The Lothrat's Prologue:

Ezra Bridger was the son of Ephraim Bridger, a Human Jedi Knight, and Mira Seraphia Bridger, a ¾ Human / ¼ Angel Jedi Healer pulled from another time entirely, but he didn't know it.

And the reason he didn't know was because his parents had hid what they were for his own good. And not just because the Jedi were being hunted by the Emperor's Dark side slaves: Darth Vader and the Inquisitorius.

Because Ezra wasn't just a normal Force sensitive boy, he was an overly gifted Force sensitive boy.

Not only did the boy have an affinity for animals, he'd also inherited his father's ability to traverse the many dimensions of the Force but with greater ease and no control at a young age. This meant that his Force Seer inclined mind was constantly tapping into the Realm of Possibilities and showing him what could be.

By the age of three, Ezra was tormented by visions that he couldn't make any sense of and nearly lost his mind over it, becoming violent and depressed.

In a desperate attempt to save her son, his mother used her Healing abilities to close his physical connection to the Force, making it so his brain wouldn't be able to communicate with the midi-chlorians in his blood. She also erased his memories of everything to do with the Force so that he wouldn't mourn what he was suddenly missing.

Which meant that she and Ephraim also had to give up using the Force so he wouldn't remember.

Mira's only consolation was that the fix was only temporary and his connection to the Force would gradually return with time; hopefully when he was old enough so that they could teach him how to control the visions.

They never expected to be captured by the Empire, though, for the illegal radio transmissions they broadcast, speaking out against its tyranny.

Ezra was essentially left an orphan at only seven years old, with only a hint of a connection to the Force and no one left to care for him, since even his favourite 'uncles', a Rodian called Tseebo, and the Governor of the planet, Ryder Azadi, were also captured.

But he was a clever boy, and after getting past the long-running depression of his loss that almost killed him because he didn't eat, he learned to survive on the streets of Capital City, Lothal with only his charm, quick reflexes, and the occasional gut feeling that kept him one or two steps ahead of trouble.

And a little help from the Xexto pawn shop owner who taught him how to be the best pickpocket in the city, Ferpil Wallaway. The slender, six limbed being became Ezra's boss and one of his closest friends until the day he died in the boy's arms many years later, thanks to a crooked ISB agent called Jenkes who was trying to cover his tracks as the proprietor of an illegal gladiator ring.

For the first two years of being on his own, Ezra slept in various hidey holes around the city, kept warm by wild lothcats that would snuggle around him as he slept and then slink off as he stirred to wakefulness. Then, one day after running from some stormtroopers trying to catch him for stealing a box of ration bars from a crate destined for Imperial Headquarters, he ended up at an edge of the city he'd never been to before and saw a tall, pointed tower off in the distance across a vast field of wild grass. Inspired to keep running by shouts from behind him, Ezra plunged into the mass of head-high stalks and ran all the way to what would end up being his home for the next five years.

When Ezra was eleven, he met his other best friend that he would later lose when he stumbled upon a red haired girl who looked the same age as himself wandering through the streets of Capital City, looking very, very lost. Moreena Krai - or Mo, as he called her - gave him the first hug he'd received in years after he climbed up onto the roof of a nearby building and found her parents for her a few streets over. They spent hours every week talking on the comm after that and would visit whenever her family came to the city to sell the fruit from their farm.

Some time after he'd turned fourteen, the Krais left Lothal when the Empire confiscated their farm.

They almost convinced him to go with them to Alderaan, but Ezra didn't feel right leaving his home, not even for a friend. And especially not for the planet of Alderaan, whose very name sent a strange chill down his spine.

Ezra lost both of his best friends on the same day.

The day he met and helped the wickedly fearsome Trandoshan bounty hunter called Bossk take down Jenkes, but that's a story for another day.

Ezra was twelve years old the first time he saw the diamond shaped ship parked in the Capital city spaceport. (Where he was doing his usual business of lightening the loads in the pockets of overburdened rich people.) He wouldn't have thought anything of the nicely shaped freighter if the hairs on the back of his neck hadn't risen with sudden awareness.

Since he'd learnt long ago to trust his uncannily accurate instincts (Ferpil's words, not his), Ezra had ducked behind some convenient crates and scanned the area until his gaze settled on a brown haired Human man and a light green Twi'lek woman disembarking from the freighter. There was nothing unique about them, and nothing about their clothes that said they were well off, so they shouldn't have been of interest to him. But Ezra couldn't seem to look away from the clearly happy couple as they walked with their hands laced together between them towards the market.

Not knowing why he did it, Ezra followed them as they shopped for simple staple goods and was still following them when they returned to their ship. A few times, the man turned around abruptly as if he could sense that something was amiss, but Ezra was faster at ducking out of sight so he was never caught.

Over the course of that half hour, Ezra learned the man's name was Kanan and that hers was Hera. He also overheard them say that if their deal with Vizago (someone Ezra had heard Ferpil talk about but had never met) went well, then they'd be making many more trips to Lothal.

So Ezra started watching the spaceport and the skies for the diamond shaped freighter.

The next two years proved interesting as the drama of the interesting freighter unfolded.

His weird instincts always seemed to know when the goateed and ponytailed man with the teal eyes was nearby and never had any trouble finding him. Aside from Hera, Ezra also saw the man working with a purple striped Lasat called Zeb (a being he had to ask Ferpil the name of) and an old orange topped astromech called Chopper.

The crew of the freighter didn't just shop or work jobs for one of the most notorious smuggler's on the planet; they also spent much of their time harassing the Empire.

They stole crates of supplies (which he started doing as well), they shot TIEs out of the sky (which he took plenty of salvage from), they blew up Walkers during an Empire Day parade (which he cheered for louder than anyone else in the crowd), they even took out the main power generator of the new factories at the edge of the city so that production of more Imperial machines ground to a halt for a whole month while it was replaced.

Spying on the adventures of the freighter crew became Ezra's favourite form of entertainment.

Then, one night not long after he'd lost both Mo and Ferpil, Ezra discovered that the diamond shaped freighter had added a new member to its crew.

Something he'd done since he was eight years old or so was sneak into one of the Imperial TIEs in their shipyard at night and look up at the stars, pretending that he was flying away to a life of privilege. A life where his parents were still alive and the Empire didn't exist.

On this particular night, Ezra was feeling extra sorry for himself because his two best friends were gone, and not even dreaming about the stars helped. Which was why he was staring blankly forwards with his head propped up on his hand instead of gazing upwards when a shadow dropping down from the perimeter wall caught his attention.

The shadow landed from the two metre drop in a crouch as easily as a lothcat.

Because he had the hatch of his borrowed TIE open slightly so that he could hear the patrols of the stormtroopers and duck out of sight when they came near, Ezra had no problem hearing the figure say softly in the slightly mechanical voice that comes through the speakers of a helmet, "This is going to be fun. Very fun."

That sounded like a girl!

As she crossed through a small ray of light, his suspicions were confirmed.

It is a girl! Holy crap, look at those curves!

And is she wearing a Mandalorian helmet?

Sweet.

Except for a few unavoidable beams from the perimeter lights, her figure was just another shadow in the dark as she made her way to the nearest TIE, which was across from the one Ezra was in. After dropping to the floor to stay out of sight, he watched curiously and then with ever widening eyes as she silently and swiftly put a bomb on every TIE, all while easily eluding the guards wandering around the shipyard.

Including the one he was in.

Not good.

When her back was turned, he was about to scramble out of his death trap when he saw her pull out a spray gun and start painting a purple phoenix on the TIE across from him. Ezra gawked for a moment or ten and then sucked in a breath when he saw troopers approaching the girl. Kriff! She's going to get caught!

The troopers stopped behind her and one asked imperiously, "What do you think you're doing?"

The girl just kept painting, seemingly unconcerned at being discovered, putting the last finishing touches on her beautiful phoenix. "What does it look like? Art!"

Ezra admired her bravado even as he used the opportunity to sneak out of the TIE and jump silently down to the ground.

As he moved like a blurred shadow for the base of the wall, he heard the poor confused trooper sputter, "Well… Well… Stand down! Or we'll shoot!"

Ezra plastered himself to the wall in the darkest shadow between lights and looked back. The small Mando girl was staring at the troopers and he just knew there was a smirk behind her helmet. "Okay. Shoot."

In the time it took the troopers to figure out they should actually shoot at her, she was already gone, just like a ghost that was never really there. And he was up on top of the wall with an easy leap for the best vantage point to watch the show.

The girl led the poor troopers on a merry chase all over the TIE yard, easily eluding their poorly aimed blaster bolts. She taunted them at every opportunity and leapt like a gymnast all over the TIEs and the ladders. Ezra just watched in awe as she played with the troopers, heart pounding with excitement because he'd never seen a hotter display of curvy female athleticism in his life.

She made the troopers look incredibly incompetent while she looked like she was having the time of her life. After about two minutes of this, she paused to place a bomb on the eye of her purple phoenix.

A trooper came up behind her and said, "Hands up, you rebel scum!"

The artistic arsonist turned around, kicked his feet out from under him, and ran for the wall while calling out in a mocking tone, "Too slow!"

Ezra dropped down to the far side of the wall before he was spotted by the girl and landed at the same time that he heard the dumbass stormtrooper say, "Uh oh." Chuckling quietly to himself, Ezra dashed for a nearby alley to hide in and then looked back.

He was just in time to see the sky explode with colour at the same time as the girl landed on the safe side of the wall in a perfectly controlled roll. It was all Ezra could do to suppress his sigh of admiration and adoration so he wasn't caught spying. I think I'm in love.

A comm beeped from the girl's belt and she pulled it out to answer it. The now familiar voice of the Twi'lek called Hera sounded next. "That was some diversion Sabine. You did the job so well we can see the explosion from here."

Ezra's breath caught. She's with THEM!

Now I really, really have a good reason to watch them.

And, ooooo, her name is Sabine. That's real pretty.

Then the girl turned and pulled off her helmet so she could admire her work with unimpeded eyes. Purple and orange smoke and flames were still blasting up into the sky. "Forget the explosion," she told Hera. "Just look at the COLOUR."

Ezra sagged against the wall of the building, trying and forgetting how to swallow all the saliva accumulating in his mouth. Stars above! That is the most beautiful girl I've ever seen! Her delicate face was perfect with big eyes he couldn't tell the colour of in the flame-lit night, but he knew he'd like them whatever colour they ended up being. (And he was determined to find out.) Her hair was cut short and died in at least two colours, one of which he was pretty sure was orange; his favourite.

Between her face, her lithe body type, her athleticism that rivaled his own, her enjoyment at blowing up Imperial things with some serious style, her devil-may-care, snarky attitude, and her love for colour that surpassed even his own, Ezra didn't just think he was in love anymore; he knew it.

He didn't even care that she looked like she might be a year or two older than him; it just added to her exotic appeal.

With a last longing glance at her explosive masterpiece, she put her helmet back on and disappeared down the next alley over.

Ezra quickly leapt up onto the roof of the building he was beside in only three moves and then was running along the rooftops so he could follow the progress of the girl.

She jumped on a speeder bike about half a block from the destroyed TIE yard and he had to seriously boot it across the roofs to keep up with her, but he didn't stop until he reached the end of the rows of buildings. Then, puffing for air, he watched her speeder bike drive onto the waiting ramp of the diamond shaped freighter where it waited for her in the grass just outside the city.

Ezra sank down onto his butt and wrapped his arms around his legs as he watched the freighter fly off into the star studded sky, envy filling him at the crew's freedom to do whatever the kriff they liked.

I wish I could be like them.