Kanan! replied Ezra excitedly. You're in my head?
Well, if you put it like that, answered Kanan.
So you've become one with the Force? inquired the quite mystified Ezra. Is that what the afterlife is like?
Kanan sighed. Yes. Listen, I sensed something about Hera and, well, you already know, but it was something... something more.
More? What do you mean?
I need you to tell Hera that our child has a strong Force signature.
What? What does that mean? Wait- Ezra, puzzled, thought for a moment.
Kanan sighed once more. I think our child is Force-sensitive, at least to some extent.
You really think so?
Yes. I know what I sensed, Ezra. Well, now I know. Kanan left Ezra's mind and was nowhere to be heard.
"Uh, Hera?" said Ezra from across the medbay.
Saying nothing, Hera turned her attention to Ezra.
"Kanan spoke to me. In my mind."
"Was it something with the Force?" asked Hera.
"Yeah, I think so. He told me to tell you that he thinks the baby is Force-sensitive."
Hera's expression cleared a bit. "How did he find this out?"
"He said he sensed it, it was like nothing he'd ever sensed before."
"I knew he was distracted by something," sighed Hera. Suddenly, she felt a deep anger swelling inside, bursting at the seams. "And those damn Immobilizers interrupted by ripping us out of hyperspace so I couldn't tell him!" She pounded her fist against the durasteel cot where Kanan lay. Tears of frustration and grief welled in her emerald eyes before she hung her head in sorrow.
Ezra walked over to her. "I'm sorry, Hera... I could've helped protect him-"
The Twi'lek woman placed her hands on Ezra's shoulders and looked him in the eye.
"If there is one thing I want you to know," began Hera, voice shaky. "It is that this is not your fault."
She wiped her tears and looked back at Ezra.
Sabine came up behind Hera and gently touched her shoulder.
"Hera," she spoke tenderly. "What should we do with his body?"
"I need to do this alone, Sabine."
The Twi'lek woman removed Kanan's clothing and laid them in a pile on a seat. She then filled a container of water and poured it gently over his head and neck. While she was cleaning his beard, Hera noticed he was wearing the necklace she'd given him long ago. She removed it temporarily and set it with the rest of his clothes. She continued fetching water from the one small sink the Ghost had and pouring it over Kanan's body. She made sure his entire body was thoroughly clean of any dirt.
Hera re-dressed Kanan and put the small wooden necklace back around his neck. She put his hair in a neat ponytail, combed his beard, and arranged his arms so that his hands were covering the gaping hole in his upper torso. Now, she had to let him lie there as they flew back to Lothal.
"I love you, my dear Kanan." She cradled his face as one single tear streaked her own.
Everyone searched for their nicest clothes, even though it wasn't much. Zeb dug some traditional formal Lasat garb out of a dusty crate he had sitting in his room. Sabine pulled an old black tunic from one of her drawers and put on some less paint-stained gloves. Ezra had nothing but the clothes on his back, but he'd grown some since he was found by the crew, and he now fit into most of Kanan's clothing. Hera suggested that he wear the black suit Kanan wore at their wedding.
She looked at Ezra and all she could see was the love of her life, awaiting his bride once more. It brought joy and melancholy to her at the same time.
Hera thouroughly searched her own quarters for formal wear or a dress of any kind. Her drawers were mostly empty except for a set of spare clothing and a few keepsakes.
Something in a compartment under her side of the bed caught her eye. A flat, gray box had been tucked away without Hera knowing about it. She knelt down, removed the box, and put it on her bed. Inside was something that was forgotten, yet never more meaningful to Hera; inside the box was her wedding dress. She held it just above the box, further examining the intricately embroidered fabric. The dress brought back so many good memories, happy memories, especially the time Kanan spilled S'dakke wine on the lounge floor of the Ghost when they were on their honeymoon. The both of them were drunk at the time, and they laughed and laughed about it. The stain was still there after years of neglected cleaning tasks. Those memories only caused her pain and sadness, now.
Finally, after a few minutes of thinking, Hera made the decision.
She laid the dress back in the box and put it back under her bed.
Hera walked out of her quarters in an old satin black tunic, a black skirt, silver sandals, a Twi'leki mourning headdress, and an amber necklace.
Sabine was waiting in the hallway when she spied Hera.
"Beautiful. Who gave you the necklace? You never wear it."
Hera smiled. "It was my anniversary gift; my first, actually. Thank you."
"You look nice, kid," Zeb commented as Ezra walked out of Kanan's old quarters.
"Thanks, you too." He turned to Hera. "Are we sure this is a good idea to go back to Lothal? I mean, in case we get attacked by pirates again or something?"
"You did say this temple could only be found by one strong with the Force, correct?" Hera asked as she guided the Ghost gently to the grassy plains of Lothal.
"Yeah... I did." Ezra went silent for a while.
The Ghost landed gracefully on the surface. The crew strode down the ramp quietly, the air saturated with a mutual sadness. The overcast sky made the grassy scenery seem dull. Zeb and Ezra carried the body wrapped in dusty white cloth on a stretcher. Chopper volunteered to stay with the ship; the droid wasn't skillful at consoling organics.
Without saying anything, Zeb and Ezra gently laid Kanan's body in the grass while Zeb began to dig a hole. Sabine went off to find a stone to mark the grave. Hera found herself gazing one last time at her beloved.
Once Sabine had returned, Zeb and Ezra solemnly picked up Kanan's body and lowered it into the ground. Zeb replaced the earth over him. They stood in silence until Sabine placed the stone above the grave. She knelt before it and marked it with black spraypaint:
Here lies Kanan
Leader and friend of the Ghost crew
Another long, melancholic silence. Hera searched her memory for the song she sang at her mother's funeral. Finally, it came to her:
"A'eswo talkan vil ruerejan rayao ka'bayet rao,
Rayao ar jei ni'hi nolna, ar tilikez.
Gan virsan cea'y veo gei neo sahak'chir ar dan.
Cea'y yuri ohk gue va'nisanm,
Gan cahsinark dey dan rao
Gan, cla, ohk solsani vil cahsinark vuret dan
Ootay ji tohsi tilsa'dec eih,
Ootay ji tohsi tilsa'dec eih."
Not one member of the crew hid their tears. Ezra knelt at the foot of the grave and began to speak.
"I want you to know that I think of you as a father, Kanan." He sniffed. "I barely remember my real parents, and you, Hera and Sabine and Zeb pretty much adopted me." A tear of his pattered on the overturned soil. At that same moment, both the temple and the sky's Force signature pulsed a tiny bit, almost unnoticeably to Ezra. "Thank you... for saving my life," he continued. "And I'm sorry I couldn't save yours. Goodbye, Kanan."
Neither Sabine nor Zeb knew what to say; they remained static. Hera took a small step forward.
"Love..." she began. "We made a promise. We promised to love and care for each other forever, and never to part until death... not even death." The woman wiped her tears and continued. "We also made another promise to help others and fight for those who cannot, and by the Force I'm going to keep that promise. I will finish what we've started. For you and for the good of others." Hera paused.
"Goodbye, my dear Kanan. I love you more than words can say."
They stood a bit longer, mourning, before walking back to the Ghost.
Sabine prepared a small meal for the crew in the galley. Hera, Zeb, and Ezra sat at the table, neither looking nor talking to each other. Zeb and Hera had stopped crying a while ago, yet still shared a deep sadness. Ezra was still expressing his; he'd just lost a man who was essentially his father.
Sabine emerged from the galley with the plates with various dried fruit on top of each. They'd been running low on rations lately, as they were on the run constantly. This batch was stolen from an imperial spaceport. The crew stared at their plates, reluctant to eat, but they were all desperate for food. They all finished eating in a matter of minutes. Hera was the first to speak.
"Thank you," she looked into Sabine's eyes. "But I need to be alone for a while," she said as she cleared her plate. She walked directly into her room.
Hera changed into her usual fatigues and sat at the foot of their bed. She looked at the empty side of her bed that belonged to Kanan. The shape of his body was imprinted in the sheets and on the pillow. The blanket was piled near where his ankles would have been. She slid her hand under the wad of fabric, grasped it, and pulled it up to her face.
It still smelled of him.
What I wouldn't give to see him again.
She buried her face in her hands and sobbed quietly for a short while.
The woman wiped her tears and looked up again. She found herself staring at the Kalikori Kanan had stolen back for her. He had loved her so much he took back her family history.
"I love you," whispered Hera through another shower of tears. She held the blanket close to her heart and smiled a bit.
The baby, she remembered.
Hera clutched the woven blanket to her stomach. The baby wouldn't have a father, but only things to remember him by. She let that sink in for a moment before looking around the room for any possessions of her husband's. She managed to find his mask, a couple of shirts, some hair ties, and a few small beads he used to put in his hair and beard. She placed all of the belongings near the Kalikori, which would be passed on to her child when the end of her own life came. But for now, it was her turn to add to the art.
But maybe not yet.
