chapter 6

Droids in distress part 1

Kanan's pov

"So there are two sides to the force. The Jedi follow the light side and the Sith who follow the dark, there is also those who walk both sides of the force, and according to them them follow the will of the force, but those who do this are very rare. As a Jedi we have to be sure that we are not tempted by the dark side, although you can learn from it. I have learned from it to help me grow stronger in my techniques and abilities, but I also know that it is not what to do as the dark side users only think of themselves, not of others as Jedi do. For now don't worry about any of that, for now all you have to worry about is learning how to use the force" I said as Ezra and I sat in our room.

I had decided to have Ezra bunk with me in my cabin for now. I knew it was only a temporary fix as one day I hoped to move in with Hera, but for now Ezra needed me and I knew this was how it should have been from day one. I could feel our bond, already stronger than it was a month into Ezra joining us the first time around. Now starting real training with Ezra from the start, not needing Hera to talk me into it like she did the first time, I was making sure that he would have what he would need so that the dark would never have the pull on him that it did the last time.

"Clear your mind" I said as we sat facing each other.

"Clear my mind...are you crazy?" Ezra asked looking at me.

I had to think about this, what I remembered about being Ezra's age and every thing that with that. On top of all that Ezra was learning to be a Jedi which had its own problems, okay maybe clearing your mind at Ezra's age was asking a bit much, but it was some thing that all padawans went through, so I just held my hand up with two fingers close together.

"A little bit! now you tell me!" Ezra said, throwing his hands up

I chuckled a little and then said "I don't know many force users that don't seem a little crazy to others".

"And the clearing the mind thing,mediation that we have been doing will help with that?" Ezra asked now closing his eyes then continued"I still think you are crazier than most Jedi, what is the braid thing you put in my hair?"

"It's a padawan braid, and most padawans have one. I had one at your age. Its a symbol of the tie between master and student that is why it is made up of your hair and mine combined, with a bead at the end to show the journey we are on together" I said thinking on the braid I had to cut off myself, hoping that I would be the one to cut this one off.

"Oh, but our bond?"

"Is another sign of our connection, but unlike the braid which is cut off when the padawan is ready to become a jedi knight, the bond is forever, not even death can fully separate that connection"I explained.

"That won't happen, will it? you won't leave me?" Ezra said, his force signature full of pain that he just couldn't hide any more.

"Not if I can help it, but just know for now I will always be with you no matter what happens" I said soothing the pain.

"Well I am going to do all I can to make sure that never happens. Master you will be around for a very long time"Ezra said sounding very sure of himself.

"Fine, if your that sure. Any way the point of this lesson is the better the connection between master and padawan the easier it will be to fight the dark side until the padawan can do it on their own" I said.

"I don't think I will be ever ready for that" Ezra said, still thinking of me leaving him.

Oh Ezra if you only knew I thought, not needing the reminder from Joe that I had already died once and that I knew it was highly likely that I was going to die again, but this time I was going to make sure every thing was set up if that happened to me again.

Then suddenly we hear yelling outside the door and I say "well that's the end of that lesson. no one would be able to meditate through that. Let's go and see what is up?" and Ezra and I walked out to find Hera yelling at Zeb.

"Can't believe you did that Zeb! some times you act younger than Ezra even though your the oldest of us all! spill it why did you do this?" Hera yelled at Zeb who usually towered over all of us, but right now seemed to have shrunk down to the size of a loth - cat.

"Sabine said she wanted to paint one and I just saw it sitting there. The owner and I... well he won't need it to see the stars, also I did use it to free some farmers that the empire had taken prisoner" Zeb explained.

"Hera what is going on?" I asked as Ezra and I joined them.

"Mr purple warrior here stole a tie fighter for Sabine to paint, but apparently it was okay because he freed some farmers from the empire" Hera replied, still looking like she was going to hit Zeb so hard he was going to see stars.

"The farmers who were they?" asked Ezra quietly, to which Zeb said "one's name was Summar".

"Ezra does that name mean anything to you?" I asked,and the boy nodded, but didn't say anything else until he felt an encouragement feeling I sent to him.

"Summar was a friend of my parents, and one of the only people that would give me things to eat when I was on the streets" Ezra answered.

Hera looked like she wasn't going to hit Zeb anymore, but any minute if I got this right she was...

"Hera let me go!".

"Not happening Ezra" Hera said, as she held Ezra in a tight hug, but I could see even though Ezra had protested he really did want a hug from his space mum, I knew that he didn't have enough of them growing up and that was going to be another thing I was going to change.

"Not too many, Ezra is the type of kid that is not too touch - y, feel - ly. Any way that was a better start to Ezra's jedi training than last time" Joe said in my ear.

As if I needed the reminder of the last time I tried to train Ezra and I was about to tell him so when Hera interrupted me speaking over the top of Ezra's head "fine, Zeb we will deal with this later. For now Kanan we need to take that job of vizago's. We need the money for supplies and fuel, I know you said you had a bad feeling about it, but if we don't we might as well put the Ghost in storage for a while until we can get her in the air again" and I swear I could hear Joe chuckling in my ear about it.

"Fine I may not like the man very much, but he does keep us in the air" I said, hoping that Joe got the double meaning to my words.

Some time later we boarded the star commuter shuttle ST - 45, bound for Garel. Ezra had played his part well, planning to get zapped by Chopper hadn't been the best part of the plan, but it was needed, not that he was going to be happy when it happened. I told Chopper to keep it on a low setting, not even high enough to stun the boy, and I made sure Hera repeated the order as he rarely listened to any one else.

Just then Maketh Tua and Amala Wabo the aqualish trader came on board. The trader was very chatty, but from his words, he only spoke aqualish and a few words of basic and as I remembered Tua didn't speak a word of it. I knew who she was waiting for and I still didn't understand why they were sent in the first place, only one of them was any good at their job.

"Where is that translator?" Tua said, to which a metallic voice answered "coming minister!, come along, R2" and a gold protocol droid with a blue - domed R2 unit came on board and after identifying themselves to Tua the protocol droid started to translate for her.

I could see how nervous Ezra was as I slipped in behind him. I sent him strength along the bond so he wouldn't show or give us away. I knew he had fears of being caught by the empire and I didn't blame him for that, but I was determined that even if it did mean my death again I would do it for him there was nothing I would not do for Ezra or Hera. They above all others were the closest to me, not that I would be there for the others, but they didn't need me like Ezra and Hera did.. Maybe one day I would have a child of my own, but Ezra would always be my first.

Sending feelings along the bond wasn't as hard as last time and realizing now how easy this was getting as Ezra got used to me doing this. It was something I did for the Ezra in my first life especially in these early days when so much was new to him, but unlike this life the Ezra of that time was closed off, too secretive, didn't really trust any one. This Ezra was willing to have the help, I just had to hope that it didn't turn into something that could be trouble for us later on.

As the shuttle jumped into hyperspace I gave Ezra the signal and Ezra started to push Chopper around, who was poking him up until now, to which Chopper shot out electricity not only at Ezra, but at me as well hitting us both, that was not suppose to be part of the plan. Chopper the murder bot must have decided to do it own his own as I didn't remember him actually hitting me with those volts last time.

"Will you cut it out? you have plenty of room!" Ezra said as Chopper continued to fight him.

"Isn't there some rule against droids in the passenger area?"I said to the droid pilot.

"Sir, your astromech must proceed to the back of the craft"said the droid as it turned to face Ezra, to which Ezra said "if my astromech's banished, then those two astromechs should be banished too".

"Astromech? me? I have never been so insulted! I'll have you know that I am a protocol droid, fluent in six million forms of..." said C- 3po, Tua cut him off by saying "pilot, these two droids are with me on imperial business".

"Sorry, ma'am,but these are imperial regulations" the droid said singing around back to space as it pulled it's visor down.

Chopper, C3po and R2 - D2 made their way to the back of the shuttle, causing a small fight to break out between Chopper and R2 - D2, I guessed knowing them they will never get along, but as I have thought before Chopper hardly gets along with any one on the Ghost and we're his crew. I winked and sent a warm feeling to Ezra to let him know he did a good job.

Up front just like we planned the misunderstanding between Tua and Wabo increased. Zeb leaned over the back of their seats and said "Excuse me, but if it's of any help, my ward here is quite fluent in aqualish" when we all knew Sabine knew more languages than that, but they isn't need to know that.

Sabine waved off the comment, but continued with "I would never presume, though it would be good practice for my level five exams at the imperial academy".

Tua smiled and then said "you're a level five academy student? I was too once upon a time".

Ezra shifted in his seat all confidence slowly draining away. He knew what was going to happen next, we all did and I could feel that he was not sure he could pull it off on his own, but what he didn't know, what none of them knew right now was that Ezra and the rest were able to do so much on their own that working in a team wasn't always needed, it helped, but not needed.

"Ezra calm, you've got this" I said softly, so no one could hear me, but Ezra, which gave him the boost he needed.

Just then Tua spoke again " ask Mr Wabo where the shipment is being held" and Sabine told her after Wabo's response was "bay seventeen".

Ezra's pov

As the shuttle landed everyone went their separate ways, but not before Sabine told me as she walked past "bay seven". I nodded then hid for a bit so that no one would see what I was about to next. I climbed up and took off the vent cover and crawled inside. I hope Kanan could feel how annoyed I was at doing this because he did say that our bond was strong enough now to get feelings from one another. My clothes and hands were coated with grime as I continued down the duct.

"This is disgusting" I thought and even though it was something I had done many times, didn't mean I liked it.

"Kanan, I thought you were going to teach me more jedi stuff, so far on this mission all I'm doing is thieving, which I already knew how to do since I was seven" I said into my comlink.

"I know, I promise we will work on something better once this mission is over, but right now the Ghost needs fuel and food" Kanan commed back.

"My choice?" I asked.

"Within reason" Kanan said cautiously.

"Light saber training?" I asked now, since seeing it and watching Kanan practice with it, I wanted my shot.

"Not my first choice, but okay, we get this done, we will start working on light saber forms" Kanan said.

I continued to the top of vent and took the vent cover off and emerged on a hanger rooftop. I took a breath then ran and jumped, landing on the roof a few meters away. The next jump I nearly get hit by a shuttle pasting by as I landed and almost fell off the next rooftop. I needed a boost after that, I could almost hear the voice that helped me before shouting words of encouragement. Finally after the last jump I made it to the roof of bay seven, which I quickly found a duct and dropped through it to land inside.

I went to the bay's control panel and using my astromech arm in my backpack, which I had told Kanan that I would need to bring, I never really leave it anywhere when I am out, always afraid that someone will take what is inside, but I did trust Kanan, and I was starting to trust the others, well Hera at least, and even though I had flirted with Sabine I really didn't know what to make of her and Zeb well...Zeb was warming up to me, and Chopper was Chopper. I overrode the lock so that Kanan, Zeb and Sabine could come in. While Zeb and Sabine, move to go get the crates Kanan went to open bay eight's control panel so the Ghost could land.

An: happy easter everyone