Hello! I hope you like this chapter!
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Chapter 10 - Plan
"Kanan, we should take a break." Kanan obliged; his arms and legs burning, not from fire, but from exhaustion. He gently placed Hera down, collapsing beside her. His lungs ached from the lack of oxygen, the smell of smoke still in the air. They leaned against the trunk of a tree, catching their breath.
"How fast can one fire spread?" he asked. Hera shook her head.
"I don't know, but something doesn't feel right."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean," Hera said, turning her gaze to meet Kanan's. "It's not possible that one fire is spreading this fast, right? We've been running for a while, shouldn't we have avoided it by now?"
Kanan nodded. "Yeah, we should have. But I guess it's just spreading faster than we thought." They sat there for a moment, taking in the safety from each other's presence. Finally, Kanan broke the silence. "How's the ankle feeling?"
"Better now that it's gotten a chance to rest." Hera stared at it for a moment before continuing. "Thank you, by the way. For rescuing me."
"Don't mention it," he replied. A moment passed, the pair listening to the background noises of the jungle that gave it life.
"I crashed the Phantom."
"I figured as much," Kanan responded, shooting the pilot a flirtatious smile. He sighed, rolling his shoulders back as he shifted his position against the tree trunk. "How are we going to get off of this planet? It'll be another rotation before Ahsoka and the alliance realize something went wrong."
"What, for once you don't have a plan?" Hera asked, the amusement obvious in her voice.
"Well, do you have one?" Kanan retorted back.
"Actually, I do."
"Oh really?" Hera nodded as Kanan smiled. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"
"Yep. For once, I'm the one with the dangerous plan that has a low chance of actually working out, but still somehow always works out anyway," Hera teased.
"Care to let me in on it?" A mischievous smile grew on Hera's face.
"There's a communications tower that's not too far from the factory. It's where the supplies would arrive. Which means, there's bound to be a ship that we can fly off of this planet."
"But the factory was abandoned. How can we be sure that this place isn't abandoned either?" Hera shrugged.
"We don't. But it's our only chance. Besides, I've never meet a ship that I can't fix."
"That's true," Kanan mused. "And once there, we'll be able to find the others."
"Now you're catching on." Hera smiled. "We should probably keep moving. The faster we get there, the faster we can-"
A twig snapped in the distance, the sound making the pair twitch in surprise. Kanan stood, motioning for Hera to stay where she was, knowing that the caring pilot would ignore her injuries if she thought it was necessary. Unclipping his lightsaber from its holster, the blue night illuminated the dark surroundings. It was a beacon for whoever, or whatever, was out there, but he trusted that his reflexes would protect them.
His eyes closed. The night impaired his vision, but it did not impair his senses. He reached out to the force, and it answered back. Reaching out with his senses, he opened his eyes in shock, the connection to the force snapping.
"Hera, it's okay," he said, turning to face the pilot. She looked at him in confusion, lowering Kanan's blaster, but did not question him. With a nod, Kanan turned back as the figure emerged out of the darkness and into their vision.
"Zeb! Sabine!" Hera exclaimed as Kanan rushed up to them. Zeb was a little banged up, but seemed to be the one supporting Sabine, who looked frustrated. "Are you alright?" Kanan helped support Sabine on her other side, and reluctantly, she threw her arm around his neck.
"We're fine," Sabine said with a note of anger in her voice. Kanan and Zeb lowered her down next to Hera.
"No, you're not," Zeb stated. Sabine muttered something under her breath, and Kanan did not need to hear to know it was not pleasant. "She's just upset 'cause she got a little loopy from the blaster shot."
"Blaster shot?" Kanan and Hera exclaimed.
"It's not that bad! And I'm not mad about that, I know it's a common reaction to injuries-"
"Hold on, how did you get shot?" Kanan asked. Zeb and Sabine answered in unison.
"Kallus."
"Sabine, are you sure you're alright?" Hera asked again.
"I'm fine," Sabine said. Noticing that Hera was still sitting up against the tree, she spoke again. "What happened to you?"
"I crashed the phantom," she responded. Zeb let out a grunt.
"More like destroyed it," he said.
"You saw it?" Sabine asked. Zeb nodded.
"See! This is what I'm talking about. He won't tell me anything!"
"Sabine, what are you talking about?" Kanan asked.
"Zeb won't tell me what I said to him! Obviously it was something upsetting, and since I can't remember anything during that time, it's kind of annoying!"
"Sabine, it's okay." Hera placed a hand on her shoulder, which she looked like she was about to shrug off before deciding not to. Kanan looked at Zeb, who seemed to have grown uncomfortable with what Sabine had said.
"Zeb?" he asked, his eyes narrowing. Zeb took a deep breath before answering.
"It's not something you said, Sabine; it's something that you…pointed out." The crew waited as Zeb gathered his words. Sabine, however, was fed up enough and broke the silence.
"And what did I point out?"
"You pointed out a piece of fabric that was tied to a rock…in the water." Zeb shifted on his feet, not making eye contact with anyone.
"And why is that a big deal?" Sabine asked.
"Because," Zeb confessed. "The piece of cloth was from Ezra's jumpsuit." The mood of the crew changed drastically as their minds dissected the information. "I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to worry."
The silence weighed them down as Kanan's mind was swarmed with thoughts, as were the rest of the crews. What was Ezra doing in the water? Had he made it out alive? Or was he floating downstream, his eyes open and lungs filled with -
Kanan shook the image from his mind. No, he would have sensed it. He tried to steady his breathing, and reach for the force. He connected to it, his senses enhanced as he stretched them out through the jungle, searching for his missing padawan. But he was nowhere. There was some force blocking his senses, and Kanan withdrew – knowing what it was. When he opened his eyes, he found three pairs staring back at him.
"Could you…could you sense him?" Sabine asked.
"No, but it isn't because he's gone. The Vornskrs are blocking me from reaching out to him."
"What's a Vornskr?" Zeb questioned.
"A beast native to the planet," Kanan explained. "Thankfully, we haven't run in to one yet, but I think that's only because of Ezra. They use the force to hunt, and a padawan's force signature is wilder and purer than their masters, making them more of a target."
"So we can't locate Ezra, and he's probably being eaten by wild, hungry animals?" Sabine asked, and when Kanan nodded solemnly, she said "Great. Just great."
The situation seemed lost as all four crew members were sucked into their own worrisome thoughts. Kanan was beating himself up about Ezra. He should have protected him; he should have kept a closer watch on him. He should have gone back for him.
He sighed, knowing that the past was in the past. It could not be changed, but he could change the future. And that was what he was going to do.
"So, what's the plan?" Zeb asked.
"The plan is the old plan," Kanan said, still a bit hesitant. "We make our way to the communications tower, steal a ship, and find Ezra. Then we get the heck off of this planet."
"Okay, just a small problem with that," Sabine said. "That's where they want us to go. It's obviously a trap."
"Yeah, the bucket heads has been starting fires all around, trying to force us out," Zeb explained.
"No, that makes it better," Kanan exclaimed, a new spark igniting in him. "If they're trying to force us out with the fire, they won't be expecting us until the fire gets closer. We can scope the place out first. And, it also ensures that Ezra will be forced there as well."
"Yeah, along with the Vornskrs," Hera added.
"I can take care of them, trust me. But for the rest of my-" Hera cleared her throat. "Sorry, Hera's plan to work, we're going to need everyone to fight. Are you up for it?" Sabine answered first.
"This isn't the first time I've been shot. I'm in."
"Count me in too," Zeb said.
"Hera?"
"I'll figure something out," she said. Kanan nodded, and began discussing everyone's role. It was risky, and had a low chance of working out, but that was nothing out of the ordinary for the team. They would make it through it, as they had many times before.
They just hoped that the end result was getting off of this planet, with their lost crew member still alive.
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R & R
~ Kavella ~