Chapter 31
Leia was bored, standing alone outside the room where Obi-Wan was somehow still engaged in conversation with Kanan, or Caleb, or whatever his name was. She'd visited the cockpit, and the pilot, Hera, had welcomed her warmly. Hera told Leia that the ship was called the Ghost, and had regaled her with stories about her homeworld when Leia inquired. Leia liked to hear people talk about where they were from, and listen to their stories. She liked to see the faraway look people got in their eyes when they recalled their greatest adventures, and there were plenty of crazy adventures to hear about in the galaxy. Obi-Wan had told Leia hundreds of stories, yet she got the sense that he still hadn't told her the half of it.
But now, after she'd left the cockpit, she was still waiting for Obi-Wan to finish his chat so that they could move along, assuming that he didn't suggest that they stay so he could continue talking with his new best friend. "Hey," a voice called out behind her. She turned her head and saw Ezra walking towards her. Suppressing a groan at having to hear more of his ill-timed jokes, he surprised her by just leaning against the wall next to her and saying, "You're, uh, pretty impressive with that lightsaber. Been fighting the Empire long?" Leia slightly chuckled and answered honestly. "Actually, today was our first day actually revealing ourselves as Jedi to them. They'll start actively hunting us after this." Ezra seemed to deflate at that. "Oh. Sorry," he said earnestly, but she just shook her head. "No, no, we wanted to be noticed," she said. He looked at her like she was crazy. "Why? Why would you want the Empire to chase you?" She shrugged and said, "Jedi stand for something. If we want to change our image and make a real difference, really make a stand against the Empire, then we have to take risks like this, put ourselves in the open."
Ezra thought about that for a minute and shook his head, still confused. "Okay, but come on. You seem a bit young for this sort of fight, taking on the whole Empire. How old are you?" Once again, Leia answered honestly. She didn't know why, but this kid was actually pretty easy to talk to. "I'm only 14, but that's more than old enough to make a difference." Ezra's eyes widened and he turned his head away, saying, "Yeah, yeah. Plenty old enough." Leia didn't quite understand his reaction and was about to ask him about it, but was interrupted by the teenage girl, Sabine, and the tall, purple one, Zeb, coming over. "Hey, Leia, is this guy bothering you?" Sabine joked, and Ezra cast a glare her way. Leia smiled and said, "Not much, but then again, I've always been a bit too accepting of seeing potential new friends, as my Master tends to remind me." Sabine also smiled, saying, "Was that a hidden jab? I like you already." Zeb chuckled, and Leia looked up at him. After analyzing him for a moment, she asked him, "Are you a Wookiee?" Zeb growled and Ezra laughed, saying, "Oh yeah, he's a rare, hairless Wookiee!" Seeing his annoyance, Leia quickly backtracked. "I'm sorry, I'm just not familiar with your species." Zeb perked up a bit, happy to at least find that she wasn't trying to insult him in any way. "Yeah, well, it's a long story…," he began. Just then, the door opened and Obi-Wan, Kanan, and Hera stood in the opening. Hera put a hand on her hip and said, "Oh, look who all are bonding. Now come on. We still need to finish this job, and Obi-Wan here has offered his and his apprentice's assistance."
Slightly surprised, Leia walked back into the main room, along with the others, and Zeb pulled the two Imperial crates into the room with them. Curious, Leia asked, "What's in the boxes?" Zeb looked down and said bitterly, "Illegal T-7 ion disruptor rifles." No one else seemed to notice Zeb's pained expression as he said the words, but Leia saw Obi-Wan place an arm on the big guy's shoulder and give him a sympathetic look, which seemed to calm Zeb down. Not sure what the problem with those particular guns was, Leia continued. "Well, where are we taking them? Are we arming an army of rebels?" Hera shook her head and moved towards the cockpit. "Not exactly. We're about to make our approach on Lothal, so everyone strap in."