I do not own Star Wars or any of the characters. Finally in the main part of the story! Christ that took longer than I expected. Without further adieu, on with the Rebels chapters.
Trap
Damian stared at the HoloNet broadcast. Currently, it was the usual Empire bullshit, but a moment ago, it was a hijacked transmission by Senator Gall Trayvis, who had claimed Luminara Unduli was alive and being held hostage. Damian's eyes rose first to Ahsoka, then to Barriss. Luminara had been Barriss's Jedi Master before Barriss betrayed the Jedi Order. Barriss's eyes met his and he instantly knew what she was going to say.
"She's dead, Barriss," Damian said. "The Emperor wouldn't keep a Jedi Master alive for this long.
"I...I know," Barriss said. "But...I still..."
Damian sighed heavily, resting his face in his hands for a moment. "If Kanan Jarrus heard this transmission, he'll be on his way there as well. If this is a trap, he'll be walking right into it."
"And he probably won't be expecting a trap like we are," Barriss said.
Damian nodded. "Alright. We're going. R3 can pilot the Wraith. Trayvis said the Stygeon system, right?"
Barriss nodded, hurrying out of the room to get ready. Damian sighed, turning to Ahsoka, who was holding their child, who was barely a few months old.
"Be careful," Ahsoka said.
"I will," Damian promised, kissing her. "We'll be back before you know it."
Ahsoka smiled and nodded before Damian followed Barriss out of the room. He headed to the armory to change for the mission. He pulled on his Mandalorian Iron chest plate, which he'd had reforged after the fight with Dulheif Ghaar, then pulled on a sleeveless white coat over it, leaving its hood down. His shirt was grey, with long sleeves, and he pulled on a pair of Mandalorian Iron gauntlets. Once he had what he needed, he grabbed his blaster and headed to the Wraith where Barriss was giving Riyo a kiss goodbye, also wearing a Mandalorian Iron chest plate, now that they'd all gotten one, thanks to Organa. Damian and R3 passed the two of them without a word and Damian entered the coordinates for the Stygeon system before waiting. After a moment, Barriss stepped into the cockpit, taking the copilot's seat. Damian started the ship up and left their home behind. Once they were in orbit, he jumped to Hyperspace and R3 took over.
"We're not going to be coming back for a while, are we?" Barriss asked.
"We'll see," Damian said. "For now, we should focus on making sure Kanan doesn't get caught by Inquisitors."
Barriss nodded and settled in, beginning to meditate. Damian watched the light of Hyperspace outside the ship for a while before beginning to do the same, leaving R3 in charge of piloting the Wraith.
Damian stared at the prison in silence. It was going to be a rough job. The prison was extremely heavily guarded, outside and in, and it was a race against the clock since Damian could sense a Force sensitive moving around inside. On the bright side, Barriss said she could sense Luminara. Damian could sense her too, but wasn't sure if it was her. Damian didn't want to get his hopes up, and didn't want Barriss to, but it was looking good. Which made it the perfect trap.
"Remember, blasters only," Damian said. "And only as a last resort."
"I know," Barriss said, glancing at the rifle she'd borrowed from Shaeeah. "Let's see if Dulheif Ghaar's taste in weapons was really as good as you claim."
Damian nodded and jumped out of the back of the Wraith. They were just barely below orbit, but over the years, he'd gotten good at high-altitude drops. He steered himself carefully, aiming for the air ducts on the roof. He slowed himself with the Force as he approached, then landed lightly on the top of the air duct they would be entering through. He carefully pulled the grate out of it and tapped his communicator twice, signaling Barriss to join him. The Wraith flew low, low enough for Barriss to be able to land on the pipe as well without trouble, and Damian swung down into the pipe, sliding down into a maintenance tunnel before stepping out of the way, Barriss dropping a moment later.
"This way," Damian breathed, following his senses through the passage way.
After a few minutes, they reached a hatch into the hallway and Damian carefully peeked around before stepping out. He waited for Barriss to join him before they started through the hallways quickly. A pair of stormtroopers stepped around the corner ahead of them, only for Damian to launch himself forward, slamming a double lariat into their helmets, knocking both out. He turned left and followed the hallways to a turbo lift, he and Barriss taking it down to the level Damian could sense Luminara from. They left the lift and ran through the hallways quickly. However, just as they turned the corner into the hallway Luminara's cell was in, they both skidded to a stop, watching a bald Inquisitor walk into the cell, the door closing behind him. Damian put his blaster away and grabbed his lightsaber, running forward, extending one blade.
"Cover the hallway," Damian said, Barriss nodding and turning away from the cell, covering the way they had come.
He stopped at the door, hearing the Inquisitor's voice inside.
"The temple records are quite complete," the Inquisitor was saying, even as the sound of lightsabers clashing echoed from inside. "If I recall her fighting, Billaba's emphasis was always on Form Three, which you favor to a ridiculous degree."
Damian opened the door and the Inquisitor, who was holding his lightsaber against Kanan's with his right hand, his left held behind himself, spun, only to slam into the wall as Damian blasted him with the Force.
"Luminara?" Damian asked.
"She's dead," Kanan said, looking to a coffin on the wall where there was a decomposed corpse inside.
"That's just disrespectful," Damian said, using the Force to levitate it, looking to the Inquisitor.
"No time," Kanan said, pushing him toward the door. "We need to leave. Now."
"Right," Damian nodded. "Barriss! Time to leave!"
Barriss nodded and turned, only to freeze as she saw Luminara's corpse. "No. Master Luminara..."
"I'm sorry Barriss, but we don't have time for this now," Damian said. "We need to get out before we're trapped."
Barriss swallowed hard before nodding, running over. Damian passed Luminara to her and turned to the cell just in time to block the Inquisitor's lightsaber.
"Another one?" the Inquisitor mused. "Impressive. No. Two more. But you were not a part of the order. You must have been found shortly after the fall then."
Damian shoved the Inquisitor's lightsaber away and the Inquisitor began to strike at him rapidly, Damian deflecting the blows with ease. The Inquisitor's brow furrowed.
"You're good," the Inquisitor said. "Well trained. And extremely powerful in the Force. Who are you?"
"I'm the guy who made a career out of killing Inquisitors," Damian said, knocking the Inquisitor's lightsaber to the side, then stabbing at him.
However, the Inquisitor extended his lightsaber's other blade and deflected it, beginning to strike at Damian faster, the blades beginning to spin around the hilt. Finally, Damian sent a Force Push into the Inquisitor, hurling him backward before turning and sprinting away. He glanced back at the Inquisitor as he was rounding the corner, seeing him watching him through narrowed eyes. Then, Damian was around the corner and quickly caught up with the others.
"How are we getting out of here?" Damian asked.
"Landing platform!" a young girl in a suit of spray-painted Mandalorian armor, carrying a pair pf painted Mandalorian blasters replied.
"Secure the facility," the Inquisitor's voice said through the prison's intercom suddenly. "Full lockdown."
"Well that's not helpful!" a young boy that was with Kanan at the cell, and also was Force sensitive, said as the doors they were running past began to close.
Damian glanced at the boy. He had blue hair just above shoulder length, an orange jacket, orange pants, and an energy slingshot on his left wrist. Damian could swear he knew him from somewhere. Damian spun suddenly, deflecting the Inquisitor's lightsaber into a wall, where it stayed, before smirking and turning back to the front, jumping and just barely slipping through the next door, catching up with the others. Finally, they left the hallway, the last blast door sealing just in front of the Inquisitor. Damian sighed, glancing at Barriss, who was barely holding herself together.
"We're almost done," Damian said, resting a hand on her shoulder.
Barriss nodded just as the Mandalorian girl reported she was locked out of the prison's network. The young Force-sensitive boy tried to manually hack it with a tool from his backpack, but got electrocuted and thrown backward.
"Sorry," the boy said.
"Ezra, together," Kanan said, pulling him to his feet.
Damian stared at him. Ezra? Ezra Bridger? Damian smiled. So that was where he knew him from. Just as Kanan and Ezra began to focus, trying to lift the landing pad's hangar door, the Inquisitor's lightsaber blade stabbed through the door behind them, beginning to cut it open.
"Barriss," Damian said. "You're going to need to use that blaster."
Barriss nodded as the doors rose, dozens of stormtroopers opening fire instantly. Damian and Kanan began to deflect shots instantly, Damian extending his second blade, and the Mandalorian girl, the Lasat that had been running with them, and Barriss began to open fire. Barriss's shots weren't precise like she usually were, but thanks to her having that particular rifle, they exploded when they hit anything that wasn't a stormtrooper, generally wreaking havoc anyway.
"One more miracle here," the Lasat said to the Mandalorian before hurling a grenade, blasting a handful of stormtroopers.
"Not quite," Damian said. "We brought a miracle too. Now R3."
A moment later, the Wraith's main gun began to open up on the landing pad, quickly mowing down the remaining Stormtroopers and destroying the TIE fighters before the Wraith flew down, becoming visible as the ramp opened.
"Everyone get in!" Damian shouted, everyone sprinting forward and getting in, the ramp closing and the camouflage systems reactivating just before the Inquisitor stepped outside, looking around in confusion.
"This ship's amazing!" the Mandalorian said. "Hey, is that Mandalorian Iron?" She pointed to his chest plate and gloves.
"It is," Damian nodded. "It was a gift from a friend. My name is Damian Shan. This is Barriss Offee."
"A traitor," Kanan said, then sighed. "But I suppose we can't be picky."
"She's redeemed herself," Damian said, resting a hand on Barriss's shoulder. "Take her to my room if you want. Take as long as you need."
Barriss nodded, leaving with Luminara before Damian sighed, leaning against the wall.
"Luminara was her Jedi Master," Damian said. "Barriss regrets what she did, but because of it, she never got to say goodbye."
Kanan nodded. "You said your name is Shan, right? Like Satele Shan?"
"And Bastila," Damian said. "They're my ancestors. It's why I'm so strong in the Force."
Kanan nodded. "It was you we met, right?"
Damian nodded, looking to Ezra before sighing. "You'll have to excuse me. I need to call my wife. And you should let your ride know you got out safely."
"Already done," the Mandalorian said. "I'm Sabine, by the way."
"I'm Zeb," the Lasat said.
"Ezra Bridger," Ezra said, extending his hand.
Damian chuckled, shaking it. "You and I have met once before, Ezra. Though, you were only an infant then. It's good to see you grew up well."
Ezra nodded, brow furrowing. "You don't look that old."
"The Force slows my body aging," Damian said. "Side effect of being as connected to it as I am. Fortunately, my wife is aging as slow as me."
"You're aware Jedi aren't supposed to be married, right?" Kanan asked.
Damian snorted. "Firstly, I told you, I'm not a Jedi. I'm a smuggler. Secondly, I'll take your advice about being celibate, when you tell Hera you're not interested."
"You know Hera?" Sabine asked.
"I've met Kanan and Hera before," Damian said, pushing off the wall. "Kanan, join me in the cockpit, if you don't mind."
Kanan nodded and followed Damian out of the room. They walked to the bridge and Damian called Ahsoka. After a moment, she appeared on a holoprojector, raising an eyebrow.
"You're not alone," Ahsoka said, then sighed. "You're going to travel with them, aren't you?"
"Wait, what?" Kanan asked.
"I'm sorry," Damian smiled sheepishly. "Ezra Bridger is with them, and I feel...I'm supposed to help them."
"It's alright," Ahsoka smiled. "I'll be alright. But you have to visit, alright?"
"As often as I can," Damian promised. "Kiss Alina for me?"
"Sure," Ahsoka smiled. "Don't miss too much of our daughter's life, alright?"
"I won't," Damian said. "I'll be home as soon as I can."
"Aren't you going to ask me about this?" Kanan asked as Damian hung up.
"Alright," Damian said. "Do you want to have a powerful Force-user help you train Ezra while also receiving Fulcrum intel directly from said powerful Force-user because he is Fulcrum?"
Kanan opened his mouth to argue against Damian staying but sighed. Damian was right and Kanan knew it.
"Fine," Kanan sighed. "What about your ship?"
"I'm going to take it home," Barriss said. "Anything in it you need, Damian?"
"I'm going to grab my juggernaut suit," Damian said. "Aside from that I should have everything I need."
Barriss nodded. "Good luck. See you soon."
Damian nodded, giving Barriss a hug before walking to the back where the other three were starting to get impatient.
"So, what's up?" Sabine asked, having taken her helmet off.
She had her hair died purple from the roots, then orange near the ends.
"Damian...is going to be joining our crew," Kanan sighed. "He'll be helping train Ezra-"
"And you," Damian added, Kanan's eyebrow twitching.
"And me," Kanan grumbled. "And he's got contacts that we can use to get jobs."
"Cool," Ezra said. "Can you teach me how to fling guys like that Inquisitor the way you did?"
Damian snorted. "Kid, it'll be years before you're flinging anyone, much less an Inquisitor." A thought suddenly occurred to him. "That reminds me, there are worse things than Inquisitors out there, and at least one of them is technically hunting me. Or, at least, I'm going to end up fighting him at some point."
"What's worse than an Inquisitor?" Ezra asked.
"A Sith Lord," Kanan said. "You can't actually mean to fight Vader, right?"
"Good God no," Damian scoffed. "No, I'm in a bit more...annoying a situation. I'm a popular target for Sith Stalkers, but the one I know of who's still alive I have yet to get an accurate read on for how powerful he is. Every time I've fought him, he's toyed with me, Barriss, and my wife, also a former Jedi Padawan, and yet even against all three of us, he was untouchable. And actually Master Shaak Ti was there too."
"Master Shaak Ti is alive?" Kanan asked.
"Yeah," Damian nodded. "But she's in hiding and I promised not to tell anyone, even other Jedi."
"Who's Shaak Ti?" Ezra asked.
"Master Shaak Ti is a former member of the Jedi Council," Damian said. "She's way stronger than either of you."
"But not you?" Kanan asked.
"That remains to be seen," Damian said. "Anyway, Barriss is taking my ship home with her, so we'll need to take your ship."
"Hera should be here to dock in a couple of minutes," Sabine said.
Damian nodded and they all settled in to wait. Once Hera had arrived, she docked the back hatch of her ship to the Wraith's airlock, letting them all in. She raised an eyebrow at Damian and he gave her a brief explanation. She accepted it easier than Kanan, agreeing that it was a good idea. Hera turned, flying them back to the Ghost, their main ship, the smaller one they were in being a detachable fighter that docked in the back of the Ghost. As she left the Wraith, Barriss headed home.
"Master Luminara?" Hera asked.
"Gone," Kanan said. "We'll need to find a way to spread the word."
"How's Ezra taking it?" Hera asked.
"Not as bad as I am," Kanan said. "And neither of us as bad as Luminara's former Padawan. Turns out our newest member has a former Padawan for a friend, and another for a wife."
"That's great news," Hera smiled.
"In some aspects," Kanan said, sighing heavily. "At least Damian can teach Ezra. I was worried Ezra might be stuck with me for a moment there."
Beside Damian, Ezra stared at the floor. He said nothing. The two of them needed to learn to communicate. Otherwise, it would be pointless for Kanan to be his master. He sighed. It would be a headache training the two of them.
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