Previously:

"Sir, I have spotted the Rebel ship. It has landed in a field and does not seem to be active. Do I engage?"

They were here to take him like his parents. And he also knew that wherever they took them, his parents would be there.

"Promise you'll stay with me?" Kanan asked.

"I promise."

The Ghost swayed abruptly and Ezra's forehead slammed hard into Kanan's armored shoulder.

Kanan steadied him, holding onto Ezra's shoulders. He regarded Ezra with a look so concerned that Ezra wanted to tell him to stop. He wasn't his father, and he didn't need to worry over Ezra. No one did.

"I'm fine, Kanan." He said, trying to square his jaw.

Kanan nodded. "It looks like I'm needed elsewhere." Kanan patted Ezra's shoulder gently before he ran for the dorsal turret.

Ezra tried to push the idea of rescuing his parents out of his mind. After all, he'd come to terms with the abysmal reality for eight years now. What were the chances of being reunited with them now?

And yet…

Ezra shook his head. He couldn't afford to go chasing after dreams and visions anymore, not when he had so much to leave behind.

It was stupid.

Ezra sighed and headed to the cockpit. Maybe he could be useful to Hera. She was bound to have some repairs for him to do when this was all over, something to distract him.

Ezra sank down in the copilot's chair. Hera didn't acknowledge him, far too concentrated on piloting the ship and dodging blaster fire.

A TIE swooped into view like a bird of prey, but burst into a brilliant display of light thanks to a well-timed shot from Kanan. Ezra covered his eyes, and when it faded, he saw the remains of the TIE spiraling to the grassy plains below. He saw the pilot eject, and their parachute activated, probably too late.

Hera risked a glance at Ezra. "Strap in," she ordered, before turning back to the controls. Ezra ignored her command, knowing he'd likely have to jump up in a moment. Soon enough, they would be out of here, safely in space and jumping to hyperspace. Ezra could leave these crazy rescue plans behind him. He'd left them behind before. He only needed to ignore the itch a little longer...

He heard the screech overhead of TIES, and craned his neck to try to see them. They were nowhere on the radar. This is a new maneuver, he thought.

Hera yanked on the controls on instinct, and Ezra held on as the Ghost swerved. He was starting to wish he had buckled in.

"I still can't see them!"

Ezra closed his eyes and reached out with the Force; where were the kriffin...

Oh no.

"Hera! Turn no-"

He was too late, and the ship shuddered as the TIE's fire hit their target.

Hera frantically pushed buttons as a thousand blaring alarms went off. Lights flashed all across the dashboard.

"This just got complicated," Hera muttered.

"Where did they hit us?"

"They took out our shields, and our fuel is already low. Even if we manage to get away, we won't get very far. We'll need time for repairs, but-"

"They'll be on our tail." H finished for her. Hera's brow tightened.
Karabast, Ezra thought. Surely of all times for their luck to run out, it wasn't going to be now, was it?

Not if I can help it, he thought. He leapt out of his seat. "I'll see what I can do. Tell Kanan we need cover."

Hera grimaced. "He'd been giving us cover this whole time."

"Well, tell him we need more cover!" Ezra ducked under the console, lying on his back. Shields went down all the time; he knew how to fix them. Rerouting power was easy. But it would take time, and if he made a mistake…

Ezra didn't want to think about that. There could be an electrical fire…or they could just have to go without lights for a little while. It all depended on which wire he cut.

Ezra bit his lip and pushed his hair back, concentrating. He couldn't see much. It was too dark.

"Hey Chop?"

Chopper came barreling down the hallway, screeching and whining at Ezra.

Ezra sighed. "Would you get over here? I need a light."

He clucked and whirred some more, clearly agitated.

"No, I can't use my lightsaber. I don't want to die."

Chop groaned and rolled up beside Ezra, activating a small flashlight from beneath his dome.

Ezra fished around inside the console, navigating a maze of different wires and switches. Ezra pushed a safety button that would allow him to hack in without electrifying himself or anyone else while this section was down. He unplugged two wires, and switched them.

Ezra crawled out, as quickly as he could. The Ghost's walls roared as Hera swooped to avoid another shot. "Okay, Chop, I need you to connect to this panel and reprogram the shield generator."

Chopper groaned and connected to the system.

The gears twirled, and Hera dodged blaster fire.

"Chopper!"

Chop whirred and the gears turned faster.

"Ezra, hold on. We're about to exit atmosphere."

Ezra sat down in Kanan's copilot chair and buckled in while Chopper magnetized his feet to the floor. His heart jumped up into his throat, and gravity dragged his stomach down into his boots. The harness dug into Ezra's navel. There was bright flash and Ezra shut his eyes.

Ezra always hated this part. The weightless feeling, the red light through his eyelids.

When he opened his eyes, they had left Lothal behind. They were surrounded by the stars. When Ezra leaned forward, he could just make out Lothal, back-lit by its atmosphere.

His view was interrupted by TIE fighters.

"I'll need those shields!"

"Chopper, what's taking you so long?" Ezra asked. He gripped the armrests, bracing for imminent death.

A TIE swooped out of view, and Ezra had a horrible, sickening feeling that this would be the one that hit, the one even Hera couldn't swerve. Ezra unbuckled his harness. He didn't want it to jam into his organs. If it came to it, he'd rather hold take his chances with the windshield.

He swallowed hard, digging his fingers harder into the armrests. His knuckles started to cramp.

Please no please no please no ple-

The TIE fire struck the Ghost and the freighter lurched and righted itself, blaring even more alarms. Chopper let out a frantic stream of chatter, most of it curses in binary.

Hera recovered quickly, yanking on the controls. She cursed under her breath, pressing buttons madly.

"Shields are back, but they hit our fuel line!"

It took a moment to sink in. He'd been hoping the Force would at least spare them somehow - maybe they would hit some paneling they could replace.

But now they wouldn't be getting much farther than Garell, and the Empire didn't make a habit of giving them time for repairs.

Kanan's panicked voice crackled over the intercom. "Can we jump?"

Hera's jaw was clenched tight like a vice. "Yes, we can jump. But if we run out of fuel in the middle of hyperspace-"

"Spare me the details. I've got you an opening. JUMP!"

"Chopper, send us to Garell."

Chopper didn't even complain, which meant a lot. He simply plugged in, found the saved coordinates, and sent them shooting off in an explosion of light.

Hera sat back and sighed, closing her eyes. Ezra looked down. He didn't want to see Hera like this.

Ezra stood. "I'll go run diagnostics. Maybe it's not as bad as we think."

Hera nodded, not opening her eyes. "Thank you," she said quietly.