.
Thank you Ducky9002 for editing!
Disclaimer: Don't own Star Wars. Rebels or otherwise.
Chapter 1
The bustling space port was in its usual state of familiar, controlled chaos. Shuttles hissed and hummed mechanically as they went about carrying their sentient cargo across the galaxy. Each person, whether human or from one of many alien species that populated the galaxy, came and went about their business.
It was a normal day for these people. Many of them milled about the platforms and wide halls of the space port with an unhurried pace.
After all, this was Lothal.
While it was not an inconsequential planet to the Galactic Empire that ruled them, every local knew that their home was far from the most coveted place to inhabit by the Imperials. The military presence of the Empire was focused towards acquiring their planet's natural mineral resources and keeping them subservient. It had been like this for almost fifteen years and even if it grated against their senses, the majority of them were used to it by now.
Most of the people passing through the space port were not even locals and held within their minds the unflattering 'backwater' stereotype assigned to Outer Rim planets such as this one. As such, they paid little attention to their surroundings, blissfully assuming that everyone here was just continuing on their way towards somewhere better. Hundreds of passengers traveled to and from the planet, each to their own paths amid the mundane routine of the port.
One traveler, however, stepped out onto Lothal and took in her destination. She, unlike most, was especially thankful for the 'backwater' atmosphere. It was places like this that provided the most anonymity to those who simply wished to be ignored and not be bothered as they carried on through the day. That kind of mundanity was, in her mind, vastly underappreciated.
The tall, human female exited her shuttle without hurry. A metal walking staff wrapped in bantha leather bindings tapped against the duracrete floors beside her in a slow, measured rhythm. She wore several pieces of scratched and battered armor on her forearms and thighs over her unassuming clothes with a faded blue head scarf was wrapped over her hair and around her shoulders. She pulled it lower so that it hung just above her green eyes and pushed a piece of her black hair back underneath it. Her sharp gaze missed nothing in her surroundings as she shifted her pack to a more comfortable position on her back and continued out of the port to the platform station. She waited patiently for the public transport that led into the heart of Lothal's Capital City. It was still early enough in the morning that the crowd heading for work hadn't yet arrived.
Then, out of the corner of her eye she saw a group of four Stormtroopers turn a corner and advance down the platform in her direction.
Her grip on her staff tightened a fraction before it was released immediately. There was nothing for her to be fearful of. As long as she behaved in a casual and unassuming manner, they would have no reason to engage with a normal civilian like her.
Unless, of course, this had all been a trap or something had gone horribly wrong for her contact. Again.
The Stromtroopers were stopping and asking random people for their identifications. The woman sighed and closed her eyes, praying she'd be passed over. She had an ID – a fake one of course – but that didn't mean that she was in a hurry to test it out now if she could avoid it.
"You there."
…no such luck today it would seem.
She opened her eyes and stared innocently into the tinted lenses of the inquiring Stormtrooper's white helmet.
"Let me see your identification." He ordered.
The woman nodded and gave a small smile, exuding complete serenity. "Certainly, sir."
She reached into a pocket and handed over her required ID. The Stormtrooper held it up to a scanner for a few short seconds as it read the card's information.
Name: Ria Ghanis
Age: 25
Homeworld: Onderon
The woman maintained a relaxed stance but held her breath as the Stormtrooper continued his scan, praying the forgery would pass inspection until he returned it a few seconds later, apparently satisfied.
"Alright, this checks out. You can carry on."
The woman slipped the ID back into her pocket and dipped her head in gratitude. "Thank you, sir." She said as the armored soldier marched off.
The long breath of relief she released was swept away by the wind of the arriving transport tram that led into the city. She boarded and sat down in the far corner of the car. She was left alone to her thoughts by the other passengers as the tram pulled away from the platform.
"Good to know that Daxar's man can actually deliver a passable ID. I'll have to buy him a drink next time I see him. Any time I can avoid having to use…those kinds of methods means less chance of altercation with the Imperials." Her thumb absently stroked one of the leather strips on her staff. "I've kept my head down for this long, it'd be a real shame to get caught now."
The top flap of her bag moved and its occupant gave a low cry. She reached back and it quieted when she patted it softly. "Keep it down, I'll let you out when we get there." She muttered and dared to push an impression of patience across her invisible bond with her little companion. There were a few more clicking noises, but whatever was inside the bag settled back and stopped moving.
She looked around at the passengers in the car she was on. "With any luck, I'll be able to stay just long enough to satisfy that little troll and go back to my normal routine. Staying in one place is just begging to get killed, even in backwater planet like this."
Memories from another time; another life bubbled up to the forefront of her mind and she huffed out a dry laugh. "Kriff, if what I remember is right, Lothal is probably the last place I should be at this time."
Mental images of a young boy dressed in orange alongside a tan man with brown hair, both holding lightsabers surfaced. Next, a pale green Twi'lek with a grumpy astromech, a colorful Mandalorian and a Lasat danced across her mind's eye. She had never met any of them except one, but the woman knew all their names, their pasts and even futures. Well, potential futures. She pushed all such knowledge away into her memory again.
It was all just a story after all. A tale of adventure that she was determined not to be a part of and had worked hard for years to avoid. If it wasn't for a certain meddling, little green troll she never would've have come to this planet in the first place. There was a risk of running into them by chance and screwing up what she had seen happen, what she knew.
"Always in motion the future is and always forget this you have, youngling, even now. Lose yourself looking towards the future and clouded your path in the present will become."
She grimaced. Even her traitorous thoughts were not complying with her desire for peace if they were bringing up the worn-out warning Master Yoda had admonished her with when she'd still been a youngling at the Temple. One that he had repeated to her the last time they'd spoken.
"A purpose the Force has for you. Doubt this I sense you do, but depart from the will of the Force you must not. Travel to Lothal you will. Find that which you have lost and do not leave until found it you have. Trust in the Force and guide you it will."
She resisted the urge to scoff at her memory. "Even if I figured out what you meant, Master Yoda, you can't always get back what you lose. Especially the things that matter the most."
Her indignation and bitterness tried to push its way through her chest until she mercilessly shoved it back down. It didn't dissipate though; just festered around her heart like an infected wound. As it had for years.
"If the Force truly had a purpose for me, then things wouldn't be like this! I could have prevented so much from happening! The Jedi Order would still be alive, the Sith would have never taken over the galaxy and Master K-…Master would have… just… listened to me. That's how this is supposed to work, right? Being 'reborn' into another galaxy already knowing how to stop evil from triumphing and saving countless lives. But no, even with all the foreknowledge I had, my existence contributed nothing. Almost all my friends are dead! Slaughtered. Everything's exactly as it would've been without me here to witness my helplessness up close and in person."
She crossed her arms over her staff and leaned back into the corner, making herself comfortable against the wall as she closed her eyes for some rest. "I'll stay for a month or two for the sake of due diligence and make sure to avoid…certain people. Then I'm leaving." She vowed.
Suddenly, her eyes snapped open. Her senses had caught on to something and she immediately set on identifying it. Danger? An incoming threat?
Green orbs were shaded by her head scarf as she cast her gaze sharply around the car until she spotted the cause of her unease: a pair of…painfully innocent brown eyes staring straight at her.
They belonged to a young chocolate-haired boy dressed in a white uniform that identified him as a cadet enrolled in Lothal's Imperial Academy. He was sitting across from her on the opposite end of the tram car towards the front and was still staring at her with an odd look on his tan face. He was obvious in his unwavering fixation on her person for…whatever reason; not even trying to hide it. She estimated him to be about thirteen or fourteen standard years old. He didn't seem to be sitting with an adult or anyone else for that matter. They were the only two people in the car.
She was pondering what is was about herself that could have caught the boy's attention when her pack started shaking again. Her little companion had started fussing…again. She broke her covert watch on the boy to calm the little guy down again. "Hey, quiet we're almost-."
The pack's top flap lifted and an unnaturally small akk dog crawled out of the bag onto the floor and shook himself, the light glinting dully over his red scales. He swiveled his head around and gave an annoyed click-growl up at her, jumping back when she quickly reached forward to pick him up.
"Akkan." She called, but he rebelliously avoided her hand, scuttling over to where the brown-haired boy was sitting and curled up on the seat as if to get as far away from her as he could while he sulked.
She sighed and risked a glance at the boy only to meet his eyes for a moment before he looked down at her pet and started gently stroking Akkan's scale-plated back. The traitorous reptomammilian immediately rolled over to expose his pale-yellow belly, welcoming the attention.
She couldn't help her involuntary smile and shook her head at her pet's antics. "Honestly, you're more of a 'dog' than some of the canines I remember having. And certainly when it suits you to be pampered."
The little rust-colored alien animal started kicking one of its small hind legs from the gratuitous stroking he received from the obliging boy who carefully picked him up and walked over to her with a friendly smile on his face.
"Pardon me, but he's yours right?"
She nodded and shrugged. "Yeah, but you might as well hold onto him until we get off. He's cranky from traveling and isn't going to listen to me for a while."
She eyed the boy carefully. "Seems to really like you for some reason though, he doesn't normally let strangers touch him so quickly. If you could mellow him out that'll make my life easier." She wasn't entirely comfortable talking with this boy, he made her uneasy and she couldn't tell why, but he was just a kid. There wasn't too much danger engaging in some small talk.
He seemed really happy to be allowed to continue holding her pet and kept stroking him. The little animal had its eyes closed and pink tongue peeking out from its open jaws. "Is this an Akk dog? I've never seen one that's so small. What's its name?" he asked excitedly.
She smiled slightly. "He's called Akkan and his size isn't natural. He was part of a failed genetically mutated subspecies that a criminal group were trying to create, don't ask me why. A runt of the litter you might say."
The boy's eyes widened. "Woah, really?"
The woman nodded. "Yeah, the group were caught by Imperial officials a few years ago when I just happened to be passing by Haruun Kal at the time. He and all the other experiments were going to be terminated, but I made a good enough offer and got to keep him with me. He's a good traveling buddy." Here, she shot a scornful look towards her pet. "When he's not being moody."
It had been a lesson she'd learned long ago that one must always tell the truth whenever they lied. To give a purposefully, normal explanation like this one served her the best. It left out all the important parts to this story – that she had been stowing away on a smuggler's ship containing the mutant Akk dogs to avoid Imperial detection on her way back from the jungle moon of Va'art. How the little guy had come to form a Force bond with her was another story altogether.
Every so often, she'd indulge in disgust over this necessary skill she'd been forced to cultivate.
"And cry myself a saltwater river while I'm at it."
Ignorant of her darker thoughts, wonder and excitement lit up the boy's brown eyes. "That's amazing! Haruun Kal's all the way out in the Mid Rim, right? Where else have you been?"
She quickly redirected the conversation away from the topic of herself. "Oh, curious, are you? From the look of you I'd guess that you're a cadet at the Academy, right? I'll bet you're looking forward to going out and seeing the galaxy for yourself."
Her tactic worked and the boy started talking about his desire to join the Empire's military and become a Stormtrooper – her throat constricted against the rising bile; even if she'd seen it coming, the betrayal still ran deep – and what planets he'd most like to someday see. She listened with only half of her mind, the other half was occupied with something that only those sensitive to the Force could identify.
The calling. Even past the amulet she was wearing she could feel it. That same intangible calling that had led her to her first Master…her first failure many years ago.
She knew the mistral push of the Force very well during her years of this life.
And she was studiously blocking it off and ignoring it; continuing her resistance to its call with years of practice.
It was strange though how it seemed to be…trying to focus her attention towards this boy. Was it a warning?
She couldn't imagine why, that after so many years of ignoring its will that the Force would suddenly start aiding her so obviously in the face of danger.
The cadet stopped talking as he came to a sudden realization.
"I'm sorry, I don't know your name. My name's Jai Kell."
The boy's name resonated with something within her. From the deeper, hidden recesses of her mind and memory. She reached for it, but it slipped away. She suspected that the boy's name might correlate with certain 'memories' of hers. And if it did, then it would be better if she didn't pursue it.
She cordially held out her hand. "Ria Ghanis. But just call me Ria. I'm not old enough to be called Ms. Ghanis just yet."
The boy – Jai Kell – shook her hand with a smile and laughed when Akkan croaked impatiently at him to resume his stroking. He did and unfortunately returned to his previous line of questioning.
"I've got a three day leave from the Academy as special privilege for ranking first in my class, so I'm going to visit my mom. What about you? You got on at the space port platform so you must've just come from off-world. What brings you here to Lothal?"
'Ria' silently cursed the 'wonders' of a child's curious mind coupled with the boy's keen observation skills before quickly coming up with an answer.
"An acquaintance of mine said that I might be able to find someone from my mother's side of the family here, so I came to see if they're still around."
Jai looked so innocent in his confusion. "You have family here that you didn't know about? What happened to your family, I mean, don't you keep in touch?" he asked.
Unpleasant thoughts clouded her mind. "Your precious Empire happened and slaughtered them all." Ria quickly amended her thinking. "Well…most of them anyway."
Again the not-quite-lies slipped off her tongue with practiced ease. "I never knew my mom and Dad didn't have any family. He was always traveling the galaxy for work so I grew up with…friends of his. I started traveling around with him when I was old enough, but he died during the war when I was thirteen. I was taken in by a co-worker of his after that, but our home was destroyed a year later just days before the war ended. My…adoptive uncle, as it were, was injured in the attack and couldn't do steady work anymore so we traveled from one place to another, just drifting, looking for somewhere to bunker down in. Things were a little hectic when the Empire first started, especially in the Outer Rim, but we eventually found somewhere safe. After my Uncle died, some years ago, I was on my own again. Started traveling again, going around looking for any other family I might have left. I figured it couldn't hurt to check here."
Sympathy crossed Jai's face after hearing her abridged sob story. All of it was true in a way. From a certain point of view.
"I understand at least a bit how awful that must have been. My dad died almost two years ago and I still miss him, you know." He confessed.
Ria resisted rolling her eyes. The kid was being sincere after all. "It's been years, but…thanks anyway, kid."
Akkan seemed to have fallen asleep in Jai's arms as the tram pulled slowly to a stop and an automated voice called out the name of the stop that they would be approaching in a few minutes to the passengers. Jai spoke up again.
"Do you have a place to stay?"
His question caught her off guard. She stammered.
"I-…I don't yet, but I'm sure I can find-"
Jai leaned forward eagerly. "You could stay with me and my mom! She won't mind."
Ria back-peddled quickly, completely taken off guard at the sudden offer. "Uh-…I-I'd rather not bother you or your mother. And besides, you don't even know me."
"Well, sure we just met, but I can tell you're an honest person,"
…ouch.
"and besides I'd really like to hear more about the worlds you've been to and seen in the galaxy. If you don't have any place to stay right now, you can at least stop by until you find one, right?"
She gave him a look that clearly expressed her dual emotions of disbelief and…begrudging appreciation of the naivete in his offer. How long had it been since she'd met someone this sincere?
"I…Thank you. Your offer's quite generous and I'll keep it in mind." She hedged.
Jai looked a little disheartened at her answer, but still hopeful. He had just finished telling her where lived when the tram stopped once again and the automated voice announced the name of the platform. He handed back Ria's small companion and got up.
"Sorry, but this is my stop. Thanks for everything, Ria. Maybe I'll see you around."
Ria waved casually goodbye to Jai as the doors closed again and the tram took off from the platform.
There was an indecipherable feeling in her chest. She felt like she should have followed him; like she was…missing something now that he was no longer next to her. Yoda's last instruction to her came back and she sighed. Ria already knew she'd be adding something to her plan of action.
"One more person to avoid."
The woman known as 'Ria' looked about as she entered the bar called Old Jho's Pit Stop. An Ithorian bartender was wiping down the empty counter and a few scant customers sitting around the barren room.
She made her way to the bar and waved over the bartender. He continued to run his cloth over the counter top as he spoke through his translator.
"Haven't seen you here before, Miss, but any business is welcome here. Name's Jho; everyone calls me Old Jho. What will it be, then stranger?"
Ria pulled forth a few credits. "It's Ria, not stranger. Do you serve 'Flaming Midiclorians' here?"
The ridiculous code phrase had been her idea when she'd been forced to accept coming here. Petty? Yes. Just one more thing she didn't like about herself, but didn't have the time or energy to fix. Now she just had to see if Fulcrum's contact was legit. If it was, they were supposed to meet her here.
Jho tilted his head and shrugged apologetically. "Don't have the ingredients on hand, but I think I've got some still in the back if you're willing to wait."
Ria glanced behind herself and the corner booths and nodded in understanding. That meant they were already here. "That'll be fine. Thanks."
Old Jho motioned towards a partially concealed booth. "Business is pretty slow right now so I'll bring it out to you. There's some folk back there who also ordered one of those drinks as well. If you're new here you should go make friends. Won't be long."
'Ria' thanked the old Ithorian one more time and moved back to the booth. A pale green female Twi'lek came into view as she approached and was sitting with a tall brown-haired man in his late twenties, same age as her. She mentally identified Hera Syndulla as she sat down to meet her in person for the first time while she compared the man's features to the adolescent boy with infinite questions in her memory. The last time they had seen each other had been well over a decade ago and he had certainly grown up. Even looking straight at his face she barely recognized him.
He didn't seem to recognize her either and was regarding her with open suspicion. She realized he was probably trying to sense her Force-signature to determine whether or not she was a threat, but was being blocked by the amulet. "So, you've been sent here to help us?" Kanan asked.
Her mouth twisted into a sour grimace. "Delivery girl. I was exiled here into doing a bit of soul searching by someone who enjoys speaking in backwards riddles. I guess I'm more like your spare or back up in case you guys ever need something like that. At least, for as long as I'm sticking around. I never actually agreed to get involved in anything seriously."
A second passed before she saw a look of surprise and recognition, not of her, but of her words flashed across Kanan's – Caleb's – face. He seemed to have figured out that she was talking of Master Yoda. Having been sent here by him probably diminished his mistrust of her greatly, which was good. "Well, we're pretty functional by ourselves, but we'll be keeping your presence here in mind. This is Hera Syndulla and I'm-"
She interrupted with an easy smile. "And you're doomed. Yeah, I already know all about you. Kanan Jarrus, now is it?"
Kanan's eyes widened and the expression made him look a bit more like his younger self for a moment. It had been an old joke from their childhood, when his surname had still been Dume. She used to tease him incessantly with it ever since they were younglings in the Temple crèche.
He was studying her face more closely now. "…Kyshra? It that you?" he wondered aloud.
She reached up behind her neck and pulled a crude, handmade amulet from around her neck, stowing it away in a pouch at her side. "Try figuring it out now."
Without the Force-interfering abilities of the taozin amulet, Kanan and Kyshra could now easily reach out and sense each other's Force-signature. They had changed since the last time they'd met; older, scarred from past tragedy, of course and more mature, but nonetheless still the same people.
Kanan let out a long breath and a smile lit up his entire face. "Kriff! Kyshra Sunhail, it is you! I thought that you were-…well, I hadn't heard anything about you and Master Koth since you were both stationed at Boz Pity."
They grew silent when Old Jho came up and waited as he delivered them their drinks before walking away.
Hera raised an eyebrow at Kanan's reaction, confused. "You two know each other?"
Kyshra didn't blame her for being cautious, but if she ever had to face one of those 'jealous woman things' then Hera didn't have anything to worry about from her. Caleb and she had always been just friends. She shrugged. "Yeah, Cale- I mean, Kanan and I grew up in the same crèche and Clan until I left when I became a Padawan."
The open admission that she'd once been a Jedi shocked the Twi'lek pilot. She might be the only other ex-Jedi Hera had met. Beside Kanan and Fulcrum of course.
Kanan seemed to remember Hera's presence and was quick to explain. "I haven't seen or heard anything regarding her in…fifteen years? Not since before…Order 66. I thought you were dead."
Kyshra shrugged. "It's actually been closer to thirteen years since we last met. We were at the Temple together for a few days after I was reassigned to Master Koth if you remember. That was right after you also..." she stopped before she brought up Kanan's late Master, Depa Billaba and when he had first become her student.
He understood what she meant. "Given the circumstances of the galaxy, I'm just happy to see you're still alive. I can only assume you changed your name at some point?"
She took a sip of her drink and he and Hera followed her gesture. "Yeah. At the moment I'm going by the alias 'Ria Ghanis', but usually I use the name Raegan Moonshaw."
Kanan seemed reluctant to ask his next question, fearing the answer, but pressed onward anyway. "What happened to Master Koth? Did he…?"
Raegan sighed. She knew he'd ask about the Zabrak Jedi Master eventually and absentmindedly swirled her cup's contents around. Melancholy was the flavor of her mind. "Master Koth became one with the Force five years ago. We barely managed to make it off of Boz Pity after Order 66 began, but we did. He lost one of his arms to an injury, so we spent a few years on the move before we found somewhere safe to hole up. He died of grrynwater sickness on Dac, but his passing was peaceful. Or at least as peaceful as any of us could ask for in these times."
She looked back up at Kanan. "I was able to give him his last rites and a proper burial. That's more than most of us can hope for."
Kanan's eye darkened with understanding and his shoulders slouched at the sad news. He held up his drink and she silently toasted her late Master with him.
As the last of her drink slid down Raegan's throat she let out a sigh, shifting the conversation to present concerns. "As I said before, I'm not here to be actively involved with you guys. Don't get me wrong, it's wonderful to see you again Kanan, and if you ever really need the help I will, but this trip was just to get a certain troll off my back."
Kanan looked at her weirdly but didn't comment on what she'd said. Raegan was thankful for that. As nice as it was to catch up and chat with her childhood friend she wanted to distance herself from him and his crew's adventures for the time being. If he hadn't already met Ezra, he probably would soon according to her memory.
Hera took control of the conversation. "We've got something planned a few days from now, but it's nothing we can't handle ourselves. You're welcome to stay aboard our ship with us while you're here."
Raegan raised an eyebrow and smirked. "And disturb you two lovebirds? I'd end up getting tossed out the airlock by Kanan for all the blackmail-worthy stories I've got from our childhood."
Kanan coughed and spluttered as he choked on his drink and Hera stared at her in shock for a second before sporting a teasing grin. "Oh, I insist. It would be a shame to miss a chance like this."
"Oh, well, you won't be disappointed." Raegan laughed.
Kanan just groaned and dropped his head in his hand.
A/N: Well, that's it for now. As usual, I do actually have a timeline for this although it will most likely stick closer to canon than what I have planned for 'Anomaly'. This is an experiment on whether I can properly write a slightly more cynical OC-character. The writing and humor will hopefully reflect this.
If you like this please review, favorite or follow. Thanks to you all!