Chapter 8
Sparklepool01, you're the best! I finally got this chapter posted, I hope it's good.
Kanan was sure this day would be the day since the moment he woke up. The day he'd get his answers once and for all.
The morning passed very slowly to Kanan. He was bored at the garage, and this time nothing could distract him from his questions. How did Hera find the kids? Why do they hate the Empire so much? Is Hera a rebel? Was Sabine truly the only one who knew he was a jedi?
At around 5pm, he left the garage. He wanted to get to the Ghost after them, so he could talk to Hera in peace. Right before leaving, Kanan had happened to pass by his lightsaber, and decided to take it. If things went well, he would have to tell Hera he was a jedi. Kanan wasn't exactly looking forward to that part, but things had to be done.
Once he arrived in the house, he wasn't surprised to see Ezra waiting for him outside the house.
"Hi Mr. Kanan," he greeted him.
"Hi kid," Kanan said, "What're you doing outside?"
"Waiting for you. Mom told me to keep watch," Ezra said, then covered his mouth with his hands.
"Let me guess, it was a secret," Kanan said. Ezra nodded, and went back inside the house, Kanan following. Inside, Hera was sitting on the main table, her hands moving along the buttons of a computer. Once she saw Kanan, she closed the computer.
"Ezra, could you please go upstairs and finish your homework?" she said, making clear it wasn't really a question. Ezra took one last look at Kanan before going upstairs. Hera stood up and went to the kitchen, Kanan following mostly because he didn't know what to do. Hera poured herself coffee and leaned against the counter. Kanan remained standing.
"Sorry about yesterday," Hera said at last, "Do you want coffee?"
"No thanks," Kanan said.
"You sure? If I'm going to explain everything, then we'll be here for a looong time."
"I changed my mind, I do want coffee," Kanan said and smiled. Hera smiled back worriedly and served him coffee in a different mug.
"So… I promised you answers and I plan to keep my promise," Hera said, "What do you want to know?" Everything, Kanan thought, but he decided to start low.
"How did you meet the kids?" he asked. Hera took a sip from her mug, then lowered it to the counter.
"I met Zeb when he was ten, Sabine and Ezra at seven…" Hera started, then trailed off. She shook her head, "Sorry, I just don't know where to start from."
"How did you meet Zeb?" Kanan asked.
"That's an interesting story."
(Flashback moment)
Hera hated this place. Walking near the edge of what used to be Lasan felt like walking on a graveyard. The grass grew black, and only the debris from buildings remained. Even the air seemed to have a different feeling.
Hera had only agreed to go on this mission because no one else wanted to take it. Now she knew why. The mission was to go see if there was Imperial activity near Lasan, the Lasats homeplanet. Hera hadn't seen anything yet, and she was starting to grow bored.
Just then, she heard a noise coming from behind one of the debris houses. Hera walked nearer, expecting to see stormtroopers, but was surprised at what she found. A young kid, too big to be anything but a Lasat, was sitting against the one remaining wall of a house, staring into the nothingness. His dark hair and clothes were full of dust and he looked skinny. Hera slowly walked nearer to the boy, who noticed her and stood up, raising his fists. Hera was surprised at his reaction.
"I'm not here to hurt you," Hera said.
"I've heard that before," the kid said. Hera thought for a moment.
"What are you doing here?" she asked.
"Nothing," the boy replied, still not lowering his fists.
"You're a Lasat, right?" Hera asked. Amazement passed across his face before it went away.
"Yes," he said slowly.
"What's your name?" Hera asked the boy.
"Why should I tell you? You're an Imperial, figure it out," the boy said. Suddenly Hera understood everything.
"I'm not with the Empire," she said. The boy didn't look convinced.
"I'll tell you a secret," she said, and waited for the boy to lower his fists and come nearer, "I'm with the rebels."
"Th-The rebels?" he asked, perplexed. Hera nodded, "S-So you're… you're trying to destroy the Empire?"
"Yes," Hera said. The boy looked relieved, but simply nodded and started walking away.
"Wait!" Hera called. The boy turned around, "I can help you."
"Why would you do that? You owe me nothing."
"Because it's the right thing to do," Hera said. The boy frowned, looking at the ground, then back at Hera.
"My name is Zeb."
(End of flashback)
"Woah," was all Kanan could say.
"Yeah, woah," Hera said, "I lived a full one year with only Zeb. He was kind and loyal, and willing to do anything I asked him to. Honestly, for a ten-year old Lasat, he was rather quiet. I did have to stop him from punching a few people, but that was normal. Most importantly, he was ok with me loving him like my own son." Kanan let the silence be for a while.
"Who did you meet next?"
"Sabine."
(Flashback moment)
Hera had never been near Mandalore before. All the entrances to the country were closed, with uniformed mandalorians in the entrances. Hera had always found the Mandalorians weird, and now even more. Their uniforms were some sort of hoodie, and they wore strange-looking masks. If anybody tried to talk to them, they would either answer in three words or point their guns and staff at them. Really sociable people.
Hera had left Zeb in school, so she really hoped she could go back to pick him up on time. The mission was to 'borrow' supplies from an Imperial storage near Mandalore and take them to Alderaan so they would distribute them among the most needed countries. Currently Hera was keeping watch so the rebel car could go without the Empire spotting them. That was going to be hard.
Suddenly something caught her attention on top of one of the houses. There was a young girl on the roof, looking straight at Hera. Judging by the hoodie and the death glare, Hera guessed she was Mandalorian. But what was she doing outside Mandalore? Hera wondered.
The girl ran to the edge of the house and jumped to the next one. She looked at something behind Hera, then jumped towards the next and so on. Hera turned around to see a group of stormtroopers coming their way. Without thinking, Hera followed the girl from the ground until she couldn't see her anymore.
The stormtroopers' footsteps came nearer, and Hera walked in between two houses, to a narrow alley.
"What do you want?" came a voice from above her. She turned around and looked up to see the girl sitting on a ledge that briefly connected the two houses. Now Hera could see her clearly. Her hair was dark brown, and her eyes hazel. She looked rather small, and yet strong, in typical Mandalorian fashion.
"Nothing," Hera said.
"A person who wants nothing wouldn't follow me around," said the girl swinging her legs back and forth.
"Fine. I got curious about what you were doing."
"Oh, I'm doing nothing," the girl said.
"Then why are you running from the Empire?" Hera asked.
"I hate the Empire," the girl said simply.
"Why?"
"None of your business." Hera grew quiet before speaking again.
"Are you alone?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"My family doesn't want me back."
"Why?"
"I'm not answering any more "Why?" questions," the girl said.
"Wh-" Hera cut herself off. The girl smiled and climbed back to the roof.
"Wait!" The girl stopped but didn't turn around.
"Come with me," Hera said.
"Why would I do that?"
"Because you're alone and scared and secretly miss having a home," Hera said improvised. The girl looked at Hera.
"How do I know you're not going to hand me in to the Empire?"
"If I would, I would've already done it." The girl hesitated before lowering herself to the ground.
"What's your name?" she asked.
"Hera Syndulla. What's yours?" The girl went quiet, then spoke again.
"Sabine."
(End of flashback)
"It took her about two weeks to fully trust me. I never knew I wanted a daughter, but the moment I saw Sabine I wanted one. Which is odd because Sabine was a kriffing Mandalorian and I still wanted her. For Sabine it was harder than for Zeb but they did get along very well. Social skills were always a problem, but in the rest Sabine excelled."
"But her family is dead, right?"
"No, they're not," Hera said. Kanan looked at her expectantly, "But they're with the Empire. Sabine doesn't like to talk about it."
"I can guess," Kanan said, "You met Ezra later, right?"
"Right."
(Flashback moment)
Hera Syndulla felt weird walking on the street like a normal person. Zeb walked around like he didn't mind, and Sabine looked around nervously. But they had to get a special package from Lothal.
Hera didn't notice anything until Sabine started running after a kid.
"Sabine!" Hera shouted.
"Check your purse mom, he stole your wallet," Sabine said without looking back. Zeb followed her and the boy to one of the houses. The boy climbed up the side barely grabbing himself from anything. Sabine followed him up the house while Zeb followed from the floor.
"Wait, stop!" Hera shouted again. Sabine stopped running and jumped back to the floor. Zeb stopped too, but only because he had the kid cornered. He was small and skinny, with black hair so dark it was blue. His eyes were brilliant blue, and he was wearing a strange mix of clothes between a jumpsuit, a jacket, and sport pants.
"What's your name, kid?" Hera asked.
"Jabba the Hutt," the boy said. Hera knew who Jabba the Hutt really was, a mercenary member of the Hutt family, who ruled over the desertic planet of Tatooine. But she decided to play along.
"Alright, Jabba, why did you steal my wallet?" she asked. The boy looked at her before answering again.
"I wanted it."
"That's not an excuse."
"Fine, I needed money."
"What for?"
"To buy food." Hera froze.
"You don't have food? Where are your parents?" she asked.
"Dead. The Empire… took them away," the kid said forcefully. Sabine and Zeb looked at each other before turning around and starting to walk away.
"W-Wait, where are they going? The kid asked.
"They're giving us space," Hera answered. The kid suddenly looked scared.
"W-What for?"
"Would you like to come with me Jabba? I- we could help you."
"Why would you do that? You're probably an Imperial Spy sent her to Lothal," the kid said. Hera sighed. Why did everyone confuse her for an Imperial?
"I'm not with the Empire," she said, "I just want to help you." The kid hesitated before giving Hera her wallet back.
"Thank you…" Hera waited for a real name.
"Ezra. The name's Ezra Bridger."
(End of flashback)
"His parents had indeed been taken by the Empire. He had to leave on the streets for almost a year before I found him, but after that first meeting he trusted me forever. I thought he and Zeb wouldn't get along, but they became good friends. And well… it's been that way since today," Hera finished. Kanan didn't know what to say.
"Th-Thank you… for… telling me the story," he said.
"Can I ask you a question, Kanan?"
"Umm… sure?"
"Who are you, really?" Hera asked. Kanan sighed and signaled for Hera to follow him. He walked to his car and jumped to get his lightsaber. Hera gasped when she saw it. Kanan ignited it, the blue haze filling the space closeby.
"You… you're a… you're a jedi," Hera said.
"I was once a jedi padawan, before the Empire took over. They killed my Master. I had to survive on my own ever since," Kanan said, "I'm sorry if I didn't tell you before, I just… didn't know if I could trust you. Now I'm sure I can." Hera recovered from the shock.
"You don't have to apologize, Kanan," she said, "I have to. I didn't trust you because I thought you were hiding something. I asked Sabine about it, and she told me nothing." Kanan turned off his lightsaber and walked back inside the house, Hera following.
"Now I have one question for you," he said, "What about your biological family?"
"My mom died when I was young, and my father… we haven't talked in years. He's so concentrated on stomping down the Empire… He hasn't even met the kids."
"Really?" Kanan asked, amazed.
"Mom has a father?" a voice asked.
"Ezra, you moron!" Zeb said.
"Zeb, don't call Ezra a moron!" Hera said.
"Sorry mom."
"Come downstairs, please. It's time for dinner."
"Okay, mom," footsteps sounded up the stairs. Kanan looked back at Hera.
"You should talk to him."
"Who?"
"Your father," he said, "Talk to him before… before it's too late." Hera nodded to herself. Kanan went back to his bedroom and closed the door. He'd finally gotten answers.