At first Ezra found it hard to sit still.
Today had been an entirely new day, with new surprises and new faces.
Something big was going on.
Something big was going to happen soon.
His father's words echoed in his mind of the vision his father had had for weeks before he passed. Something about the destruction of the Empire?
A rebellion?
An Inquisitor?
When this was told to Ephraim at the time, he didn't believe in any of it and instead assumed his father was just having nightmares. Orys had always been a little… weird since the events that took place when Order 66 began.
But now, several years later, it was beginning to make sense.
The small group Ezra had seen today… was it the spark of a rebellion? Was his assumedly crazy grandfather actually talking about what was soon to happen in the era Ezra was born?
And was that strange man… truly a Jedi? A real Jedi?
The boy squirmed where he sat cross-legged on a cushion, trying to keep his eyes shut and silence his mind.
He had so many questions and no one to answer them.
Finally, his mind went quiet, and he began to drift into a meditative state.
A silent calm blanketed over the tower that overlooked Capital City.
Ezra sighed.
Peace at last.
What were in those crates that everyone wanted so badly?
The question was so loud and so clear, it was as if he had spoken into his own ear, and with a cuss the boy stood up in a huff, grabbed his screwdriver and took the elevator down to the bottom of the tower.
As soon as the doors opened, the teen walked into a large room. A sensor activated as he passed a wall and the room lit up to reveal a modified Jedi starfighter. The superficial wing armour was missing on the left side; the Astromech droid pilot seat was replaced with a turret Ezra had stolen from a fallen TIE Fighter a few years ago; the hyperjump engines were missing and some of the controls were switched around to compensate with the turret.
He had been working on this vehicle for years, finding parts where he could to replace those that were missing. He had taken it out twice – the first time he nearly crashed, the second time was more successful, although still wobbly in places. He had to change the manoeuvring thruster circuits twice and replace the shield with one from an Imperial Walker. The parts that were needed were originally going to be bought from the black market with the credits he would have made with whatever those crates had held the day before, but since he didn't have those parts or those credits…
Ezra tapped his screwdriver on the hull and circled the star fighter, checking for the thousandth time for any holes in the exterior or components that needed replacing.
He hadn't been able to take it out again since the arrival of a Star Destroyer a while ago. Someone important had some to Lothal that day, and the boy wasn't taking any chances.
When his mind was wrapped up in thoughts of what had happened and what could happen or what might happen, he came here to work on his star fighter. Sometimes he spent days here, traveling to the city to steal some food and supplies where he could before sneaking back again. Working on something took his mind off other things and forced him to concentrate on the tasks he assigned himself to. Sometimes time didn't matter when he worked down here, but for some reason he was eager to complete the ship and get off this planet for good.
From what Ezra saw and the things that could take place, he needed to get out, even if it meant taking a ride through hyperspace on the backside of an Imperial vessel, or spending days travelling to any planet that could give him a new life to live, a new path to take.
Since the Jedi starfighter was already as updated as it could be so far, the teen found himself fidgeting with his lightsaber, separating the two and putting them back together multiple times.
For a long time, he studied it, trying to think of something he could use it for.
He clicked a button and both blades ignited. They were hot and pulsing with energy, as if waiting for the day where it would cut through a Storm Trooper or slice open a door.
Or parry against another saber blade.
He twirled the blades easily with his fingers, creating a whooshing sound as the kyber crystal's energy cut through the air. There were black streaks on the ground and walls where he had practised wielding his lightsabers, and some of the benches that edged the room had dark slices through them.
There will be a use for these, Ezra thought. Just not today.
Extinguishing the blades, he made his way back to the elevator doors and rose to the top of the tower.
Now that his mind had asked these questions, it couldn't think of anything else to ask.
He used this silence to attempt meditation again.
Sitting back on his cushion, he closed his eyes and concentrated on the breeze outside, the familiar smell of dust that surrounded him, and the Force.
He drifted into a meditative state easier this time, and as the darkness enveloped him, so did a dream.
The teen stood in darkness. He couldn't see anything or anyone for a time, but he stayed calm. He wasn't in any danger anyway.
He stood still, waiting, listening.
A Loth Cat mewed beside him, and Ezra crouched to pat her on the head. She purred and rubbed herself along his leg, but as suddenly as she had come, she froze momentarily and ran off into the darkness. The boy frowned as he stared at the place she had disappeared, for he could sense something else, something familiar.
He took a cautious step in that direction, and a man came into view.
He was a tall man, with his hair tucked into a ponytail and deep green eyes.
The two males stood silently for a long time, studying each other carefully.
"Hello there," he said. His voice echoed off unseeable walls and bounced back at him.
"Hi," Ezra replied with a puzzled expression. This had never happened to him before. He was surely new to this.
The kid fitted a piece of an invisible puzzle together with another and said, "wait, you're the man I saw yesterday."
"Yes, I am," the man replied with a small smile and kindness in his eyes. "My name is Kanan Jarrus."
I've seen him before, years ago…
"I'm Ezra," he said, "Ezra Bridger."
"Pleasure to meet you."
His face… why does it give me déjà vu…
Another silence took over their small conversation as Ezra's mind raced through new questions. He had so much to ask, but there was somewhat very little time as of now.
Something was wrong.
"You've been taken prisoner," he realized as he eyed the man with worry. "Is that why you're here?"
The man raise his eyebrows. "That's quite a guess."
"Well I figured you wouldn't have been able to contact me unless we were close. I'm new to this so it was only a logical guess." He didn't bother to add that he somehow knew Kanan was in a dangerous area, and figured it wasn't on the modified VCX-100 light freighter he had seen being chased through the clouds.
I'm glad I have some knowledge of ships.
"How did you get captured?" he asked, mostly out of curiosity.
"We hid in the clouds for a time, but we were quickly surrounded by dozens of TIE Fighters," Kanan explained. "Our main thrusters were badly damaged, so we had no choice but to land and surrender."
"What about the crates?"
"They're in a safe place."
Ezra guessed that something happened during their time hidden in the sky, but he didn't say anything.
"Will you help free us?" the man asked carefully.
He was in the Jedi Temple… I saw his face there.
The teen stood for a moment and thought. He wanted to bargain, but he couldn't think of anything he wanted from them in return, other than…
"I will, on one condition," said Ezra.
"Name it."
"Safe passage out of Lothal, as far as want to take me."
There was no hesitation as Kanan agreed. "Anything to get us out of here. You seem to be our only hope right now. I wish you luck."
Before Ezra could say anything else, he was gone.
He's the good guy. I can trust him.
He slowly opened his eyes into the familiarity of the tower he made a home and smirked slightly. It was him, all along, who was going to change his life.
But he and his friends could be anyone, like Imperial spies for all I know, he thought. He frowned, but why would they risk their lives stealing from the Empire?
There was only one explanation that made the most sense.
They were rebels.
They were the beginning of a rebellion the galaxy will remember.
And Ezra was about to become a part of it.