Several minutes later, Ezra emerges from the Ghost, accompanied by Jacen, Hera, and Finn. The four approach Kira and the astromechs.
"Where's Ahsoka?" Ezra asks.
"She had a message. I think it's from one of her agents." Kira says.
"So, she told you about that." Hera says.
"Yeah." Kira says.
"Agents? What's going on? Is that lady some kind of spy or something?" Finn asks.
"Spymaster is more like it. Ahsoka used to lead rebel intelligence back in the early days of the rebellion. She reactivated her spy network after the attack on the jedi temple." Ezra says.
"She said it was an urgent message, and that she was expecting it." Kira says.
"She might be a while then. We'll have to carry on without her." Ezra says.
"Ok, Ezra. you've got us out here. What are we supposed to do?" Jacen asks.
"Take that helmet I asked you to bring, and set it right here." Ezra answers, pointing to a spot on the ground. Jacen takes the old stormtrooper helmet in his hand, and sets it on the ground in the spot indicated by Ezra.
"An imperial stormtrooper helmet? What are we going to do with that?" Finn asks.
"Good question, Finn. You won't be doing anything with it. Kira will be using her saber to deflect blaster bolts to the helmet. All you have to do is shoot at her." Ezra says.
"You want me to shoot at Kira? I don't know if I can do that. She's my friend." Finn says.
"I know, and you're a good friend too. She speaks very highly of you. You're not actually going to hurt her. This is a training exercise. You are helping her get better with a lightsaber." Ezra says.
"Got it." Finn says.
"Alright, Kira. Ready position. Everyone else, blasters ready." Ezra says. Hera, Jacen, and Finn take out their blasters, and aim them at Kira. Chopper and R2-D2 aim their built in blasters at her. Once everyone is ready, Ezra says "Fire!"
Everyone begins to fire their blasters at Kira, while Ezra observes. Kira is able to block almost all of the blasts, but she deflects them with almost no control whatsoever, so none of them hit the helmet on the ground.
"Alright, everyone. Stop firing." Ezra says. Everyone does as asked, and Ezra approaches Kira, stopping in front of her. Kira shuts off her saber.
"That's harder than I thought." Kira says.
"You've gotten pretty good at blocking, but you aren't deflecting. Not one shot hit the target." Ezra says.
"I've never done this before. I don't know if I can." Kira says.
"Let me show you something. Go ahead and step back." Ezra says. Kira backs away a few feet, and Ezra ignites both of his sabers. He looks at Hera, and nods.
"Alright, everyone. Fire at Ezra!" Hera says. Everyone begins firing their blasters, and Ezra deflects every shot to the helmet, leaving Kira in awe.
Nearly a minute later, Hera says "Cease fire!" Everyone stops shooting. Ezra turns to Kira.
"Now, your turn." Ezra says.
"I don't think I can do that." Kira says.
"Don't think. Feel." Ezra says.
"Alright. I'll try. No, I'll do it." Kira says.
"Good." Ezra says. He steps away as Kira gets into position, and ignites her saber.
"Let's do this!" Kira says.
"Everyone, fire!" Ezra says. Everyone starts firing their blasters at Kira, who closes her eyes, and trusts in the force, allowing it to work through her. After nearly a minute, Ezra says "alright, that's enough. Cease fire!"
Everyone stops firing, and Kira opens her eyes. She looks at Ezra, and asks "How did I do?"
"How did you do? Every shot hit the target. I'm impressed. You trusted in the force, and let go of yourself. Well done." Ezra answers. Kira smiles at the compliment.
"Thank you." Kira says.
"You're welcome. I think we're done here. Thanks for your help, everyone." Ezra says. Hera approaches Ezra.
"You're so much like Kanan sometimes. He's proud of you, just like I am." Hera says.
"Thanks, Hera. I'll do my best to not let you down." Ezra says.
"Glad to hear it. Can I have Chopper back now?" Hera asks.
"Yeah. Kira and I are going to work alone for now. Thanks for the help." Ezra says.
"Anytime, Ezra." Hera says. She walks away, headed for the Ghost, followed by Jacen, Finn, and Chopper. R2-D2 stays put.
"It's alright, R2. Go ahead and help with the Ghost. She'll comm if she needs you." Ezra says.
R2-D2 looks at Kira, who nods. The droid turns, and heads toward the Ghost.
"You got yourself a damn good droid there, Kira. Take care of him." Ezra says.
"I will." Kira says.
"Glad to hear it. Now, let's get to Ahsoka's. I believe you have a lightsaber to build." Ezra says. Kira looks at her father with shock.
"You're going to help me build a saber?" Kira asks.
"Maybe guide you a little, but, you'll be doing the building on your own. That's the way it's supposed to be." Ezra answers.
"Ahsoka said I'm supposed to use the force to build it." Kira says.
"She's right. Did she happen to tell you what parts you'll need?" Ezra asks.
"She said that the outer casing is shot, and so are some of the other components. I've done some study on my own with R2's records, and I know that I need a focusing lens, and a power converter. I've drawn up a design I was thinking about. I've got the schematic on my datapad. It's at Ahsoka's house with the old texts and the pieces of Skywalker's saber." Kira answers.
"Good. Any parts you need, I should have in storage. I'll get them, and meet you at Ahsoka's. Then, we'll look at this design of yours, and see if it isn't too crazy." Ezra says. Kira smiles.
"Alright. Meet you there." Kira says.
A few minutes later, Ezra enters Ahsoka's house, carrying a small, metal box. Kira and Ahsoka are seated at a large table, reading one of the ancient jedi texts. Ahsoka stops reading, and looks at Ezra, who approaches the table, and sets the box down, next to the broken pieces of Anakin Skywalker's lightsaber.
"Ah, Ezra. There you are. There's something I need to tell you. We'll also need to meet with the resistance, and tell them." Ahsoka says.
"Alright. What's going on?" Ezra asks.
"I've been in contact with Sabine. I asked her to send agents into the Empire and find out what their plans are. I just met with her, and what she told me is disturbing, but not really surprising, given the fact that that Palpatine is still pulling the strings." Ahsoka answers.
"What did you find out?" Ezra asks.
"There is an Imperial double agent within Leia's resistance cell. This person has somehow informed the Empire that the resistance is on Lothal. There is a small Imperial fleet headed this way. They'll be here in three days." Ahsoka answers.
"Three days. Damn. Hopefully that's enough time to get the Ghost fixed. Do you know who the spy is?" Ezra asks.
"Not yet, but we're working on it. There's one more piece of information I need to share." Ahsoka answers.
"What is it?" Ezra asks.
"The Empire has five Death Stars, in orbit of Korriban. They aren't operational yet, but will be soon." Ahsoka answers. Ezra and Kira are shocked to hear this.
"Damn. We need to get to Korriban and destroy those things!" Ezra says.
"We can't, Ezra. It would be a suicide mission. Not even I could destroy all of them on my own. I would maybe destroy one or two of them before I was killed. My power isn't absolute." Ahsoka says.
"Then, we need whatever allies we can get." Ezra says.
"Leia is working on it. Her cell was almost wiped out. The other two cells have less than a thousand men and women. Chewbacca has offered to help recruit the wookiees to fight the Empire, and Hera has suggested asking Sabine. However, those forces will not be the most significant part of the coming war, and I think you know that." Ahsoka says.
"This war is really down to sith and jedi. That's what most of the past wars have really been about." Ezra says.
"Yes. If we are indeed approaching the apocalypse, then force users will determine the outcome of this war, not the armies under their command." Ahsoka says.
"Apocalypse? What are you talking about?" Kira asks.
"An ancient prophecy. The apocalypse is the final war between jedi and sith. It's said that the chosen ones will unite, and bring balance to the force, for all of time." Ahsoka answers.
"The text of the prophecy should be in one of those books you...acquired from Luke." Ezra says.
"It's in old basic. I can't read it very well yet, so Ahsoka's making a translated summary for me." Kira says.
"Good. You can get back to studying later. For now, let's get to work on that saber." Ezra says.
"Alright." Kira says. Ezra picks up one of the pieces of the broken lightsaber. He holds it in his hand for a few seconds, inspecting it.
"So, Kylo Ren broke it when he tried to steal it from you?" Ezra asks.
"Yeah. He felt that it belonged to him because it was his grandfather's saber." Kira answers. Ezra sets the saber back on the table.
"I know you have feelings for him, but Kylo Ren is kind of a dumbass." Ezra says.
"Yeah. He can be." Kira says.
"Alright. Let's see this saber design you're thinking about." Ezra says. Kira offers her datapad to her father. Ezra accepts it, and looks at the image on the screen for several seconds.
"So, what do you think?" Kira asks.
"Ambitious. Probably the hardest type of saber to master. At least you don't want one that spins. Not a fan of those. This design is very good. I like how you included parts from your staff. I think we have everything you'll need." Ezra says. He hands the datapad to Kira.
"Thank you." Kira says.
"Don't thank me yet. You'll be the one doing all the work. Ahsoka and I will just be here to give advice." Ezra says.
Kira takes the box her father brought, and opens it. Inside are various lightsaber components in different colors and materials. Kira picks out a few pieces, then sets the broken halves of the Skywalker lightsaber in front of her. She then looks at her staff, leaning against a wall on the other side of the room, and uses the force to pull it to her. She dismantles the staff into several smaller pieces, and sets them on the table with the saber parts.
"Well, you've got some work ahead of you. I'll leave you to it." Ezra says.
An hour later, there are several pieces of metal floating in front of Kira. The pieces line up perfectly, then float together, and assemble into a long, dark gray and silver cylinder, which is about two feet in length. Kira takes the newly assembled lightsaber, and holds it in her hands as she examines it.
"All done?" Ezra asks.
"Yeah. I think so." Kira answers.
"Looks interesting. Let's see it in action." Ahsoka says.
"Alright." Kira says. She gets out of her seat, and backs away from the table, making certain she has enough space. She holds the saber horizontally in front of her, and presses a button on the hilt. A blue blade emerges from each end of the saber, and Kira smiles.
"Nicely done. Let's take it outside for a test run." Ezra says. Kira deactivates the saber, and clips it to her belt. She removes her borrowed saber, and offers it back to Ahsoka.
"Thank you, for letting me borrow this." Kira says. Ahsoka accepts the saber.
"You're welcome, Kira. It looks like I'm not the only one with a cool lightsaber now." Ahsoka says. Kira smiles at the compliment.
"Hey! My lightsabers are cool too!" Ezra says.
"They're ok. Too bad you don't have that blaster saber anymore. That was pretty cool." Ahsoka says.
"Oh, mine can do that!" Kira says.
"What?" Ezra and Ahsoka ask in unison.
"I haven't tested it yet, because I didn't want to blast a hole in the wall, but I built in a blaster mode to each end." Kira says.
"Wow. That's pretty cool." Ezra says, smiling with pride.
"Yeah. Your new saber is officially cooler than both of mine." Ahsoka says smiling as well.
"Thanks. Now, I want to really see what this thing can do!" Kira says.
"Alright, then. Let's head outside. Ahsoka, you coming?" Ezra asks.
"Yeah. I want to see this too." Ahsoka says.
Next Chapter: Jedi training continues, now with Kira's new lightsaber...