Disclaimer: I own nothing of Star Wars Rebels. They are owned by Lucas Arts and Disney. I did create a few characters, so those are mine. I have rated this one Mature for violence and adult themes. This takes place sometime in Season 2.
Zeb grunted as his foot was tended to. He was a tough Lasat, or at least that was what he was trying to put up with his large arms folded in front of his chest, the large yellow eyes staring down as Chopper tried to wrap a bandage around the foot. No broken bones, but he needed an application of Bacta. The warm gel quickly went to work and caused more pain than the crate did as Chopper tied the bandage nice and tight. "OW!" Zeb roared. "It doesn't have to be so tight!"
Chopper's small arms spun around with the droid taunting him in binary.
With a roar, Zeb grabbed the droid, "I'll show you 'big baby' when I rip out your insides!" He had a strong grip, but Chopper had his shocker and a quick zap freed him allowing the Astromech to scurry away with the limping Lasat in hot pursuit.
He brushed past Ezra whom was heading to the cockpit to remind Kanan it was time for their training. When the cockpit door slid open automatically, he saw the back of Hera's head as she sat in her seat enjoying the moment as the Ghost continued its long ride in hyperspace. Beside her, Kanan was restless in his eat. "It's...too easy," Kanan whispered as his eyes glared at the streaming blue and white light. "I know I should have thought on it, but, we needed the credits," his head lowered to stare blankly at the console. He was kicking himself. Jedi were supposed to be in tuned with their surroundings, and here, his senses failed him.
"I'll talk to Commander Sato," Hera nodded softly, "Perhaps he'll remember more about his *friend*" before her thin eyebrows buckled, "I don't know how busy he'll be dodging Imperial patrols, though."
Leaning back in his seat, straightening out his posture, Kanan's hands balled up tightly then released as he sighed, "Yeah, well, what kind of weapons factory would put their products in Cobalt Crates, anyway? Unless they're hiding something special inside them, Hera. I don't see that kind of security on any other kind of weapon, not even blasters or proton bombs." He leaned his body forward, hands before him clenched together so that his chin could rest on it, slowly drawn into a deep thought. For several minutes he pondered before realizing that Ezra was standing there waiting for him.
Nodding to him, Kanan stood up, "You ready?"
"Yeah!" Ezra exclaimed.
"All right," Kanan replied walking out, "Let's go to the cargo bay."
Ezra was excited. This was the one Jedi practice that he's always wanted to do; mind tricks. "The Force flows through all things," said Kanan in the cargo bay, same site where Ezra *accidentally* dropped a Cobalt crate on Zeb's foot. Now the Lasat stood on the railings high above with Sabine, safe from harm. "When focused, it has a strong influence on the weak-minded. Doing mind-tricks is not for amusement. It's to get information or to allow for infiltration and escape," then stabbed a finger at Ezra, "It is not for personal amusement!"
"Okay! Okay!" Ezra smiled holding up both hands from his chest. "I promise; I won't use it for fun," behind his back his other hand had his fingers crossed. Since he saw Kanan use it before on Stormtroopers.
With a nod Kanan continued, "Not all species and people are going to be taken under your influence. Some have a natural ability to resist it, either they're Force sensitive themselves, or their minds are so polluted that they can't be persuaded otherwise," folding his arms in front of his chest, trying to assert himself as Master to his new Padawan. "Now, trying to use it will leave you vulnerable, so be mindful of your surroundings."
Ezra paused for a moment then asked, "How long does it last?"
With a shrug of the shoulders, Kanan responded, "Depends on how much concentration you put into it," waving a hand, "It can last a few seconds or even hours, even days. But, that only comes from the great Jedi Masters, like Master Yoda. When the mind-trick wears off, most don't know what's happened or even that they were influenced. When they're under your control, you can make them do almost anything."
"Almost anything?" Ezra smirked.
His Master smiled then rubbed the back of his neck with his right hand, "Yeah. See, they can't do something that they don't know how to do. You can't take a guy, some farmer, and tell him 'go fly that shuttle' and expect him to fly it. He doesn't know what to do at the controls," he paused and held up a hand, "But, if he's under the influence, and your connection to the Force is strong, you can take control of him and use him to pilot the shuttle, passing your knowledge through him. It can also be used to interrogate prisoners. We can use the Force to tap into their minds and recover memories, dreams, and ideas."
"Wow!" Ezra gasped. "How long till I learn how to do that?"
"Patience, my Padawan," Kanan smiled, "It will come with patience, understanding, and focus." Ezra pouted a bit. Those were the three words he used quite a bit, because Ezra lacked those. Having been on his own for years, he had to fend fend for himself, didn't know what tomorrow would bring or what his next meal would be unless he learned to be drastic and impulsive, but now, trying to become a Jedi Knight, he needed to learn to suppress his emotions, or else his emotions could cause him to be brash, reckless, and careless.
"I'll show you," said Kanan reassuringly, "I'll show you how it works. I just need an assistant," his bent left arm lifted his finger up to his chin where he gently tapped the skin looking up at the railing where Sabine and Zeb stood watching rather curiously until they realized they were being asked to help.
Sabine's eyes widened while stepping back from the rail, "Oh no no no no no no no."
"Oh, c'mon, Sabine" Ezra said with a smirk, "I promise to be gentle."
Sabine's eyes narrowed before tartly saying, "Yeah, well, don't take this the wrong way, kid, but I don't want you bouncing around inside of my head," placing a gloved finger to her temple, "I'd like to keep my private thoughts just that."
Disappointed he wouldn't be inside the Mandalorians head, Ezra's face fell, but came back slightly when looking up at the Lasat's big yellow eyes, "How about you then, Zeb?" asked Ezra. "Unless you're too scared?"
Zeb rolled his large yellow eyes, "Kid, I'm not scared, especially you."
"Well then," Ezra replied, "Shall we begin?"
"I'll begin" Kanan stepped in. Ezra sat on a crate to the left of the standing Lasat while Kanan stood before him with his hand held out. Though not a Jedi Knight, Kanan could still wield the Force with impressive ways. "Now, I'll demonstrate on tapping into the mind of your target. You'll be confronted by distractions and meaningless thoughts. Every mind has them. You have to focus on your goal."
That sounded simple, but Ezra raised a hand, "How do I know what 'the goal' is?"
"Easy," said Kanan, "You listen to their thoughts and focus on what they think about the most. You'll learn how to weed out the non-essentials. It comes with everything else, you'll learn what you need and don't need through your senses," pausing for a moment, Kanan called down Sabine, "I want you to whisper something to Zeb. Anything. I'll give you time to think on other things, then, I'll go looking for it."
Zeb glanced at his friend then sighed. He had never done such training before and didn't know if it would hurt, but drawing a long breath he nodded as Sabine climbed down. He leaned to the side so that Sabine could whisper it into his ear before straightening out his posture while Kanan stepped far enough away, facing the bulkhead with his hands over his ears. A couple of minutes passed and Kanan calming walked back over and stood before Zeb with a thin smile and a nod, "Ready?"
"Just don't turn by brain inside out," Zeb sighed before closing his eyes.
"I promise, it won't hurt," Kanan said before closing his own eyes and holding out his right hand that stood inches away from Zeb's head. There was a tense silence as Ezra watched. There was no sound, then Zeb began to sway slightly, Kanan's closed eyes tightened, his fingers stretched to their limits before a grunt was heard then another. Sabine stood well away with her arms folded in front of her, but her eyes darted back and forth as the two figures stood poised. Kanan was weeding through Zeb's mind. There was so many thoughts that he was weaving through them, voices of many fellow Lasats calling for him-now long gone. Finally, he found it and when he did there was a flash and Zeb swayed.
"Catch him!" Sabine cried.
"I got him!" Ezra bolted from his seat and stood behind Zeb ready to catch, but Zeb's body began going forwards. Ezra raced around to the front and stood with his arms out and caught Zeb, but his weight was too much. *WOMP!* The impact even made Sabine turn away and wince.
Kanan staggered away, his head in the clouds. His mind was now filled with many of Zeb's memories. Shaking his head, he looked back to see Zeb slowly standing up, "You all right, big guy?"
"Yeah" Zeb groaned, then his eyes flashed open and he smiled, "You were right. It didn't hurt. I don't feel a thing!"
"Well, I DID!" Ezra coughed from the floor.
"Jogan fruit cake" Kanan said.
"What?" Sabine asked.
"Jogan fruit cake," Kanan smiled to her, "It was the first food you and Zeb stole together. An entire Jogan fruit cake from an Imperial officer's birthday party."
Zeb walked over to Sabine and smiled, "Hehe. Yeah. That guy wasn't going to miss it. We ate like kings that night," giving his female companion a high-five.
"We sure did," Sabine smiled, the fond memories rolling through her body.
"I was wondering what happened to that cake," Hera suddenly said from above. "I was going to steal it for myself and then it vanished, and so did you two," pointing at the two culprits who smiled and shrugged their shoulders.
"Finder's keepers!" Zeb laughed.
