The Deal
"Ah well- didn't that one just go right to plan?" Zeb laughed as the Ghost ship came to land back on rebel territory. Once again, it had been a narrow escape for the Ghost and its crew; it was only their second mission back since Kanan's kidnapping, and they were still getting used to relying on each other again. None of them, of course, would change it for the world- they were a whole family again, and that was all that mattered.
"Don't know about you guys, but I think I could sleep for a good couple of days!" Sabine yawned, stretching herself out of her seat and walking towards the ramp as the ship came to a stop.
"I was thinking- we have a few extra credits left this month: how about we go out today for something to celebrate? I think we've earnt it!" Hera suggested, feeling that the crew needed time to relax more for once. A chorus of agreements met her proposal, and Chopper chimed in with a few excited beeps before whizzing out of the ship.
"Wait up, Chop!" Ezra grinned as he hurried to follow the droid. For all of Chopper's grumpiness, Kanan couldn't help but think that the droid had a certain soft spot for one Ezra Bridger.
Unfortunately, the high spirits of the crew were soon cut short. As the crew approached the doorway, they were blocked by Chopper and Ezra standing there with none other than Ashoka Tano.
"Everything alright?" Kanan queried. He feared- rather guiltily, of course, that she could only bring bad news on their supposed night of relaxation.
"Almost" She replied, smiling reassuringly. "I've just got some business here to sort with Ezra." Kanan raised an eyebrow as she gestured to the boy in question. What could she want with only his padawan? Normally it was Kanan she was after- obviously feeling the need to speak Jedi to Jedi and all that. The fact that she was after Ezra strongly suggested that this wasn't going to be anything about Jedi (probably not even anything good for that matter).
"Oh. Okay then." Kanan didn't really consider this to be 'okay then' at all, but when Ashoka needed to talk, it was usually important. "We'll just wait here for him, I suppose."
"No, you don't have to wait… We're probably going to be a while." Ashoka explained, still not giving anything away. "Well, go on then. Ezra will see you soon." She ploughed on, giving the group a small nudge in the direction of town. With some reluctance, they turned their backs and slowly walked off, clearly unhappy with the arrangement, but unwilling to seem disrespectful. Ashoka smiled warmly down at Ezra.
"Sorry about this Ezra. I know you want to be relaxing with them, but I thought this was something you'd like to know on your own first." She explained, and gestured to the Ghost when he nodded curiously. "Come on, let's talk inside."
With a reassuring hand on his shoulder, they returned to the ship. Ashoka set down what looked to be a hologram disk onto the table of the common room.
"This is where it all starts. Now- to get right to the point… I'm not sure exactly what you did a few weeks back to find Kanan's whereabouts, but from this-" she gestured to the disk, "-I think I'm getting a good idea."
Ezra's thoughts started racing, tripping over themselves in the anxiety that please say she didn't mean-
"Vizago." Ashoka did not sound like she approved. A press on the button of the disk made his form pop up from the 3D screen. Ezra felt his stomach plummet from just a look at the guy's face.
"I hoped the guy would forget all about it!" Ezra groaned, running his hand over his face. Ashoka smiled sympathetically.
"In my experience, a good pirate like Vizago never forgets when a favour is promised to him. He has been remarkably insistent that I get this message to you; I can't quite remember just how many times he managed to jam our signal to communicate with us."
Ezra paused for a moment. "Do you know exactly what this favour is?"
"I can't say for certain. In most of his messages, he says he won't disclaim the task unless talking to you personally. I've managed to piece together bits from his latest movement, and it's not looking too good- I think it's something to do with some cargo he's in possession of." She crossed her arms, looking thoughtful. "Look, the best thing you can do right now is just communicate with him. Maybe we can find some sort of loophole to get you out of this, but he won't leave any of us alone until you two sort it out." A wry smile grew on her face. "Think you're up to it?"
"Yeah- sure! I mean, after all, it is my fault he's badgering you guys so much." Ezra answered with a sheepish grin, feeling slightly guilty that Ashoka had needed to deal with the irritatingly persistent pirate. However, knowing that without Vizago, they wouldn't have Kanan back, Ezra knew that he'd suffer the same inconveniences in a heartbeat. He was ready to do anything- it was worth it, to have gotten his master back.
"Is there a way we can talk to him now? It's probably best if we just get it over and done with." Ezra suggested, ignoring the small part of himself that very much believed it was better if it was overdue and never done with.
Ashoka looked approving. "I'm glad you asked. This specific disk has the exact communication waves that Vizago's using recorded. It can easily set you up to talk to him. Pretty advanced for a space pirate." She added with a smile. Ezra tried to control his nerves as she set up the disk, but still felt a mild spike of anxiousness as she placed it in the palm of his hand.
"Whenever you're ready…" Ashoka did her best to look reassuring.
Ezra forced himself put on a face of confidence, and then pressed the small green button. He listened carefully to the static waves until eventually the rough voice could be heard over the buzz.
"Hello? Who is using my communication system?" The voice demanded.
"Uh, Vizago? It's me, Ezra… Ezra Bridger."
"Ahhhhhh- finally! Just the young boy I've been wanting to talk to!" Vizago sounded cheerful. Ezra gulped, but listened as the voice continued conversationally, "You know, you're not an easy person to get in touch with."
"Yeah? Well, some of us don't go around hacking communication lines…"
"Ahahaha,-there it is! That fighting spirit! Glad to hear it, my boy, because you'll be needing much of that for the favour I'll be asking."
"Great…" Ezra deadpanned. After a long pause, he continued, "Care to tell me what this favour actually is?" He was becoming fed up with this guy already.
"Ah, of course- straight to business… Well, you see, I have recently …come into possession of some… rather precious cargo; precious cargo thathas to make it to its buyer. I've already had several …problems just getting it onto my ship, let alone trying to get it to its destination. That is where you come in. I need you to be the protection for me and my cargo."
"Protection?" Ezra raised an eyebrow before realising that Vizago couldn't see it.
"Yes. It will be your job to ensure that me and my cargo make it all the way to our destination. However, there might be some complications on the way. Your little Jedi tricks will definitely be coming in handy- I'm warning you now, it's not going to be easy." Vizago explained.
Ezra rubbed at the back of his neck. "Look, Vizago, I sure would love to help, but—"
"If I didn't know better, my friend, I would think that you were going to end that sentence by backing out of this." Vizago's tone darkened suddenly. " You owe me, remember?"
Ezra rolled his eyes, wondering why his promise had so much value to Vizago.
"…Besides, I really would hate to release these very confidential files I have on your rebel friends." Ezra caught the deliberate rustling of paper in the background. He recognised the scare tactic right away, but couldn't stop the goose bumps on his arms from rising.
"Ah… Spectre 2. Now, who, oh who could this spectre 2 be? Let me see." A pause. "Ahh- Hera Syndulla. Aww, there's even a photo- isn't that nice? Oh- and who's this? Spectre 3? Hmm… 'Garazeb Orrelios'. Wow- a lasat. Where did you find one of those?! Oh-ho, the empire is just going to love this… Mm who else now-"
Ezra couldn't take any more. "Okay! Stop. Stop it. I'll do it… Just- you have to destroy that information."
"Ah, see now, that wasn't so hard, was it?"
Ezra glanced wearily over at Ashoka. She seemed to be just as surprised as he was, but caught his eye, giving him an encouraging nod before he turned back to the conversation.
"Now, my boy, are you listening? You can't miss out on any of these details- it's always all in the details you know." Following the amused drawl an overly lengthy conversation about where he would meet them, who and what he should watch out for and what his priorities were. It was a lot to process in one go, particularly as he started to dread each detail more than the next.
He had just got his family back and now he was going to have to leave them. That hardly seemed fair; why couldn't Vizago just forget about the stupid favour?
Apparently unaware of Ezra's frustration, Vizago dropped the communication line with a cheery goodbye. Naturally he took his time in reminding the boy just what was at stake if he didn't show before ending the call. Ezra slumped down into a chair, and the two contemplated his situation in silence for a minute, both trying to fully comprehend what they had heard.
"You did the right thing, Ezra" Ashoka spoke softly, breaking the silence. "I know this isn't going to be easy on you, but you have my word that we will all help you as much as we can." He murmured a quiet thanks to her, and she didn't miss the grateful look on his face. She took that as her cue to leave, knowing that he would want some peace to collect himself, to ready himself for when the crew arrived.
Author's note: In this story I will be taking my own version of how Vizago's favour with Ezra could've turned out. I know he's not a major villain in the series but in this story he's going to be meaner then he has previously been portrayed :) Hope you guys enjoy!