Now there were even more questions.
Maybe staying was a bad idea, thought Ezra as he fidgeted with his lightsaber.
After a long time thinking, he had decided to remain with the crew of the Ghost.
His recent plans hadn't been very interesting anyway.
He had been asking Kanan questions the entire trip to the Kaalis System, and the man was only able to answer a few. He asked him more about this Sidii Bendu legend, but Kanan only knew very little, for there wasn't enough information to tell.
Well, he's not that old, the kid admitted to himself. He can't know everything about the Force or the Sidii Bendu, whatever it's called.
That part nagged him the most. He didn't like the sound of it, but sadly it made… some sense.
Not a lot of sense… ugh what am I thinking, nothing makes sense nowadays.
"Get ready to jump into normal space, kids," came Hera Syndulla's voice from the speakers. "We've arrived."
The Ghost jolted slightly as the black and stars replaced the churning blue and white. Everyone was in the cockpit now, overlooking a large, dark planet surrounded by swirling clouds of star mist. Orbiting the intimidating Harus was a thin strip of asteroids and, after a small game of 'eye-spy', they found the abandoned structure amidst the icy rocks. It was tiny at first glance, but as they got closer, the station got bigger. Soon they were facing the massive cargo bay doors, which were already open and big enough to fit ten light freighters. Fortunately, a shield prevented the vacuum of space from sucking out whatever oxygen remained in the structure.
As they slowly entered the darkness, Ezra felt something in the Force.
It was dark.
Cold.
It was the feeling he got when his mind momentarily touched the Dark Side, leaving him shivering.
This felt more powerful, more… distinct.
"We're not alone here," he said aloud, mostly towards Kanan.
His master only nodded in response as the others glanced at each other warily. "We'll have to be quick, everyone," he said once the ship touched down. "We go in, find what we can, and get out."
The crew rose to their feet and made their way out of the ship.
They all grouped up outside and waited for additional orders. The air smelt stale and felt chilly, but not cold enough to be unbearable.
"Zeb," said Kanan as he stepped out onto the hard floor of the cargo bay, "I want you and Ezra to split off in one direction. Sabine and I will go the other way."
"What about me?" Chopper babbled, placing his little metal arms on either side of his body.
"Chopper, you stay with Hera and help her keep the engines warm in case we have to make a quick escape," the man explained. He was obviously worried about that outcome, Ezra could see it, but he was hiding it well.
The droid mumbled something no one could decipher.
"Wouldn't splitting up be a bad idea?" said Sabine, putting her pistol into a holster around her belt.
"I agree," Zeb added. "I don't like the idea one bit."
"That's why I'm with Sabine and Ezra is with you." Kanan tried to get the point across, and it took a moment before it clicked in the Lasat's head.
"Oh, right," he said, scratching the back of his head.
Kanan and I are Force wielders, the kid explained to himself. Whatever we felt won't be able to kill off Sabine or Zeb without having to go through us first.
He liked calling himself a Jedi… even if he didn't feel like one.
"Keep your commlinks open," the man commanded as he and Sabine began to walk away from the others. Ezra and Zeb nodded as they headed in the opposite direction.
"Please be careful," they heard Hera say softly behind them.
The air smelt of dust as the Lasat and the young boy quietly walked through the dark corridor. They passed empty crates and broken droids and mazes of other corridors. Zeb carried a torch in one large hand, and Ezra's hand hovered cautiously above his laser sword behind him.
He was searching for that sinister feeling in the Force again, but he only felt a barrier when he attempted to reach out. Whoever else was here knew they were, too.
The torchlight Zeb held skimmed across the walls and floor as they veered right. A small piece of metal fell from its place somewhere nearby, causing the Lasat to let out a small yelp as he jumped back, startled. Ezra merely glanced down at the fallen debris, unfazed by the sound.
As if I was expecting it. He frowned slightly.
"Stupid, ugh," Zeb grumbled as he continued on. "I hate this place."
"You're telling me," the kid agreed as he closely followed his friend. "So, how long have you been with the others?" he asked, trying to take their minds off the unknown dangers that lurked in every corner.
"A while," Zeb replied, stepping over what looked like part of the ceiling that had fallen long ago. "Sabine recently joined us, so I'm still getting to know her."
"You two seem to get along pretty well."
"Oh, really?"
"Yeah, of course. There's nothing wrong with that, it's just, nice, I guess."
Zeb made a snort as a smirk leaped over his face.
"What do you think of him?" asked Sabine as her torch brushed over the walls and ceiling of the corridor her and Kanan were in.
"He's strong, that's for sure," the man replied.
"As in… with the Force?"
"Yeah." Kanan nodded. "I'll be teaching him to be a Jedi."
"Congrats!" the Mandalorian said cheerfully.
"What do you think of him?"
"Well, I don't know him that much, but he's alright in my books." She nearly collided with her friend as he suddenly froze in place. "What's wrong?" she asked.
"That… feeling," Ezra said as Zeb eyed him worriedly. "Kanan and I felt it before we landed."
"You did mention someone else was here," the Lasat stated. "But, who?"
"I'm not sure," said Kanan as he concentrated on the Force. "The 'someone' Ezra mentioned… I can sense him."
"Should we worry?" asked Sabine. "Is… whatever it is… bad?"
Kanan sighed and looked at the young woman. "Yes," he answered, "but not as bad as what I've felt in the past."
"But still bad."
The man nodded.
"I don't know who," Ezra said, his lightsaber now in his hands. "But whatever it is, we have to be careful."
Zeb had his Bo-rifle in one of his hands now as he looked around carefully, eyeing at the kid every now and then.
Slowly, quietly, they made their way into a small storage compartment. Crates were stacked in heaps against the walls along with metal from disassembled Astromech droids.
Out of nowhere, Zeb was thrown into a large pile of crates, creating a large crashing sound as the heavy boxes toppled onto him.
A hand appeared around Ezra's neck and pinned him to the wall behind him. A white, and quite ugly face appeared before him, golden eyes gleaming and a hideous smile on his face.
"Well, well, well," he said in a quiet voice, studying the startled look on the boy's face. "What do we have here?"
Ezra clenched his teeth and grunted as he struggled to break free from the Inquisitor's grasp. The Lasat was nowhere to be seen, and he couldn't sense Kanan anywhere.
"Who are you?" he managed to jeer through his gritted teeth.
"Oh, my boy," said the stranger, his gold iris's piercing through Ezra's deep blue eyes. "You shall call me the Grand Inquisitor."
"What are you doing here?"
"I was going to as you the same thing," he tightened his grip slightly, causing Ezra to take in a gasp of air.
"And…why should I tell you?" the boy whispered, gradually losing his ability to breath.
"I wanted to kill you, I really did," said the Inquisitor.
He's a Pua'an…
"But?"
"I cannot, sadly." He released his grip. Ezra slumped to the ground, coughing and gasping for air. "Lord Vader wishes to see you, personally," he continued, slowly wandering away from the boy who was too preoccupied with being able to breathe again.
Lord… Vader?
"I might say that it would be such a privilege to meet the most powerful – ahem – 'second' most powerful Sith Lord to ever live."
You're no Sith.
"And why…would I want…to do that?" asked Ezra, oblivious to his correction.
"You are powerful, Ezra Bridger," said the Pau'an, looking down at him with his red eyes flashing gold in the darkness. "My Lord would be pleased to have such a fine, young, talented Apprentice like you." He knelt in front of the boy, and their eyes made contact. "You could become the most powerful Sith in the entire galaxy. You could do whatever you want."
Ezra stared at him as if the Inquisitor was the dumbest person alive.
"It sounds tempting, but no thanks, I'll pass," he finally stated, pulling himself up onto his feet.
That one moment was what he made himself ready for.
That moment when the anger that had slightly passed over the Inquisitor returned in full force.
No words, just actions.
Ezra leapt out of the way just as the Pau'an's knee swung up to hit him in the gut. He somersaulted and rolled across the ground, grabbing both his lightsabers as he came to a complete stop. The Inquisitor seized his blades and ignited them as he came hurtling towards the boy.
Blue, green and red blazed together as the powerful swords collided. A great zapping, screeching sound emitted from the swords as they struggled to push against each other.
The Inquisitor brought the swords down, causing both opponents to stumble.
Then a real battle commenced.
Zeb shook his head and peered through the crates. He caught glimpses of red and blue light, and instantly knew his friend was in deep trouble.
The Lasat wanted to help, but he knew he had to stay quiet. He had no weaponry that matched a lightsaber.
Instead, he brought the commlink on his wrist up and whispered, "Kanan, you there?"
He heard what Zeb said, and in return he replied, "I know."
The Lasat frowned. "What?"
"I know what's going on," said Kanan. "Stay put. I'm almost there."
The commlink closed, and Zeb grunted. "Stay put," he grumbled. "This is a very uncomfortable position to 'stay put' in."
Out of all the things he needed to concentrate on, Ezra could sense Kanan was nearing. All his meditating, all his self-training, had taught him well.
But is it just this Sidii Bendu thing talking?
The Inquisitor slashed.
The boy stumbled.
He slashed in turn, harder this time.
Ezra barely moved aside of his blazing red blade as it singed his hair.
"You're a good opponent," said the Inquisitor, whizzing his lightsabers about where he stood a few meters away. "Besides, I have a good feeling that I'll sever you and drag you to my Lord, if it comes to that." He leaped forward, cutting downwards. Ezra rolled out of the way.
At that moment, Kanan's shadow blocked the doorway to the storage compartment. Ezra dared not look away from his enemy as the Jedi ignited his green blue laser sword.
"I knew I had sensed another Jedi here," said the Inquisitor with a sly smile. "There is nothing more exciting than fighting two Jedi."
"Sabine," Kanan said, keeping his eyes on the Pau'an, "get yourself and Zeb back to the Ghost and tell Hera to get ready to leave."
"But – "
"No buts! Go!"
Sabine hesitated, but eventually helped Zeb up and hurried out of the room.
"I should really be following Lord Vader's orders," the Inquisitor thought aloud, "but I cannot help to think that I should be killing the both of you."
"You keep wishing that," said Ezra, simply.
The darkness lashed out once again, the light parrying his fatal blows.
Kanan was quick to make himself a part of the fight, but it took some getting used to for the Jedi to avoid cutting each-others heads off.
They didn't realize how long they had been fighting, but both man and boy were beginning to tire. The Pau'an, however, was staying light on his feet, as if using the draining energy of his opponents against them. Soon enough, Ezra was beginning to fail, and struggled to defend himself. Kanan still had strength, but he didn't know how much more he could take.
"We have to fall back," Kanan managed to say as he tried slicing the Inquisitors arm off but missed.
"That's a good idea," said Ezra, slowly making his way towards the entrance of the storage compartment and allowing Kanan to take the lead.
Their enemy was tiring, but he was enjoying this moment so much he didn't seem to notice.
A moment in time is all it took.
Kanan wavered.
With the little strength Ezra had gained, he made his way to fight beside Kanan.
The moment happened.
The moment when Kanan lowered his guard.
A split second.
Ezra saw it coming and hauled himself in front of the Jedi to defend him.
The red sword blazed cut across his torso, and he stumbled a few meters from them, dropping his blades.
Kanan stood there, shocked.
He quickly gathered his thoughts and Force pushed the distracted Inquisitor with all the strength he had.
Sizzled flesh made Ezra clasp his hands around his torso and curl over, but Kanan caught him before he was completely on the ground.
"Ezra," he said, shaking him to keep him awake as they knelt there on the floor. "We have to go now while we still can."
There was a moments silence, and the boy nodded.
Kanan grasped his duo lightsaber and placed Ezra's arm over his shoulder, hurling him up onto his feet.
The Jedi didn't look back as he hurried to the awaiting Ghost crew.
And this is where is all stopped.
Sorry about that.
But, you shall await for new chapters coming shortly! I appreciate the few ideas you guys had given me. I did consider them, but here's hoping you'd find the next few chapters interesting enough to continue reading. I promise, no more cliff hangers where you have to wait 5 years.
I've also considered featuring a favourite review of mine for everyone to see at the beginning of the next few chapters, if you'd like to review of course! I won't 'Force' you, get it? Ahehe... anyway, till the next chapter!