"C'mon, we gotta move!", Kanan snapped, shifting over to Moss and placing a hand on her muzzle. As he shushed the nervous creature, Ezra continued to stare up at the column of smoke, trailing up from the windows of one of the taller buildings – a clump of spires that pushed out of the ground and stretched up like flattened fingers, the sides of which were now being lit up by dotted spotlights.

Once Moss was calmed down, Kanan hauled himself up behind Ezra.

"Run as fast as you can", Kanan ordered Moss, the words 'otherwise we'll be too late' left behind in his mind. A nervous energy was building up in his stomach, one he didn't need. He needed to focus instead. He needed to be ready to protect his teammates, his family.

"You best find someplace to hold onto", Ezra warned Kanan, as he felt Moss shift beneath him.

"Why do you say that-" Kanan's words were cut off as Moss surged forward, jumping straight into a run. The sudden shift snapped Kanan's head back, and he grabbed onto Ezra's shoulders to stay on the back of the creature.

Smoothly Moss might have moved, but every leap or side-step she made gave the effect of invisible wires yanking her passengers in the opposite direction. With Kanan hanging onto him, Ezra dug his fingers into Moss' fur. If the added weight or pain from Ezra's hold affected the creature, she showed little to no sign of it. She kept racing along in the direction of the smoke cloud.

They began to overtake Stormtroopers patrols, also converging on the site of the explosion. Shouts could be heard in the distance, along with several dull thuds. More explosions.

"Sabine must be really having a field-day with this", Kanan commented as blue smoke overtook the remains of the purple. Although he only hoped that Sabine felt the same way.

Moss took a sudden turn, loping away down a side-alley. They were closing in on the base of the building, which was close to being swarmed by troopers. Beside the building however was a very dilapidated building. Several floors sawn off, collapsed walls reaching out as if to form a tenacious bridge with the other building…Ezra realised Moss' plan as she reached the entrance to the run-down building.

"Moss, no!", he said, his voice wobbling nervously. But she leapt inside anyway. A jump and a scrabble of claws took them up a floor. A rusted stairwell led them up the rest of the way. Steps creaked and threatened to disintegrate under-paw. Up amongst the remains of the top floors, the smell of dust and chemicals was drifting down, stray strands of smoke billowing through the air to fade away. With a determined snort, Moss took a heavy run-up towards the building. Ezra felt Kanan brace himself, and turned his head away to do the same.

His stomach dropped as Moss launched herself off the crumbling walls. The brief moment of free-fall felt like hours, air whipping itself into a fierce wind that screamed in Ezra's ears.

They slammed through a crumbled window, easily dropping through the gaping hole in the wall and Moss skidding a good couple metres. She paused, glancing back to her passengers as they got their breath back. Kanan slid off Moss, surprised to feel his legs trembling. Despite having ridden all the way, he almost felt like he'd sprinted up the building.

"They're a few floors up", he stated, brushing out with the Force. "But we've got company coming up soon. We'd best move."

"Right."

Kanan led the way, out into a massive stairwell. A vine or tree of some sorts had ripped up through the centre, its thick branches either blocking the stairs up or replacing the stairs completely. In many places, the bark was blackened by laser fire. The small group clambered up the stairs, vaulted branches and brushing bushes aside. Ezra kept finding a gentle nuzzle in his arm or back every time he hesitated, Moss encouraging him to keep going. He needed little encouragement though – his stomach was twisted so tightly from nerves he thought it had shrunken completely.

Soon they'd caught up with the sound of laser-fire, from Stormtrooper blasters and bo-rifles. Activating their lightsabers, Kanan and Ezra burst into the room that was the source of all the commotion. The squad of Stormtroopers in the room were caught by surprise, focused as they'd been on keeping Sabine and Zeb pinned behind a half-collapsed wall the rebels were using as cover. Kanan spun his lightsaber, deflecting the laser bolts of a couple troopers that reacted quickly, whilst Ezra kicked a slower one square in the helmet. A rumbling roar sounded behind them, as Moss made her entrance as well, cannoning into the room and leaping onto an unlucky trooper with teeth bared.

"Karabast! What's that?!", Zeb yelled as he saw the creature attack.

"Looks like the cavalry", Sabine simply quipped, firing off a series of bolts at a distracted Stormtrooper.

It didn't take long for the attackers to be knocked down by blaster bolt or heavy claws. Keeping their sabers active lest another squadron attack, Ezra and Kanan hurried over to Zeb and Sabine.

"Spotted your smoke signal", Kanan commented to Sabine, looking just a tad amused.

"Spotted your new pet", Sabine replied. "Where'd you find that anyway?"

"Long story. I'll explain on the Ghost." Speaking of which, Kanan thought he could hear the sound of familiar space-engines. Sticking his head out of the hole in the building's side (significantly newer than the other signs of ruin, if the blackened edges were anything to go by), he saw the Ghost descending toward them, firing down at the Empire forces around the building. As the back door opened up, Kanan shouted at his team, "It's time to move! Hurry up!"

Sabine leapt across the gap first, dashing back inside the Ghost and into safety. Zeb followed next, standing near the edge of the metal platform into the ship and holding a hand out.

"C'mon!", he shouted, as the Ghost swung to the side to avoid an incoming blast. Kanan obliged, deactivating his saber and leaping across with a Force-jump to boost himself. Ezra prepped himself to follow, but as he put his lightsaber away a pair of jaws locked around the back of his shirt and he found himself carried across the gap with a spine-shuddering leap and thud.

"Wait, no, we gotta drop this thing off!", Zeb yelled over the roar of the engines as Moss scrabbled her way into the Ghost, dropping off Ezra in the cargo hold.

"We can discuss this later! We need to leave!", Kanan argued, also making his way into the ship. Zeb rolled his eyes, slipping in as the Ghost began to rise and the door closed up.

Inside the cargo hold, Hera's voice sounded over the speakers.

"Good to see you all in one piece", she said, sounding just more than slightly relieved. "Thanks for the smoke signal Sabine."

"You're welcome", Sabine replied, pulling off her helmet and looking quite a bit smug.

"Now, can someone explain our new passenger?", Hera asked.

All eyes turned to Moss, who in turn nudged Ezra. Glancing between his team and Moss, faced with serious frowns and expectant staring eyes, Ezra slowly grinned nervously. Only one comment came to mind in this situation:

"Can we keep her?"