A.N: I was going to update last Saturday, and then the Rebels Season 3 panel… and that trailer…. AND THAT BENDU CREATURE WHO IS BEAUTIFUL AND DARKSABER RETURN AND JETPACK AND ZEB SHOULDERS AND KANAN AND HERA AND THRAWN AGHHHHHHHH! Let me know what you're excited for this coming season!

DeviLSPR: I've been waiting for you all to read it I'm so glad you love it!

Starlight:Don't worry, and maybe the Tribe will be a little different. Oooo, ideas, I'm always open to ideas, especially Depa and Kerchec.

Archer, I'm so happy you love the story! And yeah, I understand of cliffy's, it keeps you guys coming for more.

I don't own Star Wars, if I did EZRA'S HAIR WOULD NOT BE THAT SHORT!


Chapter 7: Night Out


One by one the Jedi went up the ladder to join the others in the cockpit, seeing Zeb and Chopper weren't inside but Hera and Sabine had taken their places up front. Ezra saw Demira's eyes go big at the amount of functions and controls in the cockpit. As the boy helped the girl by trying to give her easy explanations on what the systems were, Depa and Kanan sat down at the chairs behind the Sabine and Hera.

The Twi'lek began to explain, "I sent Zeb and Chopper to run diagnostics on the Phantom while we check the status on the Ghost. So far we know cooling systems mildly teared so they can last us a small trip to the nearest repair station. Engines are fine, thankfully-oh, there we go—" Hera said, pointing to a schematic on the control panel. The door in the back slid open, making Demira jump and got behind Ezra. Zeb and Chopper walked, and Demira was left looking at the door in awe. Hera continued, "Life support offline. Must be a major tear in the system. Then again it wouldn't matter if we get it fixed or not." Hera looked at the giant crack in the window. "If we get this ship through hyperspace, the glass will break all the way."

"The Phantom has hyperdrive thanks to Qurrie." Sabine said, trying to sound optimistic.

"About that…." Zeb began.

Hera heard his nervous tone of voice and knew it was bad news. She rested one arm on the control panel and looked at Zeb, "Let's hear it…"

"Life support offline and one engine damaged."

Chopper added something else to which Hera repeated, "A break in the coils?"

"We've fixed damaged like this before," Kanan stated.

"...but on the fleet." Hera added, leaning back to rest on the chair. "And since we can't go anywhere, we're stuck."

"How about we radio in the fleet?" Ezra said, leaving Demira's side and going up to Hera. Demira went to sit down on the floor next to Depa's chair.

"Don't you remember," Sabine asked him. "Signal here is useless, we'll never be able to reach them."

Finally, after hearing how bad the damage to the ship was and how it affected the crew greatly, Depa stood up and said, "I'm sorry. We never meant to ground you. We intend to only damage the ships to get people to leave for repairs, but we went too far."

"It was only our first time Depa." Demira tried to assure her master.

"Demira's right." Kanan agreed, "You didn't know, it wasn't your fault"

Hera, who had been leaning back the whole time said, "As much as I don't want to be a stickler… that's still not going to solve our problem."

"And you're right." Depa told Hera, "Demira and I will help in any way we can… we just have to think—"

"Radio in?" Demira repeated what Ezra had said earlier. As she stood up and scratched her chin, Demira said, "As in communication right? Depa, your radio, from the broken ship…"

"Of course!" Depa said excited, "Brilliant, my Padawan." She then looked to the crew. "When I crash landed here, some parts of the ship had survived, including the radio. Even though signal is bad, it managed to get a signal once, only a little over six months ago. It may still work, and with the right tools, to redirect signal out instead of in."

"We still have the transmitter we relayed to the tower," Kanan stated.

"And we can plug it to the radio," Sabine stated, a grin growing on her face as she got an idea, "Work out the system so that we use the signal of the radio, and the transmitter will redirect the signal. All we have to do is remember which frequency the fleet is on and contact them."

Hera gave a sigh of relief, "And here I was thinking we were doomed. I guess we got lucky."

"So how far is this crashed ship?" Zeb asked.

"On the other side of the mountain, but that's not where the radio is. I brought it with me back home."

"Home?" Kanan asked.

"Where my Tribe lives," Demira stated, as a matter-of-factly. "It is much closer and on this side of the mountain."

Everyone now understood. Demira and Depa weren't alone on this planet. "Right, you still have to tell us about that," Kanan said.

A small grumble was heard and suddenly everyone looked to the source. Demira held her stomach and gave a sheepish grin. "Onga…."

Depa smiled and said, "How about over dinner?"

Everyone agreed, especially Hera. "I could really use just the time to sit and relax. And we still have food in the Galley that will rot soon if we don't eat it it within the next two days."

Kanan added, "And since Depa said it's not safe to travel at night, we sleep here and head out at first light."

"Then it's settled." Depa finished.

"Great!" Demira yelled, "I make fire."

"What?" Everyone asked watching as the girl darted towards the ladder.

"No, Demira, wait." Depa ordered. The girl froze just before she could climb down. "They don't use fires remember, Demira."

"Right… Then how do they cook their food?"

Depa chuckled at the sight of Demira's face scrunching up in confusion. Before she could explain, Hera explained, "We do have stoves, machines that help us cook our food. But since the Ghost is low on energy enough and we need some of it too keep us warm through the night, I suggest we don't use energy for the stove."

"And since you guys are used to making a fire by the sound of it—" Sabine began.

"Great!" Demira said when she understood. Climbing down the ladder she said, "I make fire."

When the sun had set and night was approaching, everyone was already right outside the entrance to the Ghost and sitting around a fire. Bele and Sar Sar were sitting at the edge of the clearing near the group, sleeping together with their head resting on each other's backs. Using a cooking pot from the galley and hanging it over the fire with sticks, Hera and Depa managed to make a pot of stew out of the rations they had. Everyone had their own bowls, even Demira, but the poor girl was having trouble using the spoon. Depa had to explain to the crew, "The Tribe is not used to utensils."

"I would like to learn." Demira insisted.

Ezra came around and sat next to her, helping her out. Meanwhile, Depa had asked to see Ezra's lightsaber. When Demira got the hang of the spoon, Demira took a sip of her food and said, "Hmmm, tasty?"

"Yep," Ezra said, "That's the word your looking for."

When Depa was done looking at it, she handed Ezra's lightsaber back, "A Blaster, too? Unorthodox, but very clever."

When Ezra slung it back on his belt he said, "Kanan said the same thing."

"Like Master like Padawan," Hera said.

Depa agreed, "Indeed. And it is good that in times like these, Jedi like you, Ezra, must adapt. Demira for example fashioned her grip out of wood, but the mechanics of it had to be taken from parts of the ship that I crashed here in."

"Yes," Demira said, "And it's much easier then Mace Windu's lightsaber I had to use—"

Hearing the name, Kanan almost choked on his food. Zeb helped the man out by lightly patting him on the back. When he was breathing normally again, Kanan said flabbergasted, "I'm sorry but… Mace Windu? He's alive too?"

"No, no he's…" Depa began but she faltered, giving a long sigh and putting her bowl down on the ground. Everyone became concerned when Depa had lean over, elbow resting on her knee as she rubbed the side of her temple. Demira immidiatly came over, walking on all fours until coming to Depa's side. She sat down and leaned to her master's side to give her comfort. Feeling Demira by her side brought a little strength back to Depa, and she said, "It will make more sense If I explain everything, The best way to do it is to start from the beginning… how I survived Order 66."

She looked at Kanan. "I know it's hard to look back sometimes, but the way I see it you can either run from the past… or learn from it." Kanan hated remembering what happened on Kaller, but he knew his master had a point. He nodded to her, knowing it was going to be hard to tell the story, but that she should have the courage to say it.

Then she addressed everyone, "I had told Caleb—Kanan—to run, but the minute he left the clones were ordered to pursue. Fearing for Kanan I turned around to tell them to stop, but one of them shot me in the back, and that was all I remember. I woke up sixth months later in a small home on Arret. Sarsley's home. She told me the clones had tried to burry me, but didn't do a good job of it. Sarsley was working at Kaller's Palace when she saw it all, and she came down to check when they were gone. I was alive, the clone had missed my heart by merely inches. It was still a miracle I survived, though…." Depa reached hand down below her chest and rubbed it gently, "I still have the scar to prove it. But I had no proof…. that Caleb—Kanan—had survived. Feeling the lose of the Jedi Order, everyone I knew, I assumed… I assumed Kanan had perished. That was my first mistake."

"No, Master, it's not," Kanan insisted, "I mean, I assumed too, that you were gone. I don't blame you," Kanan was going to add that he blamed himself for not staying to fight, but Depa didn't look like she wanted to address it.

"I suppose…" Depa said, slightly convinced at what he said. Then she continued. "But then I found out you were alive. As you all know for five years I lived under the name Marmee working at Agra's cantina. Then I found a bounty hunter poster, with Kanan's unmistakable face on it. I knew then and there I had to leave and find you. Ironically, that same day the factory had been attacked. Soldiers at the bar who saw me talking to the ones who had done it accused me of helping them. I couldn't let them take me in because I knew they would find out I was a Jedi, and I wouldn't be able to find Kanan. Thanks to Coryn's help I escaped on a ship, made it past a blockade, but somehow when I jumped into hyperspace, they still managed to hit me with something and forced me out. My ship crashed on this planet and the Imperials followed the trail. The hunt began."

Depa put and arm around Demira and pulled her close to her side. "In the midst of it all I found Demira, only eight at the time. She told me of her Tribe and in thinking they could help me I had her take me through the mountain. When I got to the village I was more or less welcomed, but they still helped me shelter where they live. But due to their slight primitive ways, they had no ships to help me leave the planet, or any way to make contact with anyone outside. As I continued to find a way out, the Imperials on ground tracked me down, and captured Demira. With the help of the Tribe we fought them…. At a cost…."

Depa took a deep breath and said, "Though they had their forces, they somehow… Mace Windu, my master, was with them. The Empire somehow used his almost mangled body and his memories to hunt me down and try to kill me. It took me a while, but I understood the Mace I knew was no longer alive, for the Force within his body was gone. When I fought him for Demira's freedom, he fell to his own death. But even if I had the choice I would have put him down myself. He did not deserve to be used as a puppet by the Empire."

"We bumped into something like that once…" Ezra said sadly.

Kanan explained, "Luminara Unduli's body was used to trap Jedi on Stygian Prime. We got the word out after we found out but…"

In hearing the fate of her friend Luminara, Depa grieved for a few moments. "But you wish it didn't have to be this way," Depa finished for Kanan. "There is nothing we could have done to save them Kanan. The Force… has other plans…"

"The Force?" Zeb repeated.

Depa smiled and looked down at Demira. The girl just giggled and rested her head on Depa's lap. The Jedi master said, "Living on this planet, I learned many things, and it all started when I found out Demira was force sensitive. With Kanan, we were meant to be Master and Padawan, it was destined. But I believe it was also destined for us to be separated at one point. You made friends, you joined a rebellion, and you took on Ezra as your apprentice." At hearing his name, Ezra looked at Kanan, and his master returned the gaze. "If things would have been different, I don't think we could be where we are today." Depa looked at Sabine, "Our eyes are opened to cruelty of the Empire," Then she looked at Hera, "People suffer," then she looked at Zeb, "entire homes are lost." It shouldn't have been surprise to them, for Depa probably knew the history of their people. But it still shocked them that Depa understood in some way what each one of them lost. "You are fighting for a reason, though however sad and cruel it may maybe, it brought you together to fight the good fight."

Everyone nodded, slightly sad having to remember why they were fighting in a rebellion, but in the end they were more happier, because Depa was right. They were together fighting for what they stood for. Depa continued, "For me, the reason was to teach Demira what the Force is and that it could be used for good. Her Tribe at the time was not used to her physical ability in the Force, and they feared her. And in turn she feared it, for she could barely control it. When I came I opened their eyes to her gift, and I took Demira on as my apprentice." Demira, feeling the attention on her sat up and held her head high.

"But what about the other Imperials? Did they just leave?" Sabine asked, a little surprised.

"I wish." Depa said, "When the Tribe had killed the last of the Imperial forces, to my discretion mind you, they had left a shuttle behind. I was going to take it to continue my search for Kanan and leave Demira behind. As I was flying out, I found out there was a Star Destroyer stationed waiting for the ground crew. They found out it had failed and was going to dispatch a new one to find me. I knew if I left they would go in search the forest and find the Tribe, and I couldn't let that happen. So I let their TIE fighters destroy the the shuttle, thinking I was in it and killed. Since then, the Empire has left me alone and doesn't know anyone is alive on this planet."

Through Depa's explanation, Kanan felt something through their bond. It was hard to connect considering it had been so long, but Kanan managed to feel something. Depa was holding back. There was another reason she made the decision to stay, and it wasn't just for the sake of the whole Tribe or even to train Demira. Kanan suddenly remembered what she had said earlier when they had reunited.

A loud roar was heard in the distance, making everyone go on full alert. Bele and Sar Sar got up on their hind feet real quick, growling towards the darkness of the forest. Demira quickly ran to where she had left her spear stabbed in the ground. She picked it up and pointed it towards the forest. Depa stood up slowly, saying, "Maybe it's best we get sleep, or at least start heading inside. Like I said the beasts here aren't as friendly as the ones you've met so far…. Including Demira." Hearing that, Demira turned her head around and stuck out her tongue at Depa playfully.

As they walked up the ramp, Hera said, "There's an extra bed in my room that either you or Demira could sleep in. We have mats that we could lay on the floor for the other or—"

"I request to sleep outside," Demira cut in.

Everyone turned to Demira, slightly shocked. For Kanan, he hadn't heard that request in years. He looked to Depa, "She likes to sleep under the stars, I guess."

"Most of of it is my fault I guess," Depa said with a smirk, "But I think the other reason is because of the ship.

"But sleeping outside with whatever is out there?" Zeb asked surprise.

"I manage," Demira said confidently.

Depa walked up to her Padawan and asked her, "Are you sure?"

"Oe te" Demira had replied.

Depa reached a hand out and rested it on the girls cheek. Demira put a hand over it and smiled. Depa then said, "All right, but make sure you sleep next to Sar Sar."

Demira stepped back, rolled her eyes and said, "I will."

"Stay close to the fire."

"Oe'a" Demira told her turning around and walking down the ramp.

"Weapons by your side."

"Oe'a!" Demira called back exasperated.

That's when Kanan saw it again in Depa's eyes. It wasn't just concern, it was… something else.

As the ramp closed up, Ezra said, "Don't worry. If she can tame a crazy Kuri like Sar Sar and tackle me to the ground, I'm sure she can handle whatever is out there."

Sabine said, "You say that like you're the hardest thing to beat next to those things."

"Maybe I am…" Ezra said, fixing up the collar of his shirt and giving a sly smirk.

Zeb came up from behind and ruffled the boys hair. "Yeah right," the Lasat mocked playfully.

Depa watched happily at the exchange, saying to Kanan, "A fine group of friends you have, Kanan." She then followed Hera up the ladder, leaving Kanan to dwell on a thought that would plague him for the night.


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A.N: Wow, that was a lot! But hey, for those who didn't read my last fic now you know, yay! So, even though leaving is a no go, they at least have a way of calling the fleet. And how about that nice long talk, maybe the lessons learned are too much of a hammer to the head? Your thoughts? But what about that end, what is Kanan thinking? Find out next, and meanwhile I'm just going to continue fangirling and you let me know what's you're excited for in season 3. I'm KikaKatTIOI, peace out!

Fun Fact:

1)Since my last fic was inspired mostly by Tarzan, Demira's way of learning an acting is inspired by Tarzan's wild nature. Alos Tarzan happens to be my favorite childhood film