A few more weeks had passed, with Gemini's role in the Ghost crew solidifying and becoming more normal to her. Hera had taken her declaration seriously; every time a diagnostic on the Phantom was completed by anyone other than herself, Hera would insist Gemini check the results over. The pilot had even begun showing her the inner workings of the Phantom and how she liked them.

Hera had also talked to Kanan like she said she would; whatever she had said made him change his ways in teaching her. He was more formal with her than he was with Ezra, something she had begun to appreciate. Her thoughts strayed to her dream of Tuvok a little more than a month ago.

Ezra said she had gotten into a habit of rubbing her comm badge - comm link, as he called it - whenever she was thinking or had her hands clasped behind her back. Kanan had noticed this as well, but still hadn't questioned her further about her origins, which she had appreciated.

She sent a happy greeting to Ezra through the Force when she woke up that morning, tilting her head in concern when he pushed her away quickly, but not quickly enough for her to miss the loneliness and anger he was feeling.

She stretched as she walked out of her room and started for the kitchen to grab a bite to eat for breakfast. Spotting Kanan sitting in the Common Room, she sent him a friendly greeting as well. He looked up at her, smiling as he mingled with her Force.

"Is Ezra okay?" She asked him. "He pushed away my greeting this morning."

Kanan shrugged. "I don't know. He's been touchy lately."

"Are you still going to teach the lesson today?" She grabbed a Jogun and took a bite.

"I don't see why not," he shrugged. "Get ready, will you?"

"Yes, master," she responded easily.

Kanan smiled gently as she walked out with her Jogun.

—

On Lothal just outside of a local town, Kanan was teaching Ezra. She knelt on the ground a little further away to give them space. For some reason, topics like "Inner Peace" and "Connection" came easy to her. She knew that this made Ezra jealous, so she did her best to stay out of the way for those types of lessons.

"Step outside of yourself. Make a connection with another being."

"Can we do this another day?" Ezra asked, clearly not in the mood.

"We can do it now." He picked up a rock. "Focus."

Ezra crossed his arms. "Just throw the rock."

The rock collided with something in the grass that screeched and growled. A Lothcat jumped into the clearing, snarling at Ezra.

"I don't think he wants to connect," Ezra said, not really trying.

"You're resisting," Kanan insisted. "He can sense it."

"He can sense it? What is he, like, a Padawan Cat?" The cat suddenly screeched, jumping onto Ezra and knocking him down.

She tried stifling a laugh.

Kanan chuckled. "You don't seem to be getting this."

The cat was clawing at Ezra, who was holding the cat away. "I get that this fur ball's trying to kill me." He fought the cat for a little bit longer before throwing it off of him. He got up from the ground. "Give me your lightsaber and I'll make the connection," he snapped.

"Excuse me?"

Ezra sighed. "Sorry, I just don't see the point to this."

The cat continued growling.

"The point is that you're not alone." He closed his eyes, stretching out his hand and focusing with the Force. "You're connecting with every living thing in the universe. But to discover that, you need to let your guard down. You have to be willing to attach to others."

The cat suddenly stopped growling, sitting back and meowing calmly at Ezra.

"And what if I can't?" He asked.

"If you hang on to your past, if you always try to protect yourself, you'll never be a Jedi."

"Then maybe I'll never be a Jedi."

She sat up straighter. Something was definitely up.

"Kid, whatever's going on with you, you need to spill it."

Ezra sighed again. "I'm sorry, Kanan. I don't mean to wear you out. Today's not a good day. It's never a good day."

"Today?"

"Empire Day."

That's right, she remembered. Today was the anniversary of the Empire's formation. Sure, it was a lousy holiday, but she didn't know why it affected Ezra so much.

The lothcat growled, jumping into the grass again. She stood to her feet as three TIE Fighters flew overhead in the direction of the town.

She stepped closer to Kanan. "What are so many TIEs doing all the way out here?"

"Nothing good," he replied. "Come on."

They started running toward the town, and Kanan led them to a bar owned by a local Rebel sympathizer. Kanan stopped when he saw the pilots walking into the bar.

Ezra reached for his slingshot, but Gemini knew better.

Kanan stopped him. "Not unless we have to."

The two of them headed towards the bar, while she slipped into one of the corner booths.

A pilot compared a holo of a rodian to the frightened one in the bar. "He's not the one."

The other two pilots shoved the rodian back in his chair.

Who must have been the "head pilot" slammed his fist on the bar. "The Imperial HoloNet broadcast should play here at all times!"

Old Joe turned around. "No one's requested it for, well, ever."

"It's The Law," the pilot growled.

Old Joe pressed a button, turning on the screen above the bar. " . . . because today is Empire Day, celebrating the 15th anniversary of the galaxy's salvation, when our great Emperor Palpatine ended the Clone Wars and founded our glorious Empire."

She could feel Ezra's blistering anger from her spot in the corner of the bar.

The broadcast continued. "On Lothal, Governor Pryce has commissioned a parade." One of the pilots was ordering the customers of the bar to raise their glasses when the broadcast was interrupted, showing a picture of Gall Trayvis. "Citizens, this is Senator-in-Exile Gall Trayvis. I bring more news the Empire doesn't want you to hear. I urge you to boycott all Empire Day celebrations to protest the ongoing injustices of the Imperial Regime."

The pilot slammed his fist on the bar again. "Shut this off!"

"Can't," Old Joe said. "It's The Law."

"We're done here." The pilot started walking out to his TIE Fighter, closely followed by the other two pilots.

One pilot stopped at her table, fingering his blaster. He stared at her for a long moment.

"Happy Empire Day," she said evenly.

He eyed her as he turned, heading for his TIE.

As soon as the TIEs took off, she stood and walked to the bar, where Old Joe had turned off the Imperial HoloNet.

"TIE pilots on search patrols? What's going on?" Kanan asked.

"Imperials have locked down the ports and put destroyers in orbit. It's a full planetary blockade."

"They're after a rodian," Kanan said, referring to the rodian they shook down earlier.

"Just be glad they're not after us for once," Sabine put in.

"With what we've got planned for today's parade," Kanan said, "they'll be after us again tomorrow."

Ezra suddenly spoke up. "Well, you're gonna have to do it without me."

She wasn't surprised.

"Where do you think you're going?" Kanan asked.

"I just need to be alone. Today's brought back some memories." Ezra walked out of the bar.

Kanan leaned closer to her after he left. "Something's definitely up, with Ezra," he said.

"I agree," she responded. "Ezra told me about what happened to his parents, but would always get touchy like this when I tried to find out more."

Kanan rubbed his chin. "He definitely knows something about this rodian."

She raised an eyebrow. "You want me to find out?"

"Keep an eye on him. Try to find out what he knows if possible. Join us at the parade tonight."

She nodded, walking out after Ezra.

—

Gemini softly made her way to the top of the tower where she had stayed with Ezra. She made her way to the door to the tower after Ezra had gone inside. She hid just before the entrance, judging whether or not to bother him yet. He was more sad than angry now, she sensed.

As she opened herself to the Force, she heard a voice speaking as if he was standing next to her.

"Ezra, we have to stand up for people in need, especially those in trouble with the Empire."

She stepped into the doorway, the setting sun shining into the room. "Was that your father?"

Ezra nodded, grasping a card of some sort. He looked up at her. "The rodian the Empire is after, Tseebo. I know where he is."

She nodded. "It'll be dark by the time we get back. We better get going."

—

"Do you see Kanan?"

Gemini looked through the crowd. "Well, I see Hera, so Kanan must be-"

"There he is!" Ezra pointed to a couple of troop transports, where Kanan was cornered by a stormtrooper. "Looks like he's in trouble again."

She rolled her eyes. "C'mon."

They got close enough to hear Kanan's exaggerated enthusiasm. "Did you see it? It's so beautiful! All the colors! It's like a . . . like a rainbow."

Ezra ran past the stormtrooper. "Dad, what are you doing?"

She turned to the stormtrooper. "I'm so sorry, sir. Our dad is just so patriotic."

"Empire Day! I love it! All hail our glorious Empire!"

"Right. Well, move along."

Kanan spoke after they were out of earshot. "Thanks. Where you been?"

"Making some connections," Ezra responded. "How's the plan going?"

"Just watch."

The new TIE exploded in a burst of color, sending the parade into panic. They ran off, meeting up with Zeb and Sabine.

"Hey, where were you?" Sabine asked Ezra.

"Why? Did you miss me?"

Zeb scoffed. "Yeah, right."

They stopped, looking back at the chaos. She felt a chill in the air suddenly, one that she had felt before. She stepped closer to Kanan when she spotted the figure she feared she would. "Kanan, the Inquisitor is here!"

"What?"

She pointed in the Inquisitor's direction. Ezra bristled angrily, unconsciously stepping in front of her to block Gemini's view of him.

Zeb pulled out his bow rifle, aiming it. "Been spoilin' to finish things with Agent Kallus."

Kanan stepped to Zeb. "Hey, if you want to take somebody out, take out that guy!" He pointed to the Inquisitor.

Zeb groaned. "Fine." He aimed for the Inquisitor, hitting the TIE behind him and destroying it further.

Ezra grabbed her hand, gently pulling her along. She took a deep breath, pulling her eyes away from the Inquisitor and joining the others in running from the chaos.

Kanan made sure she passed him before contacting Hera. "Spectre-2, we're on route to the rendezvous."

"Negative, Spectre-1. The streets are blocked. I cannot, repeat, cannot reach rendezvous."

Gemini slowed next to Ezra. "I know a place we can hole up till calm down." He gestured to Zeb. "But 'shoulders' here might have a problem taking my route."

"Then we need another option," Kanan said.

"Nah, it's fine." He pulled out his comm link. "Spectre-2, can you make it to the Old Market?"

"Affirmative."

"I'm on my way." He started climbing the nearest building.

"Get back to the Ghost," Kanan ordered. "We'll signal a new rendezvous when we can."

"Follow me." Ezra turned a corner, using one of his tools to pry open a ventilation grate. Kanan climbed in first, followed by her and Sabine. "Take the second right, keep going for three junctions, then turn left."

"Got it."

She followed close behind Kanan, taking his hand when they reached the end to help her out. They followed Ezra to another building with what looked like an Imperial warning on the side.

Sabine confirmed her suspicions. "That's an Imperial warning declaring this building off-limits. What is this place?"

Ezra looked at the card for a second, hesitating, before swiping it through the reader next to the door, which opened.

"You were coming here today," Kanan realized. "This was your home, wasn't it? Where you grew up?"

"I grew up on the streets, alone." Ezra shoved the door open.

She slipped into the house behind Kanan, who shut the door behind them. She settled herself in a corner of the room, crossing her arms.

"Then why here? Why now?" Sabine asked.

"I had this feeling," Ezra said. He slid what was probably a foot rest from its place, revealing a hole in the floor. He looked into it, then gasped. "Tseebo? Tseebo, it's me, Ezra Bridger."

The rodian, Tseebo, climbed out of the hole. An electronic headset of some sort was fixed to his head. The headset chirped, causing Tseebo to start talking in another language. He walked into the window, like he didn't know what he was doing.

"That's the rodian the Imperials are hunting," Kanan noticed. "You know him?"

"Name's Tseebo. A friend of my parents." He sat on the couch. "But something's wrong. What's that thing on his head?"

Sabine walked over to Tseebo, messing with the tech on his head. "The Empire's been known to implant lower-level technicians with cybernetic circuits. Personality sacrificed for productivity."

Tseebo perked up then. "Tseebo's productivity is 19% higher than average Imperial data worker."

Gemini clenched her teeth. That sounded way too close to the Borg for comfort.

Ezra spoke up again. "Tseebo went to work for the Imperial information office after the Empire took my parents away."

Kanan walked closer to Ezra. "Your parents? You never told us."

"What's to tell? They've been gone for eight years. I've been on my own since I was seven."

Tseebo's circuit chirped, sending him spouting facts in an alien language again.

"What's he saying?" Kanan asked Sabine.

"He's detailing Imperial fighter deployments on Lothal."

She walked over to the group, speaking up. "So Tseebo has information the Empire doesn't want getting out."

"Sabine, can you access it?" Kanan asked.

"Uh, I think so. I need a few minutes." She began working on Tseebo's headset.

"Ezra. You okay?" Kanan asked.

"I'm fine," Ezra said, climbing down into the hole.

"I told you, sometimes you have to let your guard down."

"I said I'm fine," he said, clearly not fine.

Tseebo perked up when Ezra was out of earshot. "Ezra Bridger. Son of Ephraim and Mira Bridger. Born fifteen years ago today."

"Oh . . . Empire Day," Sabine put together. "It's Ezra's birthday."

Gemini uncrossed her arms, both surprised and saddened. She walked over to the hole, intending to go after Ezra, put stopped in her tracks. An intense pressure flooded her senses, causing her to grimace.

Kanan was at her side in moments. "Are you okay?"

She blinked, confused. "I don't know. I've never felt this before."

"Felt what? Describe it to me."

"It - It's like the Force is pushing me to do something." She looked up at Kanan. "I'm not sure what."

He put a hand on her shoulder. "Then close your eyes. Focus on what the Force is trying to tell you."

She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. The Force seemed to be guiding her towards the couch for some reason. She opened her eyes, stretching out with her senses. "There's some sort of Force Presence." She reached out a hand, focusing on it. Her fingertips brushed up against the fabric and-

She was standing in the Bridger's household. Tseebo was sitting on the couch, in possession of all his marbles, along with two people who looked so similar to Ezra they had to be his parents.

"The risk you Bridgers take," Tseebo said, shaking his head. "Tseebo say you must think of your son."

Ezra's father, Ephraim, gestured emphatically. "He's all we think about! We're teaching Ezra to stand up for people in need."

"We're fighting for our son's freedom," Mira agreed.

"Tseebo not fight battle Tseebo know cannot be won. Neither should Bridgers."

—

While Kanan explained something about the Force to Gemini, Sabine was hard at work trying to access the information in Tseebo's hard drives. She turned him around, pressing a button on his circuits. A hologram appeared, displaying mostly decrypted information she lightly skimmed over.

She went to go get Ezra, but turned back when she spotted something she never thought she would. Her eyes widened and she inhaled sharply. She looked to Gemini, who was nodding in understanding at something Kanan had said, then back to the data. She quickly downloaded the file to her wrist comm, shutting down the hologram before anyone noticed what she had seen.

—

Psychometry, or Sense Echo, is extremely rare, Kanan explained. Even back in the days of the Republic, a very select few possessed the ability. It was special because unlike the majority of Force abilities, psychometry couldn't be taught; a Jedi had to be born with it.

Kanan crossed his arms. "I'm surprised, honestly. I never would have thought you possessed a rare ability like this."

"Why is it only surfacing now?" She asked.

"Whatever happened here with Ezra's parents left an impression, not just on him but in the Force as well. This must be the first time it's strong enough to pick up."

Sabine cleared her throat. "Finished! I'll get Ezra."

Ezra came back up the ladder a few moments later, still a bit grumpy. She must have been making a face, because he looked concerned. "Did something happen?"

She waved a hand. "I'll tell you later."

Sabine tapped a couple buttons, activating a hologram emitter in Tseebo's headset that projected a whole lot of stuff she couldn't read.

"What are we looking at?" Kanan asked.

"It's . . . well, it's everything," sabine said. "Imperial specs on the new TIEs and new T-8 disruptors. Schedules of troop movements, tactics, and strategies. Half of it's encrypted, but it looks like there's a five-year plan for Lothal and every other world in the outer rim."

Tseebo groaned when the hologram dissipated.

"No wonder his brain's shorting out," Ezra said. "All that data'd overload anyone."

"The secrets in his head must be damaging to the Empire," Kanan realized. "We'll need to smuggle him off Lothal."

"We gotta smuggle him out of town first," Sabine said.

"You realize that the only reason the Empire hasn't caught him yet," Gemini put in, "is because their forces were occupied with Empire Day."

"Day's almost done," Sabine agreed.

Tseebo smacked his face into the door. Everyone groaned.

—

Gemini made sure Tseebo was fine where he was slumped on the floor of the troop transport before looking out the window. The Empire had done a pretty good job blocking the way out of the city.

"I have no plans on stopping," Sabine announced.

"That's good to know," Ezra responded.

"Punch it!"

Sabine increased their speed, the transport shaking with blaster fire, rammed into a walker's foot and past another troop transport blocking the road.

She braced herself for the hit, rolling her eyes when Ezra laughed.

The Force nudged her suddenly, pointing towards one of the doors into the transport.

"Ezra, move away!" She pushed him to the opposite side of the transport just as the door was blown to bits. "Kanan! Trooper!"

Kanan was at the door before the trooper even landed inside, thrusting him out of the transport and into the lap of another one riding a speeder bike, which swerved out of sight.

Kanan quickly returned to his seat. She steadied herself when the transport was hit from behind. Something landed on the roof a few moments later.

"Specter-5 to Ghost. We're coming in hot."

"Can see that," came Zeb's voice. "You got company upstairs." There was a commotion outside, followed by an explosion. "Okay, you're all clear. Pull over and we'll-"

"Belay that," Hera interrupted. "It'll have to be a scoop job. Sensor's reading multiple TIEs incoming."

She groaned, helping Ezra lift Tseebo from the floor. "Ugh, I hate scoop jobs."

Ezra looked at her with amusement before rolling his eyes at Tseebo, annoyed.

"TIE fighters will begin mass-production on Lothal within the next six weeks," the rodian recited.

"You're just full of fun facts," Ezra told him.

Kanan hoisted himself onto the roof of the transport.

She and Ezra helped Tseebo to the door, where Kanan helped him to the roof.

"You ready?" Ezra asked Sabine.

"Yeah. Autopilot's engaged. This thing'll run 'till it's out of fuel."

Ezra hoisted himself to the roof, extending a hand down to help her up.

She looked down at the ground moving rapidly beneath them nervously, inching to the edge.

"It's okay, I've got you!"

She took a deep breath, turning around and taking Ezra's hand. She jumped slightly, pulling herself up with Ezra's help.

"See, you got this."

"This isn't exactly better, Ezra!" She felt slightly sick, lightly pushing Tseebo towards the Ghost ramp.

A loud yell came from the back of the transport, followed by blaster fire wizzing past her ear way too close for comfort.

Kanan ordered them inside.

She gladly obliged, speeding up the ramp. She instantly felt better with four walls around her. She heard the sound of Kanan's lightsaber before the Ghost rose from its position.

Kanan lightly landed on the ramp, quickly putting his saber away. "Gemini, get to the cockpit!"

"Right!" She climbed up the ladder, taking her seat beside Hera and pressing a few buttons.

"I need my gunners!" Hera said into the comm system. "Shields won't hold under this barrage."

"Almost there," came Kanan's voice.

The ship jolted harshly. She lurched in her seat, checking the shields. "The shields can't take much more of this!"

Hera clenched her jaw, a motion Gemini recognized as Hera's game face. They were in for a rough ride.