Seven Months After A New Dawn

"Spectre One to Phantom. I need a pickup!"

"Copy that, Spectre One. I'm on my way. Two minutes," Hera said into the comm. Was that blaster fire she'd just heard? The op should have been an easy one. All they needed to do was steal a single, small crate from the Imperial Mining Institute; the mission had come directly from Fulcrum. Hera had no idea what was in the crate, but she figured it must be something pretty important.

"Any way to speed that up at all?" Kanan demanded.

That was definitely blaster fire. "What's going on, Spectre One?"

"Oh, not too much. I'm just pinned down in an alley with a wall at my back and ten Stormtroopers blocking the only exit," he said. Not too surprisingly, he only sounded mildly ruffled by his current situation. Hera was concerned, however, and she pushed Phantom's engines to maximum power.

"I've got eyes on you," she said, coming up on the alley his comm locator was pinging on the scanner. A few of the Stormtroopers spotted her and started blasting. She eased the small ship just out of range of the bolts, hovering while she sized up the situation. It would be tight- really tight- but she thought she could pull it off.

Kanan had wedged himself, and the crate he'd nicked from the Mining Institute, behind a large metal garbage receptacle in the corner of the alley. He probably could have scaled the wall easily, if not for the heavy fire. He'd managed to take out a couple of the Stormtroopers, at least.

"Okay, Spectre One, I'm coming in," she said, watching as he stepped briefly out from behind the garbage receptacle and took out another trooper.

"Negative, Spectre Two. There's too much fire, and you won't fit."

"Watch me," Hera responded, flipping Phantom's tail around so that it was lined up with the rear hatch facing Kanan. She pushed gently on the yoke, dropping down into the alley with only centimeters to spare on either side. Blaster bolts were pounding the little ship. She punched the button that opened Phantom's rear hatch, expecting Kanan to immediately jump in. He did not.

Not good.

Hera's first priority was to get the Stormtroopers off them, regardless of whatever was going on with Kanan. She fired Phantom's twin cannons into the line of bucketheads, taking out two more, and the rest scattered into the street beyond. They would be back.

Where was he?

"Blast it, Kanan, MOVE! Where are you? We need to get out of here!" she yelled over her shoulder. She was starting to get really worried.

The crate he'd stolen came flying through the hatch, hitting the floor hard and skidding into a stop at the back of Hera's seat. She breathed a sigh of relief. That was a good sign. At least he was alive.

Kanan finally stumbled in, clutching his side. She punched the button to close the hatch, and was in the air a second later, flying towards the Ghost.

Hera glanced quickly back at Kanan, who was sitting in one of the jump seats, hunched over.

"We'll be there in a couple of minutes. Just sit tight, okay?" she told him. She depressed the comm button. "Chop, get the Ghost ready. We're docking and then jumping, doesn't matter where." She glanced at the scanner. "I have two TIE fighters in pursuit."

Chopper grumbled acknowledgment.

The Phantom shook with a blast from one of the TIEs. Hera evaded them, diving and weaving, trying to make it impossible for them to get a shot- something she was very good at. Green bolts of canon fire shot past the Phantom, missing every time.

The comm beeped, and Hera looked up. The Ghost was far above, just below cloud cover. She pulled into a steep ascent and climbed towards the clouds, following the Ghost into them, disappearing. Within a couple of minutes, they'd completely lost the TIEs. Hera mused that it was lucky they weren't very good pilots. Chopper slowed, allowing her to dock. As soon as the Phantom was locked in, she felt the Ghost jump into hyperspace.

Hera sprang out of her seat and grabbed the first aid kit. Kanan's eyes were closed, and he was pale, breathing shallowly.

She had trouble speaking for a second. "Kanan...say something." Her voice sounded weak and trembly to her own ear cones.

"I've never been better," he said with a faint smile, and opened his eyes. "I'm okay, Hera. It's just a graze...don't panic. But that hurt."

"I'm not panicking," she grumbled, dropping to her knees next to him. "Take off your shirt."

His smile got wider. "Interestingly enough, this is exactly how I pictured it in all my daydreams about you."

She scowled as she helped him peel off his green tunic. She could feel Kanan's eyes on her as she studied the wound on his left flank, trying to avoid looking at the rest of his finely muscled torso.

"See? It's not that bad," he told her.

Hera ignored him and unhooked the latches on the first aid kit with her thumbs, pulling out a bacta bandage of the appropriate size. She slapped it against the wound with some force, deliberately, and he winced. A moment later, he let out a sigh as the bacta's cooling sensation began to take effect. He started easing himself back into his tunic, eyes still fixed on Hera's face.

Hera smacked the lid of the first aid kit down and latched it closed. She could hear her heart pounding inside her own head, and she finally realized that she was utterly and completely furious.

"What happened back there?" she demanded, glaring at him, her expression thunderous. "You should have been in and out of there! What happened?"

Kanan's eyes widened at the fury in her voice. "I don't know, Hera. Moving the crate must have tripped some kind of silent alarm that Fulcrum's source didn't know about. I'm not really sure why you're so angry about it, though. How was I supposed to know that there was an alarm?"

"You should be looking for things like that!" she spat. "You should know better! Mistakes like that get people killed!"

"You really don't need to shout. The closest planets can probably hear you."

"I guess you're not hurt that badly, if you're making idiotic jokes," Hera growled. "Take care of your own wound. I have better things to do." She jumped to her feet and started to move towards the hatch.

Kanan stood, grimacing with pain, and grabbed her arm. "Hera...I'm sorry."

She raised her eyes and met his blue-green gaze, and the fight went out of her almost instantaneously. He looked both very contrite, and very confused. Something in his expression tugged hard at her heart, and she felt the barrier she'd built between herself and her feelings for him give way. Before Hera even knew what she was doing, she had grabbed the front of his shirt with both hands and pulled him towards her, planting her lips firmly on his.

She felt him freeze against her, in what was presumably a significant amount of surprise. A half-second later, he realized what was happening, and he very enthusiastically kissed her back, wrapping his arms around her.

His lips slipped and tugged against hers. He caught her bottom lip between both of his, and an electrified shiver shot through her; she pressed against him, dizzy. The kiss went on for what felt to Hera like several beautiful, amazing days, and she didn't want it to end. But eventually she began to feel like she was going to pass out, and she distantly recalled that breathing was a necessity. She broke the kiss and pulled back slightly. Their faces were still very close together, their lips almost touching. They were both breathing hard.

Hera tightened her fingers in his shirt and opened her eyes. He was looking back at her, happily dumbfounded.

She abruptly released his shirt and took a step back, forcing him to let her go. "I shouldn't have done that," she said in a low voice.

Kanan looked at her quizzically. "Yes, you definitely should have done that. Why not?"

Hera shook her head. "You know why not. This can't happen. I'm...we're too busy. It's risky. What if you're stupid like you were tonight, and you get yourself killed? What am I supposed to do, then, Kanan?" Hera's voice had been steadily rising again, and her anger was returning. Such a strange reaction. What was the matter with her? It felt like a Ryloth sandstorm was tearing through her entire body.

"Are you going to start shouting at me again?" he asked, bemused.

"Maybe," she grumbled.

Kanan impulsively grabbed her hand. "Hera..." he said, gazing at her.

"Whatever you're going to say, don't."

Kanan studied her face for a long moment, his own expression unreadable. He let go of her hand.

"Okay, Hera. Maybe another time," he said calmly, sounding as if he was talking about getting turned down for a dinner date.

Hera's eyebrows shot up. "What? That's all you have to say?"

"I'm a former Jedi padawan. I know how to be patient," he said. The heat in his eyes had cooled; she supposed he was telling the truth. He cleared his throat and looked away from her, turning towards the crate that had caused them so much trouble.

"Let's take a look at what's in this little crate that's so important. There's something odd about it..." He went over to it and, wincing a little, hefted it up onto the seat he'd recently vacated.

Hera frowned, dazed by his abrupt change of subject. "Uh...Fulcrum didn't tell me to open it," she said, thinking that she sounded awfully stupid. The last few minutes had been some of the most confusing of her young life, and she didn't quite know how to even begin processing everything.

Kanan, meanwhile, appeared largely unperturbed. He waved his hand over the lock on the crate, and it popped open. He lifted the lid and peeled back the protective coverings, and then he sucked in a sharp breath. "Oh," he said.

"Oh?" Hera moved to stand next to him, and she peered down into the crate. "Are those….? What are those?"

The crate was full of small crystals of various shapes, all carefully ensconced in protective foam. They glinted and winked in a very peculiar way.

Kanan was silent for several seconds, seemingly mesmerized. Then, finally: "They're kyber crystals."

Hera wasn't familiar with the term. "Kyber?"

"They're the crystals that powered the Jedi lightsabers. They resonate with the Force. When I was a youngling, I went to a cave on the planet Ilum, and I found mine. It called to me." He looked up at her. "I don't know why your pal Fulcrum would want them, though."

She shrugged. "I don't know, either. I suppose to keep them out of the Empire's hands for some reason. The Jedi used them for weapons...maybe that's what the Empire wants them for, too."

Kanan replaced the coverings, closed the lid, and locked the crate. "If that's true, it's bad. These crystals are extremely powerful. I remember learning that the Sith used them to create superweapons."

"The Empire aren't Sith, though," Hera said.

Kanan brow creased with a frown. "I certainly hope not."

Some notes: The Empire was mining kybers on Lothal, so here they are, with a heaping helping of heavy foreshadowing. Kanan and Hera know about the issue with kyber crystals by S1, so it makes sense.

I realize that smooch is a bit frustrating, but this is Hera we're talking about. Nevertheless, she had to be the one to make the first move. It's not like Kanan was going to do it. Also, I suspect that things are probably going to get worse before they get better, for these two dorks.