A lone figure gazes from a tower, surrounded by endless grassy plains. In the distance lay a city, the largest and most important on Lothal. It wasn't the most modernised, nor was it the richest planet, but to this young man, it was home. The beautiful scenery, the easy-going people and the atmosphere was what made Lothal stand out, at least previously. Not everything was perfect on this "backwater", but life was great!
Until they came.
As he watched the sun rise over Lothal city, or capital city as many in this region of space called it, 15 year-old Ezra Bridger stood atop the abandoned Comm tower in deep thought. His life was not necessarily the best. He'd been robbed of his parents, a proper childhood and, as far as he knew, his future. He, like the rest of Lothal had a strong sense of resentment and contempt for The Empire. These imps showed up and subjugated the planet with little resistance, exploiting its resources, people and location for their own selfish desires.
They ruled with an iron fist. Prominent members of the old government and outspoken pro-independence figures were exiled, imprisoned, killed or "had an accident". Among them were Ezra's parents and friends. Now, the empire is targeting farmers and the working class. The people of Lothal, forced to aid or be the ragdolls of this empire. The corruption and looting, the draconian crackdown, the horrible reforms that were degrading Lothal. And at the nexus of it all, the Empire.
A gentle "mew" brought him out of his musings. Looking over, he saw something that made him smile. A single wild Lothcat, sitting on the fence smiling gently at him. Lothcats, when they don't want to scratch you to death for whatever reason, are really cute and gentle. They usually don't openly strutt up to people and interact. Most would even hiss or growl at some common folk. It was pretty amusing when those "common folk" were actually imps, but still, Lothcats are a little reclusive and are both adored and considered an annoyance by Lothalians
For some reason, Ezra had no problem with interacting with these furballs. He was really good at making friends with them, and they provided some company. He chuckled and reached out to stroke the little critter behind the ear.
"How did you get up here, little guy?" He asked. Sometimes he gets the feeling that they could actually understand him. Well that's stupid he thought, Lothcats can't understand what people are saying.
If only he knew how wrong he was
All of a sudden, Ezra felt something coming. He didn't know what it was, just that it's rather sinister. This has been happening a lot lately, and usually after he gets this feeling or sense or whatever it was, imperials and/or other unfriendly folks arrive. Apparently the Lothcat felt something as well as it tensed up, glaring at the sky and growling. Ezra looked up just in time to see an Imperial Star Destroyer enter Lothal's orbit, before positioning itself above the capital. The roar of TIE and Shuttle engines penetrates the relative silence as they flew down towards the city.
Ezra sighed and went downstairs to head to the capital. I wonder what kind of ruckus I can cause the imps this time. Might as well seeing as I need to get something to eat. Ezra's only source of food was what little he can steal, salvage, or bargain with what he stole. Hey, he grew up on the streets with nobody to take him in, don't judge. He'd given up any hope that his life would ever change, believing he'll forever be a street rat, resigned to the fact that Lothal would never be free. Little did he knew that everything was about to change.
*So that's it for the first chapter. Sorry for any cringe in this one. It's my first time writing fanfics and my first time using docs to write one. Please r&r and tell me what you think, your suggestions and improvements that could be done. Cheers!*
*A/N: Ezra is actually fourteen years old and starts out as 5 foot 7 inches in this story, but is turning 15 in a few months time, on empire day. He will get taller in case you're wondering and I will add more of that in later chapters. He also still wears that horrid orange jumpsuit but I will be changing that i n later chapters.*