A.N: Sorry about last week. COPPA problems on Youtube got me nervous. And I finally got a more animation related gig so now I have two jobs. Not bad but now I have to really work around with time. Thankfully the next update will be next week.

Schwardwald the Reader: Maybe… I'm finishing the main story soon but this may not be the last time we see K2

AUFan62: I know, the TENSION! I love it all

CalmSheJaguar: I wholeheartedly agree!

Mogor: I love Cassian but at this point in time of the Rebellion, yeah…. He's not the most appealing character, I hear you.

Melissa: Hahaha, AP-5 is serious about everything lol. Oh yeah, and I agree Cassian is very, very good lookin ;)

Alejandra: Droids are great… to an extent, you're right ahaha. But yeah, it would be cool if Cassian became friends with Nitza at one point…

Hard Decision

Part 1

Ezra knew it, today was the day. They had to go back to Lothal now… or it would be never. He heard his people's cries through the force. They needed help. And now that he was back with the crew from that insane weird animal rescue, he could say what he had to say to Mon Mothma. Which is why a distress signal from Lothal to the Rebellion was just the push he needed.

Mon Mothma wanted volunteers to go in and check on the development of Thrawn's Tie Defenders on Lothal. As if she needed volunteers. The Ghost crew was more than happy to jump in and help Ezra's home planet. And most of all, "I'm there to stay," Ezra said in confidence as he looked at Mon Mothma across the holotable in the temple. The Ghost crew stood proudly behind him.

"Make the necessary preparations," Mon Mothma finished. Then Dodonna walked into the space to give her a knowing look. The Senator sighed and added, "As soon as we take care of… another important detail."

Dodonna began, "While you were gone we had an incident here with Nitza."

Hera slightly panicked as Zeb asked, "What happened?"

"She had gotten underfoot with a couple of our members and then got in the way of a supply transfer causing some lost and damaged inventory."

Kanan didn't like how there wasn't much detail to the story, "And did you ask Nitza how it happened?" Mothma and Dodonna were taken aback. Out of all the crew members, the Jedi Knight had been the least confrontational. Then again, the entire crew was giving them a skeptical look.

Mon Mothma said, "We did, and rest some witnesses vouched for her story. Cassian didn't see her when he almost tripped her. And Ap-5 told us that the drivers of the cart hadn't secured their load properly. Nitza was indirectly involved in that situation. But there were many other accounts from earlier that day. She accidentally walked too close to ships ready to take off and tripped over some power cables. And it's not the first time either."

Dodonna continued, "Many have expressed concerns over having the girl around hazardous situations."

Sabine argued, "We taught Nitza back on Atollon where to go and where not to go. To keep an eye out and be careful. She never once strayed away."

"The Yavin 4 base is triple the size of Atollon. It could be too much for Nitza to process. We'd ask you to keep her in check more often but your missions have become longer and more taxing. And with this upcoming mission to Lothal, you could be gone too long. We can't entrust her to anyone else because they all have their own missions and jobs. And importantly, we know she very much trusts you all the most."

The last part turned on an invisible light switch. The crew tried to hide it but they knew another reason fro Nitza's absentmindedness could be because she was actually pushing them away. Worse, she didn't want to be a part of the rebellion. There were kids younger than her who would dream to be where she was. If the crew couldn't get her to trust them or the Rebellion to make sure she was careful and safe, then they couldn't let her roam free. But that would mean to limit her whereabouts. She would feel the same she felt like on Thrawn's ship. Locked up.

All their options were dwindling by the numbers. There seemed to be only one option. No one wanted to bring it up though. But someone had to. Mothma gave a sigh and said, "I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ask for your permission to send Nitza away."

It just went absolutely quiet. It seemed like everyone who was nearby stopped to hear what was going on. Those who were once Phoenix Squadrons members all heard this meeting was going to happen and waited patiently by their stations. Housen had stopped listening to frequencies to see how the meeting was going. She stood in the shadows by a map projector. They all knew Nitza and cared for her, but felt that Nitza's leave would be the safest option. But out of respect, the Ghost Crew had the final say.

But what was said next was a question. "If she were to go…. Then where?" Hera asked.

))))))))))))) Atollonians (((((((((((

Nitza giggled, pure joy filling her as she ran down an almost dry riverbed. Water trickled into little holes in the ground as she ran down the stream of water only a few inches high. She splashed and skipped, making water fly. But she could feel the giant presence behind her. The massive force that trudged through the water and kicking it up so high it splashed down on her like rain. And she loved that feeling. Giggling again, Nitza turned around to try and catch a glimpse of her giant friend who stood against the sun.

Blaster fire rang throughout the forest and Nitza was brought out of her daze. Then she slouched, a deep frown on her face as she sat on a rock with her Bendu doll close in hand. A couple of new recruits to the rebellion kneeled in a line in front of a row of cargo crates. They lowered their weapons from their aim which was a row of targets set up across the clearing they were in. Targets made out of all sorts of things from pots hanging on posts to straw-filled pillowcases on a stake. They burned with holes from the plasma blast of the weapons.

The recruits stopped to look back at Rex who walked by each of them, "Good, good. Aron, if one-eye aim doesn't work, two is fine. Just make sure to keep your hand steady."

"Yes, Sir."

Rex noticed Nitza looking at him. So he added quickly, "All right. Free fire now. But try and conserve your shots." As the trainees continued blasting targets, Rex came to stand by Nitza and say, "I know, I know. But you heard Mon Mothma…"

"Stay sitting, stay quiet, stay with you. I remember. I do, I do," Nitza said unamused, holding her Bendu up eye level. She hated not being able to do anything fun. She was thankful for some witnesses that day of the incident to back her up, but it wasn't enough to get rid of a constant eye on her at all times. "But maybe I can do something and not get in the way. Maybe make new targets?"

Rex gave a light chuckle and reached a hand out to tussle her hair, "Hehe… not a bad idea. Maybe when the crew gets back to clear things up with the senator, you can do a little more grunt work."

"Ok," Nitza said, sounding sad but doing her best to keep a smile on her face. She suddenly noticed how Rex looked away from her to observe the trainees. He seemed nervous about something. But what? That's when Rex's communicator went off. He pulled out the small device from his belt and held it up. "Captain Rex here."

"Hey Rex, it's us," came Ezra's voice. Nitza's head perked up and then she looked at the skyline of the trees. She didn't notice the Ghost fly in. How long have they been back? Did they talk to Mothma yet? The boy just said, "We're back. We… got to talk to Nitza." And suddenly Rex became stiff. What was up with that?

The clone's eyes quickly shifted from Nitza and then back to the recruits still firing their weapons. He said to Ezra, "All right, I'll bring her. Rex out." He told the recruits to take the rest of the day off, and then he and Nitza returned to the landing area just outside the temple. Nitza and Rex made it to the foot of the Ghost's ramp. The older man said, "Go on into the kitchen, the crew will be there."

A.N: If you can guess where this is going….. You guys might be a little bit disappointed. I promise you all though there is still good on the horizon. I could say more but I want to post this chapter in time. And the next one will be posted NEXT WEEK. Yep. I'm KikaKatTIOI, peace out!