See first chapter for disclaimers.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks to Storyseeker for beta-reading this. If you have any comments or preferences, please don't be shy. RandR.

PREVIOUSLY: Psychopass

Rebel Rescue

Kanan was enjoying the brief respite from the Inquisitor's efforts. The Sith interrogator had been called away on some unspecified business, giving the Jedi prisoner a chance to catch his breath and organize his thoughts. He knew nothing about a larger rebellion. He and Hera had agreed that was best, and he was grateful for that decision now. While he would rather die than betray those he cared about to the empire, he was not so arrogant to believe that he could hold out forever or that the Inquisitor was so sloppy or unskilled as to let him die. He could only betray those closest to him, and he and Hera had made plans to cover their tracks should one of them be captured.

His ruminations were interrupted by a loud thud. He glanced at the door to the interrogation room and was in time to see it open as the Inquisitor stumbled backwards. Before the Sith could regain his equilibrium he was struck three more times in rapid succession and went down. His assailant, a human woman who looked to be in her early 20s, was on him in a second, viciously pounding him in the face repeatedly till Kanan's tormentor stopped moving and slumped unconscious on the floor.

She stood and looked at Kanan who watched her warily before venturing a comment. "Very nicely done. I'd clap, but…" He shrugged as best he could in his restraints.

"Let's see what we can do about that," a male voice answered from the door. A man wearing storm trooper armor but lacking a helmet came in. He had one eye and a broad grin. "I'm gonna go out on a limb here and guess you aren't enjoying Imperial hospitality. Perhaps you'd like to trade your accommodations for our timely and economical travel package? Destination; anywhere but here." As he spoke, he worked the controls to free the Jedi knight. The woman caught him as he slumped forward.

"Time to go," she said tersely. She passed Kanan to her partner and looked carefully out the door while the man slipped on his helmet and Kanan retrieved his light saber and took the Inquisitor's for good measure. "All clear."

"For you, maybe," the man muttered. "How do they see in these damn things? Or breathe?" The woman took a moment to put the Inquisitor in his own restraints, and then they made their way as quickly as they could away from the cells. "Wouldn't happen to know the way to the docking bay would you?" the man asked.

"Yes, actually. Wait, you don't? What sort of rescue is this? Not that I'm complaining."

"Kind of an unplanned one," the woman offered. "We aren't here willingly either."

"What did they arrest you for?" Kanan asked, pointing the way toward the closest bay.

"That's…complicated," the man said. "Let's just say the Empire would be very interested in the way we travel." Kanan decided not to pry for the moment. "Right now we just need a warp capable ship so we can get out of here."

"A what-capable?" Kanan asked.

"Wrong 'verse," the woman said off-hand. "You mean hyperdrive."

"Oh, right. Glad Andrew isn't here. He would never let me hear the end of that."

"What are you talking about?" Kanan asked, not making any sense of the exchange.

"Not important," the man offered. "Let's just-"

"Hey! What are y- erk!" The woman jabbed the trooper that had just come around the corner in the throat, just below his helmet. She followed it with a blow to the solar plexus, just below the chest plate. As the trooper doubled over, she removed his helmet and brought her knee to his forehead, knocking him out.

"That was impressive," Kanan admitted, "but why didn't you just shoot him?"

"We don't kill people," the man answered.

"You do know that blaster has a stun setting, right?"

"Really?" The man handed over his blaster and Kanan adjusted it, and then did the same with the one taken from the other trooper. The woman accepted it only reluctantly.

"She doesn't like weapons like that," the man offered, "especially after our last stop."

"If I never see one of those butcher's tools again," the woman growled, "it'll be too soon."

"Bad experience with blasters?" Kanan asked.

"They weren't blasters, exactly," the man winced. "I'm not sure what the locals called them, but if you got shot with one you didn't get an open casket funeral, you got hosed off the pavement and down the nearest drain."

Kanan suppressed a shudder at the image that evoked, and reassured her. "Not a concern here. On that setting, the troopers will just be knocked out." She just nodded.

"That'll help," the man nodded. "She tried to kick the first one we met in the balls and nearly broke her foot." Kanan decided not to comment on that as they pressed on. It wasn't long before they were spotted by a patrol, though. The man and woman both opened fire, downing a trooper each as they retreated around the nearest corner. None of the return fire had come close.

"Is there another way to the bay?" the man asked. Kanan shook his head.

"This is the quickest way. Finding another will take too long, and we'll run into more troops than we can handle." They began to fire around the corner, scoring an impressive number of hits. Kanan used the Force to summon a blaster to his hand and joined the fight. The distance was too great for a charge with a light saber to be practical against so many. As the number quickly dwindled, however, he changed tactics and led the way, blocking and deflecting bolts back the way they'd come. They were soon past the first group and on their way. Unfortunately, the alarm had been sounded and they had to fight through another group.

"I ever tell you about my really short time in the army?" the man asked his companion.

"Sort of," she replied distractedly, returning fire.

"I have a distinct memory of my drill sergeant, mean old S.O.B. trying to teach us to shoot straight. He'd have said these guys have the world's worst case of CHS syndrome."

Kanan glanced at the man as he stunned another trooper. He wasn't sure he wanted to know. His companion seemed equally reluctant, but eventually asked. "CHS?"

"Can't Hit Shit."

The woman snickered and Kanan suppressed a groan, making a mental note to keep the man away from Ezra and Zeb. The kind of chaos the three could wreak if they put their heads together would be frightening. He stunned another and led the charge, fighting through the last three. Docking bay two was just ahead. There were shuttles there with hyperdrives that would fit their needs perfectly. He wondered absently what warp was, but then, set it aside. They had far more important things to worry about. Tarkin knew they would be looking for a way off the ship, so the bays would all be crawling with troopers. They had been forced to change plans a couple of times to avoid patrols and were currently trying to reach bay two again when a possible solution presented itself. Kanan paused and looked up in shock. "Ezra?"

"What?" the man asked.

"My apprentice….He's here, close."

"Rescue attempt?" the woman asked.

"It wouldn't surprise me. The sort of foolish reckless move I'd expect from my crewmates."

"Can you talk to him?" The woman looked hopeful. A coordinated effort would stand a better chance of getting everyone out safe.

"It's not that precise," the man shook his head. "Feelings and impressions, not detailed plans." Kanan glanced at him in surprise, but nodded. That was true enough, though he wondered how a non-Jedi would know so much about it.

"They've got some plan," Kanan assured them. "They wouldn't be foolish enough to come in here blind without some sort of strategy. I was able to tell Ezra I'm free and trying to get off the ship. Hopefully," he added as they ducked into a storage room to avoid a patrol, "they'll be able to adapt their plan." It was about this time the lights went out. "Speaking of."

"That'll work," the man said cheerfully. "Where's the nearest bay?"

"Bay five," Kanan answered after a moment's review of the schematics in his head. "Tie fighter bay, but with a rescue ship waiting, the lack of hyperdrive on the fighters won't be a problem."

"Perfect," the woman nodded. "Let's go while the imps are still sorting out what happened." They left the storage room and headed straight for bay five. Along the way, they encountered several unconscious storm troopers. "Some kind of electrical pulse?" she asked, looking at the way one black uniformed officer was contorted on the deck. "That would knock out the power."

"Probably," Kanan allowed, thinking it was the kind of distraction Sabine would rig up. "They won't be out long. We should hurry." They made it to the bay without incident where they had their choice of Tie fighters.

"Oh! Let's take the pretty one!" his male rescuer enthused, clapping his hands as the three stared at the garishly painted Tie fighter. The woman swatted him lightly on the back of the head, "and the one that has probably had any tracking devices the Imperials use on their ships removed or disabled," he finished.

"Okay," she allowed. "That's a fair point."

"Looks like Sabine's work," Kanan offered as they headed for the ship. Given how long the paint job would have taken, he had his suspicions that the Tie was the one Ezra and Zeb had stolen and claimed to have crashed. He would deal with that later. Assuming there was a later. They still had several Star Destroyers to sneak past. They climbed in and Kanan took the controls, as neither of the others knew how to pilot a fighter.

They found a stolen Imperial transport docked with the Star Destroyer and quickly linked up. They had to elude a swarm of fighters on the way out, but managed to escape in one piece.

OOOOOOOOOO

"Well, that was an adventure," Hera sighed when the story was done. "What were you two doing on board anyway?"

"Long story, that we can't really get into," the woman replied. "We're just two travelers, trying to get home."

"Are there many at home that use the Force as you do?" Kanan asked curiously.

"Huh? I don't use the Force."

"Actually, you do," Kanan assured her. "I felt it. You use it to enhance your physical abilities. It seems to be instinctive, though. Perhaps you are unaware you're drawing on it, or you call it something else."

"Would explain a few things," her companion mused. "But the physical enhancements and the occasional prophetic dream are the only thing the girls get. No levitating objects or any of the rest of the Jedi package."

"So there are more that can fight the way she does?" Kanan asked.

"Yeah," he nodded. "More than ever, lately. We actually had to open an Academy."

"Should we be tellin' them this?" the woman asked, eyeing the crew.

Her partner shrugged. "Not like they'll ever visit our home." The woman nodded. "And I can't see them mentioning it to the Emperor over tea, can you?"

"True enough," she shrugged, relaxing. "Still don't know if you could call it drawing on the Force, though. Strength and reflexes just come naturally. I never really did understand what the Force was, anyway."

"The Force," Kanan smiled, "is an energy field that encompasses everything. It is generated by all living creatures, but can only be used by a select few with the gift." The woman stared at him blankly.

"Maybe an analogy will help," her partner said. "The Force is like… duct tape!"

Kanan stared at the man. He wasn't sure where this 'analogy' was going, and wasn't sure he wanted to know. "Duct tape?" he asked reluctantly.

The younger man nodded with a confident smile. "There's a dark side and a light side, and it holds the universe together."

Kanan repressed a groan. It had been worse than he could have imagined. "Duct tape?" he said again incredulously.

"Huh." The young woman was looking thoughtful, which didn't help. He glanced at his crewmates.

Zeb was nodding. "That does make more sense than Kanan's explanations," his friend said, a look of comprehension on his face. Slightly alarmed, he glanced at Ezra, sitting next to Zeb, and found the boy looking as if a light had come on for him and nodding as well.

Kanan dropped his head into his hands and gave a despairing groan. Hera patted him on the back. "There, there, dear," she offered comfortingly, as she watched Ezra and Zeb smother their laughter and exchange high-fives.