I do not own Star Wars in any capacity.
Enjoy chapter 61!
T-3 hours to Kyber Shipment
Kanan had his hands clasped behind his back as he paced the length of the cockpit. He took a couple strides from the weapons control panel to comm hub behind the pilot's seat. Then he promptly swiveled to take a few strides back across the cockpit.
It was driving Hera nuts. "Kanan, sit down."
"I'd rather not."
She turned around in her seat and gave him a soft glare. "Kanan. Sit."
He paused and looked at her. When he saw the annoyance in her expression, he gave a small huff as he sat down in the co-pilot's chair. "I should be down there with him."
"You know that's not possible." Hera turned back to the console. "All we can do is wait."
"What if he gets caught?"
"He hasn't so far."
"As soon as he gets that decoder, we're getting him out of there."
"That is the plan," Hera emphasized. Although she couldn't blame him for his worry. Things hadn't gone quite as originally intended, and it had put all of them on edge.
Ezra's first attempt to retrieve the decoder had failed. Theoretically, there was nothing wrong with that. They had accounted for this possibility in their plan. However, this meant a couple different things:
Ezra and Sabine were going to have to spend several more days in the Imperial Academy, and every additional day they spent there was further risk that they would be caught.
The next opportunity to grab a decoder was the same day the Kyber shipment was scheduled to leave the science station. By the time they decode the intel and send it to Fulcrum, Fulcrum wouldn't have time to coordinate an attack on the shipment. Which meant it had fallen on Kanan and Hera's shoulders to destroy the cargo as soon as they had the location.
Zeb was on the planet's surface, laying low near Capital City with the Phantom. As soon as the mission was done, Ezra, Sabine, and Chopper were to meet up with him and lay low out in the great plains until Kanan and Hera returned.
But right now, all they could do was wait. And while it was difficult for everyone, Kanan was spending every moment in absolute agony. Particularly since it had been days since Kanan last felt Ezra through their bond.
Kanan had tried to reach out to Ezra after Chopper had reported that the initial plan had failed, just to assure him that everything was okay. But Ezra had blocked him out. Even though Chopper had reported that Ezra seemed okay and didn't look to be panicked or upset, the lack of any response through the Force had put Kanan on edge ever since. Hera wasn't even sure he was sleeping properly. She was just grateful they were up in the upper atmosphere, far from any alcohol to tempt him.
Hera reached over and grasped Kanan's hand. "Just a little longer, love…" Ezra had gone back into the Dome with his peers an hour ago. Today was the last day. Either Ezra retrieved the decoder and they could complete their mission, or he didn't and the shipment was lost forever. For everyone's sake, Hera prayed for the former. Not least of which because she couldn't imagine how Ezra would feel if he somehow failed his first big mission.
Kanan nodded. "I know…" he murmured, running his hand over his hair. "I'm just not going to be able to relax until Ezra and Sabine are back safe on the ship."
"It'll be fine," Hera assured, squeezing his hand. "As soon as Chopper gives us the de-encrypted intel, Zeb will take them somewhere safe."
Kanan sighed and leaned back into the co-pilot's seat. "This is the longest we've been separated since Ossus…" he mumbled.
"I know." Hera got up from her seat and kissed his cheek. "But he's okay. Sabine and Chopper have been keeping an eye on him. Ezra's not a little kid anymore. He probably just blocked you out to prove that he can do this on his own."
Squirming uncomfortably in his seat, he wrapped an arm around Hera and pulled her close. "It's just still hard to wrap my head around. Ezra growing up…"
Hera gave a soft smile, running her fingers through his ponytail. "Had to happen some time."
Kanan leaned his head against Hera's chest with a sigh. She could feel him relaxing against her. "Just a few more hours," he murmured.
She kissed his forehead. "Just a few more hours," she affirmed.
Sabine was lying back on her bunk, staring at the durasteel above her as she desperately tried to ignore the chatting of the other girls. Evidently it was Visiting Day which meant everyone's family was permitted to visit for the evening, taking part in a variety of evening activities.
"Don't suppose your fancy shmancy family is going to come visit a backwater like this?" Ohana said.
"Actually, they are," Sarah said pointedly. "My mother made sure to keep her schedule free for this. She wants to check up on me and make sure I'm being treated right."
Even she sounded tired by her mother's behavior. Sabine couldn't blame her. Sarah was a teenager now, far too old to be coddled. Particularly since she was - somehow - the top student in this class.
While the Service Corp was more concerned about mental acumen than physical prowess, they still had to meet a minimum skill requirement with a blaster and basic hand-to-hand combat. When they had all first arrived, Ohana had clearly been the strongest and fastest of them (at least while Sabine was holding back).
But after only a week, Sarah had excelled. Her ability to shoot with a blaster was almost scary impressive. Sabine wasn't even sure she could outshoot her if she actually tried. And once Sarah had learned how to actually hold and move her body, she quickly became Ohana's equal in hand-to-hand.
"Although I doubt they'll stay for very long," Sarah said. "My parents loathe coming to Lothal…"
"Seems strange they'd enroll their daughter into the Academy here," Maya noted.
Sarah rolled her eyes. "I told you, it was the only place that would accept my accommodations." She waved her hand towards her ysalamiri, Sal, who was curled up at the foot of her bunk.
"Not that you need that thing," Ohana noted. "Your parents should have just enrolled you as a cadet when you were young enough. They might have even put you on the path to become an ISB agent."
Sarah seemed uncomfortable with that notion. "I never wanted to be anything like that. I just want to get a comfortable Imperial position until my mom thinks I'm ready to start learning the family business."
Sabine checked the time again. There was another hour before Ezra and the other cadets were scheduled to come back from the Dome. The good thing about the Visiting Day was that it would make an easy cover for her and Ezra to get out of here. The Imperials would be busy with the festivities, and no one would blink an eye if a couple of cadets went missing for a few hours.
But listening to the others talk about their families still made her chest tighten painfully. Her parents had regularly visited her and Tristan at the Academy as well. That is, until…
Sabine got up from her bed. She couldn't just lay here any longer.
"Ria?" Maya said. "Where are you going?"
"Just getting fresh air," Sabine said, her voice clipped. She hadn't exactly been friendly with her peers during her time here, so this wasn't suspicious behavior for her. Making sure she had her comm, she walked out and aimlessly wandered the halls of the Academy. Most of the officers and staff were busy either getting ready for the event or dealing with the families that had already arrived.
Sabine sighed, scuffing her boots along the floor as she walked. She was losing her mind in this place. The only thing keeping her from screaming in frustration was the knowledge that they were leaving tonight. Whether Ezra failed or succeeded, by the end of the day, they would be back home.
She stopped in her tracks. When had she started thinking of the Ghost as home? She hadn't even been there that long. Barely even half a standard year. Well… she supposed it is where she had been the longest since leaving the Academy. But even the Academy had never felt like home to her. That honor had only ever belonged to the Wren Complex on Krownst.
A pang of anger-soaked sorrow shot through her chest again as her mother's last words echoed in her ears. That wasn't home. Not any more. To even think of it as such made her mouth fill with bile.
But the Ghost was different. She couldn't even quite put her finger on what it was exactly. The best she could describe what she felt when she thought about the ship and its crew was… safe.
She squirmed a little as she resumed walking. It was hard to deny at this point. They took her in, patched her up, and gave her a place to hang up her helmet. She knew she could rely on the other Spectres.
Soon, it was time to head to the rendezvous. It was a small out of sight corner of the hanger, which was currently quite active as families arrived and were ushered into the Academy. Two students meeting up for a chat would be easily overlooked, even if they hadn't been obscured by the giant wall of crates and barrels.
Ezra was there before she was, his arms crossed tightly around his chest as he stared at the ground with a half glare. Sabine's stomach dropped slightly at the sight. That couldn't be good. "I take it the mission didn't go so well?"
His eyes widened slightly in surprise as he looked up at her, his posture relaxing slightly. "N-No. It went fine." He reached into his pocket and pulled out the decoder.
Sabine grinned as she took it from him. "Then why the long face, kid? You did it!" Her excitement was dampened when Ezra gave a small but obviously forced smile. "Did something go wrong? Did anyone see you?" She couldn't imagine. If Ezra had been spotted he would have been immediately detained. And Ezra also didn't seem nearly panicked enough.
Ezra shook his head. "No. Sorry, I'm just…" He hesitated before giving a small huff. "It's nothing. Let's just get this to Spectre Three so he can send the intel to Spectres One and Two."
Chopper - painted black and masquerading as an Imperial droid - met up with them not much later. Before he could even get half a sassy remark out, Sabine held up the decoder. "Here. Get that intel decoded and beam the hyperspace coordinates to the Ghost."
The droid warbled indignantly as Sabine pushed the card into his port, but didn't delay as he worked to de-encrypt the information. Soon, his antenna was activated and rotating.
"Spectre Six to Ghost," Sabine said. "Sending the coordinates for the Imperial science station. If you leave now, you should still be able to intercept."
"Coordinates received," Hera's voice replied. "We're heading out."
"Good work, Spectre Six," Kanan's voice chimed in. "And you too, Spectre Five."
Ezra gave a genuine smile at that. "Go," he said. "We'll see you when the mission is done."
"Copy that. Ghost out."
Sabine let out a relieved sigh. It was over and out of their hands. "Alright. Time to meet up with Spectre Four. Spectre Three, you have his local coordinates?"
Chopper responded in the affirmative.
"Great, let's get out of here." She began to follow Chopper out when she realized that Ezra wasn't with them. She turned around with a frown, seeing Ezra hadn't moved from his spot. His body was stiff and his fists were balled at his sides as he stared intently down at the ground. "Ezra? C'mon, let's go."
Ezra visibly swallowed as he looked up at her. His brow was furrowed slightly as he stared at her with a determined expression. "There's something I need to do."
"What?" Sabine hissed, marching back to him.
Ezra drew himself up straighter, pulling his shoulders back as he almost glared up at Sabine. "You and Chop go on ahead. I'll catch up with you."
"What could you possibly need to do?! The job is done. We got the intel. Now let's get out of this place."
Ezra bit his lip as he hesitated. "It's… personal."
Sabine narrowed her eyes at him. "This isn't about that Jai kid, is it?"
"What?" Ezra seemed taken aback by the notion. He quickly shook his head. "N-No, it has nothing to do with him."
He seemed to be telling the truth, but Sabine wasn't about to just leave Ezra behind. "Then tell me what's going on," she said sternly. "What in all of the galaxy could you possibly need to do here?"
Ezra was trembling slightly as he stared back down at the ground, his frown hardening. "You wouldn't understand…"
"Try me," she said dryly.
Ezra's eyes searched her expression, as if looking for some sort of weakness he could push through. He obviously didn't find any because his shoulders slumped as he sighed. "I just… want to see something."
Sabine was getting really tired of his vagueness. "See what?"
Ezra just huffed. "Look, I'll tell you as long as you promise not to stop me."
That seemed like a very dangerous promise to make. But short of carrying Ezra out of here by force (which would draw attention), Sabine didn't see much choice. There was no way she was going to go off and leave Ezra behind. "Fine," she ground out.
Ezra closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "There are these people that I think are here. I… I want to see them."
"And who exactly are these people?" Sabine pressed.
Ezra was rocking slightly in place as he forced out the next couple words. "M-My family."
Chopper let out a noise of surprise, which echoed Sabine's own as she frowned with confusion. She could not have heard him right. "Your family…?" she echoed.
"I need to see them," Ezra said quickly. "With my own eyes. I just…" He looked to the side, his gaze going unfocused. "I need to see them."
Sabine's mind was buzzing as she tried to make sense out of what was going on. She knew that Kanan had adopted Ezra, but she had assumed that was because his family was dead. But the truth was that she had no clue as to the circumstances around Kanan taking Ezra in. She knew Ezra was a native of Lothal, so it wasn't crazy that his family would be here. In her mind, there were echoes of old news bulletins spreading propaganda that the Jedi were child-nappers. Kanan didn't seem like someone who would just up and kidnap a child, Force sensitive or not, but maybe…
Chopper meanwhile had rolled right back up to Ezra, poking him with his manipulator while insisting that he abandon this crazy idea and get out of here now. Ezra took a step back from him. "I don't want to talk to them!" he said quickly. "I promise, that's the last thing I want." He let out a shaky sigh. "You guys just go and meet up with Spectre Four. I won't take long, I promise."
"No," Sabine said quietly, shaking her head. "No, I'm going with you."
Ezra stiffened. "Sabine, you really shouldn't."
"Tough," she said, crossing her arms. "Look, I don't know exactly what's going on, but I'm not leaving you behind."
Chopper was not having this though. He grabbed Ezra's wrist with his clamp and tried to pull him away.
"Chopper, stop it!" Ezra yanked his hand away. "I've made up my mind. I'm doing this, and you can't stop me!"
Chopper's dome swiveled between Sabine and Ezra, obviously agitated. But then he let out a disgruntled sigh and echoed Sabine's sentiment. He's going with them.
Ezra sighed through gritted teeth. "Fine." He walked out past them, pausing when he got a full view of the hanger. At this point, the main events for Visiting Day were well underway and the hanger was essentially empty of sentients.
Sabine and Chopper stayed a couple paces behind Ezra as he looked around. "So where exactly is this family of yours?" Sabine asked. "And what are they doing here?" Did Ezra have a sibling who was attending the Academy?
But Ezra didn't reply at first. He just slowly stepped forward as he looked over all the ships. "Sarah's here," he muttered, sounding distracted.
Sabine's eyes widened at that. He couldn't possibly mean… "Sarah? As in Sarah Bemming?"
Ezra flinched and glanced back at Sabine. "Y-You know her?"
It was the same person. Ezra was family with one of the richest shipment moghuls in the galaxy? Now that she thought about it, she could see the resemblance between them (physically anyway), but it was still hard to wrap her mind around the fact that she had been training with Ezra's sister this entire time. It raised so many more questions. Did Ezra want to just glance at his parents again? Did they willingly give him up? Or did Kanan just outright steal him and convince Ezra that his family didn't want him?
She wanted to ask him about all of this, but Ezra was completely focused on his task and not listening to either her or Chopper. Biting her lip, she decided to just follow his lead and see what happened. Obviously talking about this further wasn't going to get her anywhere. Not when Ezra was like this.
At the moment, she had no idea what he was doing. If Sarah's family was here, they would be with her in the scheduled evening events for the day. But Ezra wasn't showing any sign of going back to the event center of the Academy. Instead he was looking over the ships, slowly walking through them until…
He suddenly froze, his posture straightening as he gazed intently at one particular ship. Sabine followed his gaze to a pristine and silvery courier-class yacht. Definitely a ship typical for the obscenely wealthy of the Core. The ramp was lowered with a personal droid patrolling the end of it.
Ezra was visibly trembling. Sabine stepped up and put a hand on his shoulder. "Ezra…?"
He looked up toward her, and she pulled her hand back as if burned. That expression… narrowed eyes and bared teeth... it was an unbridled rage. It was so foreign on Ezra's face, she didn't think she would have recognized him otherwise.
Without a word, Ezra looked back toward the ship, the harsh lines on his face deepening as he marched toward it. In his wake, Sabine was left both dumbfounded… and a little frightened.
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