"Lord Vader," said the Grand Admiral to the hologram. "I believe I may have made an important discovery."
"Let me be the judge of that," Vader replied.
"I have come to speak with you about Kanan Jarrus and Hera Syndulla."
"I see. What have you to tell me?"
"You said you had sensed something out of the ordinary before and when you killed the Jedi, correct?"
"Yes; It seemed to stay very near General Syndulla," stated Vader. "The Jedi had feelings of love toward her, did he not?"
"I would agree." Thrawn nodded slightly.
"Feelings of attachment often cloud a Jedi's senses."
"Would it be possible for Jarrus and Syndulla to conceive a child?"
Vader closed his eyes behind his mask and reached out in the Force. In a great physical distance existed two different signatures: one smaller and a much stronger one near it. They were both resting in one place, but he couldn't tell exactly where. The smaller of the two had certainly grown stronger since he last sensed it. It seemed to back away as he tried to look more closely. Echoes of the Jedi Jarrus resided within the entity. He exited his short-lasting meditative state.
"It seems your studies of the Rebels have finally amounted to something. It is true; their child is strong with the Force and will only get stronger."
"Shall we notify Imperial forces?" inquired Thrawn.
"Double the bounty on Syndulla's head. Leave the search to me."
Ezra. Kanan's voice had a serious tone. This is urgent.
What is it? Ezra replied.
The Empire knows that Hera's pregnant.
Wait... How? Did Vader sense it?
I think so, but I don't know if he was the first one. Listen, you need to leave Yavin 4. Now.
I'll protect her. I promise.
Ezra ran from his cabin up to the cockpit of the Ghost, where Hera was shaping a small piece of wood with a blade. She seemed to be fairly calm, repetitively shaving off small, thin sheets of it. On the other hand, Ezra could sense the baby was nervous, shaken. He looked a bit deeper and found an extraordinarily strong connection in the Force.
Vader.
"Hera, Kanan spoke to me again," said Ezra. "He said we need to leave Yavin 4."
Hera turned to Ezra. "Why?"
"The Empire knows about the baby."
"Chod," she said under her breath. "We need to get supplies, first. They put it on my 'wanted' file, didn't they?" She scowled and stood up from the seat.
Ezra nodded as he pulled it up on his datapad.
Hera sighed before rushing out of the Ghost. She ran directly to the nearest fuel canister, set it on transport mode, and boarded it onto her ship. She repeated this a few times before a man in a worn jacket and stained work pants noticed her.
"General—may I ask what you're doing?"
Hera practically screeched to a halt in front of the next canister and looked him in the eye.
"Tell Senator Mothma I will explain everything if or when I return."
She took the fuel, pushed it up the Ghost's ramp, and ran back out after a few seconds. This time, she was headed for the pile of crates near the corner of the hangar. They were each filled with leftover salt-preserved meat from the hunt a few days before. She took two, ran them into the Ghost, and prepared the ship for flight.
Zeb was the last one to wake up. He yawned, stretched, and cracked his back. He sat up in bed and hit his head against the top bunk.
"Ow," he muttered.
Has it gotten colder?
He quietly padded out into the hallway and looked to the cockpit. Nobody was there; the Ghost was in hyperspace. He frowned and decided to check the lounge. Hera, Sabine, and Ezra were all buried under a blanket on the sectional. They all looked up at Zeb when he walked in.
"What's going on? Why are we in hyperspace?" asked Zeb.
"We have to hide from the Empire," replied Hera. "They're on to us."
"Okay... Where are we going?" He sat down on one of the stools across from them and shivered a bit.
"Away from Yavin 4," said Sabine as she tossed Zeb a blanket. "We can't risk the Empire finding our base because of Hera and Kanan's baby."
"What would the baby have to do with anything?"
"Zeb, Kanan was strong with the Force, and so is his baby," Ezra answered. "Vader can sense a connection to the baby's force signature. He can't tell where he is, or at least we hope so."
"Okay, good, I guess."
Zeb shivered a bit more and pulled the blanket tighter around himself. His fur stood up on end in an attempt to keep in body heat.
"Sorry about the cold," said Hera. "We have to have as much power directed to the engines as possible. We could only bring so much fuel."
"Come sit up here, it's warmer," invited Ezra.
Without saying anything, Zeb got up and sat next to him. He piled his blanket on top of himself and Ezra. Hera smiled and looked over at her family. Sabine had her knees pulled up to her chin, and Ezra pulled himself closer to her.
In the distance, but also right next to her, Hera felt a presence of Kanan. She almost felt his arm around her shoulders. She smiled and put her hand up to where Kanan's would be, touching it gently.
I love you, dear. I miss you.
She could almost see him reflect her smile.
For the first time since he had died, Ezra felt Kanan's presence very strongly—he was almost physically there. He could feel the connection through the Force between Kanan and his baby growing stronger.
But, like a fleeing shadow, he was gone.
His presence lingered in the air and the in the Force for a long while.
He wasn't really gone, after all.
Fifteen weeks had slowly passed. There was no sign of the Empire, fortunately, but Hera couldn't risk supply runs to any planet with the amount of money on her head. She mostly stayed in the Ghost, painting Kanan's old cabin or working on the Kalikori. The changes in her body meant that she was slower and sometimes had trouble with balance. Zeb volunteered to do ship maintenance as requested by Hera, or anything to help her. Sabine was in charge of feeding everybody, being the only one in the crew that could prepare a decent meal. Ezra made himself useful in general, and privately worked on a small Lothcat plush for the baby. At the moment, he was sitting in silence on the sectional of the Ghost. He slipped in and out of visions and Force connections throughout the nearby planets and within the crew.
Ezra...
Ezra... The word echoed in his mind.
You there!
Help her...
The crew is here...
Protect her with your life...
Kanan!
Ezra, no... no!
He heard a cry of pain before a hollow silence came upon him.
Train the child. The familiar voice startled him.
What?
Ezra, are you ready for this? This is a big step, said Kanan.
Ready for what? replied the confused Ezra.
I'm asking you to train my child as a Jedi. Please.
Really? You want me to do this?
Yes. I'll be with you the whole time.
Ezra sighed. I'm ready, then.
Hera was sitting in Kanan's old room, surveying the things she and Sabine had painted. On one side, Sabine had painted a starbird, and on the other, a Loth-wolf. Hera had painted various designs on the door frame, similar to the ones on the walls of Lessu. So far, she approved of everything. She smiled, touched her quite prominent belly, and realized something. She slapped her forehead for being so stupid.
Crap. I have to get baby clothes. Why didn't I think of this earlier?
Hera smiled anyway and ran her hands slowly up and down her stomach.
"I'm so excited to see you," she said joyfully.
The baby stretched and moved its foot under Hera's hand.
Again, she felt Kanan near her. Hera touched the place where he touched her last time, right below her shoulder. She felt no grief or emptiness, but instead comfort and hope. He was security in a time of chaos. Hera felt him embrace her before his presence faded.
Thank you, Kanan, for giving me our baby.
"Only a few more weeks, my dear. I love you."
Hera stood up and realized how tight her boots were getting. Her feet probably had swollen to a size and a half in the last seven months. She walked out to the lounge where Sabine, Ezra, and Zeb awaited her.
"Hera, we need to make a supply run," said Sabine. "It's desperate."
"Yeah, we're out of bolts and several other parts I can't name," said Zeb.
"We're running low on food of almost any sort," added Sabine.
"Perfect timing; we need baby clothes." Hera put her hands on her hips. "We'll find the nearest planet and hope for the best."
"Wait, are you coming with us?" asked Zeb.
"With the amount of credits on my head? Are you serious?" Hera replied.
"Good point."
"Sabine, you're in charge of food and clothing. Zeb, you get whatever parts we need," the woman ordered.
Hera entered the cockpit and began to set a course for Rishi. While she did this, Sabine and Zeb changed their clothing. Sabine wore just a plain tunic and her regular pants, while Zeb wore a hooded jacket and some long brown trousers.
They decided to land on the outskirts of Keseihen, a town crawling with merchants and smugglers, in the hopes of avoiding notice. Sabine entered the cockpit.
"Um, Hera, what kind of baby clothes are you looking for?"
Hera swiveled around in her chair until she was facing her. "I don't know, just find something. I guess I really don't care at this point." She chuckled a bit as she bent down to the floor to open a small compartment. Inside was a good-sized stack of credits; they had stolen them from an Imperial spaceport a while back. She grabbed about 300 credits worth and handed them to Sabine. She put the lid back on and stood up. Her lower back was starting to hurt. She reached in her pocket and took out a few more credits.
"A little extra for the clothes."
Sabine took the golden-colored slabs and put them in her belt pouch.
"Thanks."
"Have fun!" Hera said jokingly. "Be safe."
Wow, now I'm really starting to sound like a mother.
Sabine was pushing three crates full of dried fruit and vegetables while searching for any kind of clothing shop. Zeb was following close behind with a mix of wooden planks, durasteel rods, and a package of nuts and bolts in his arms. Sabine glanced back at him.
"What are you building?"
Zeb looked around to make sure no one else was listening.
"I'm building a bed for Hera's baby," he said quietly.
Sabine smiled, half because of the thought of Hera's reaction and half because of surprise.
"Really? You're so kind!"
"She deserves it, especially after all she's done for us."
Sabine looked to her right. "There!" She darted in the direction of a small shop labeled 'Ezinaea's Wear.'
"You watch the stuff," she told Zeb as she left the crates by the entrance.
As Sabine entered the shop, the cloaked figure lowered his binoculars. He had been avoiding most of the citizens and remaining hidden in the shadows as he observed business transactions. He raised his binoculars again to scan the shallow valley at the outskirts of town. At the base of a low bluff, he noticed a ship with a characteristic flat shape.
Must be a Corellian freighter, he thought to himself.
He increased the magnification of his binoculars. Sure enough, it was a freighter. A VCX-100 to be specific. He spied colorful paint on the hull.
Wait a minute, he thought. That's the Ghost!
He could only dream of how rich he would become. Two hundred thousand credits for just Syndulla! Even more if he captured the whole crew.
He unlatched his comm from his belt. "Governor," he said in a low voice. "I've found the Ghost crew on the planet Rishi."