The Rebel Twins

by GradGirl2010

For 15 years I was alone. Fixing spacecrafts to numb the pain. The Clones' betrayal of the Jedi stole my brother from me. At the time, it seemed as if it would be forever. Reunited through this war of Imps and Rebels, Caleb...huh...Kanan wants me by his side again. The problem is...the idea of fighting again terrifies me. The screams...they won't stop.

14. Can Go No Further

Can Go No Further

Moving on.

xxx

"Grr...hrm...ha...COME ON!" Fingers brushed the arm of a hover chair, not quite hooking it to pull it another foot closer. "Dammit!" Katerina planted her face into the covers. She growled animally, biting at the sheets. The guest bedroom was circulating with a nice breeze, but she's burned three dress sizes just trying to pull her chair closer. She lifted her head, narrowing hard trained aquamarines to her only means of moving around the Sumar's home. Katerina's wiry hair was clinging to her sweat drenched face. She'll have to apologize to the Sumar's for the sweat stains in the sheets. She's never had to work so hard for something an innocuous as a chair in her life. Building an engine for a Republic and Separatist Starcruiser was less exerting. The deadweight from her waist down wasn't doing her any sort of favors.

"Damn legs!" A week. That's how long her legs have been stiff as a board. And since Alyss dug up an old hover chair for her to move about in. She propped on an elbow and heatedly punched at her thighs, knees, and anywhere past the kneecaps she could reach. Nothing! AB-SO-LUTE-LY NOTHING! She frothed at the mouth. Her insides churned like butter infested with knotted wire. She punched at her legs as hard as she could. She dug her nails into her skin. She didn't feel a thing. Not even so much as a tingle. Her teeth gnawed on her lower lip. Unlike her legs, her lip felt her teeth rip the flesh. She might as well be beating at half a corpse.

"The one Imperial I attack, and he has a good throw." She growled. Her back was still sore from that day. Every so often she can feel the fresh wound ripping itself open again. Alyss and her fellow Doctors were craftsmen stitching her back together, going beyond their limits to ensure her swift recovery. Those very wounds reopened when she attacked Yogar Lyste. The Imperial Supply Master who makes it a game to harass the Sumars. The internal scarring, and injuries near her spine, originally, were on the mend with proper rest and rehabilitation. Lyste throwing her against that wall set her recovery back a long term. The fragility of her injuries wasn't determined, but they weren't ready for her to play hero again. The internal bleeding was easily nullified. The trauma near her spine, however, became fiercely agitated. Come the next morning when she awoke, she was crippled from the waist down. As of last week, Katerina has been imprisoned to a hover chair.

"DAMMIT!" She slapped a hand over her mouth. She strained her ears for movement, releasing a breath of relief at the silence. It was three in the morning, and she has to be the only one awake. And the only one who has to lug her way through a marathon in order to sit in a chair. This much she can be proud of. Slipping on a brown tank top and a pair of beige shorts wasn't too difficult. Thank goodness she's maintained her flexibility while wasting away in bed. Now if only she could reach another inch, without falling off the bed again, she'll be in business.

"Need some help?" She cringed at the crooning. Kanan was leaning at the doorway, waiting for her to admit she needs help. She's not going to. She's going to keep reaching for that chair until she hits the floor. Kanan shook his head at her stubbornness, strolling to the chair. He edged it back a small ways. "Here you go!" Snaking his arms under her legs and behind her back, hoisting her up and into the chair. "There. That wasn't so bad, was it?" He winked teasingly. Katerina rolled her eyes, trying to hide her flushed cheeks. She hates being treated like a princess. Zeb's so less annoying when he does it. Her legs slipped comfortably V-shape rest. Automatic clamps extended, securing her legs in place. She shuffled to get properly situated. She's agitated, but at least she's comfortable. "You know you could have asked for help." Kanan folded his arms.

"I'm paralyzed! Not helpless!" She hissed venomously. She would appreciate it if he would stop treating her like it.

"I never said you were." Kanan replied passively, grasping the handlebars. He peered out the window. The morning was basked in ebony, traces of grey creeping from the horizon. A smile traced to his cheeks. "Wanna get some fresh air?" The question sparked a gleam in Katerina's eye. Her lips stretched into a nostalgically impish smile.

xxx

Kanan manually slide the front door closed, cringing as the rusty slots grinded shrilly. The lick as it shut deflated him of his held air. Not even the field mce under the porch were disturbed. Katerina gave him a thumbs up. He hasn't lost his touch. Kanan walked Katerina about two miles away from the Sumar home, taking her up the highest hill in the field. He slipped on a loose patch of weeds here and there. Katerina snapped the breaks on, able to whip around and save Kanan by the wrist. The two laughed at Kanan's lack of grace. He can leap rooftops 20 yards away, and yet he's tripped up by dying plants. There's a joke to be made here somewhere. But they'll miss their favorite time of day laughing about it.

They reached the top of the hill, drawing in a fresh gasp of air at the beautiful welcoming their brand new day. The spanning field stretching beyond the horizon in each direction was breathtaking. The shimmering stars growing more brilliant as the morning light encroached. The ripples of light tracing the lapping grains of weeds and wheat, impersonating calm ocean waves. The rustling brush angelic whispers on their ears, sending pleasant chills scrolling down their necks. Whistles of wind humming gleefully. The neighboring towns and cities around them coming to life. Nocturnal animals racing for their havens. Behind them, the Sumar home nestled comfortably in its own little patch of heaven. A sight they desperately needed to see from this sort of view.

Pride and glory filled Kanan and Katerina's veins. The weight they've been shouldering lightened a little. One full week since the incident involving Lyste and his band of raiding Stormtroopers, now part of another horrific memory in Lothal's long string of nightmares. The casualties were diminished to injuries. Alyss was stuck in bed, resting from the stock she took from the ray shidling controls. She's going to make a full recovery in a matter of days. The same isn't said for her home, or her land. The damage the Stormtroopers wrought was devastating beyond all reasoning. The wounds to the land and those who live on it ran deeper than anything they've felt. The very core of their spirits forever marred by this atrocity. The best crew of workers wouldn't go near it. The main reason being they don't want to cause a greater dust up with the Empire than the Sumar's already have. They already can't go into town with discontented murmurs reach their ears. Therefore, to repay them for literally everything they've done since they threw Katerina's life into their hands, the Ghost crew helped Sumar and his family fix their home. Erasing all presence of The Empire was no easy task. Potholes and laser bolt marks are hard to cover up. Hera and Sabine devised a satisfactory plan to make it work. After a few weeks of touch ups, a couple of seasons later, it will be as if it never happened. It may not be a grand redemption from their failed mission to Stygeon Prime, but at the very least the saved a good family of people from being prematurely plucked from the mortal coil.

Kanan propped himself on the hill's slant by his elbows, basking in the misty air washing over his skin. Katerina used her chair's joystick, edging closer to her brother. The chair came with a few luxurious bells and whistles she's dying to show off. Pushing a button, the chair's backrest angled back a ways, and the leg rest propped upward. Kanan's jaw hit the ground in disbelief. He was jealous. He might get stabbed in the spine if it meant he could have one of those. Although he may want to control his green eyes. Katerina isn't too enthralled with her situation, regardless of certain amenities given.

"Thank you…" Katerina rasped.

"For what?!" He shook out of his stupor.

"For helping me. Again." She somberly added. Kanan and the other have been helping her for a while now. She's beginning to feel like a nuisance. "I know I don't say it that often. But I do appreciate what you guys have done." Going to Hell and back again to not only protect the Sumars, but to also keep blood pumping in her half dead body.

"No big deal, Riina." He pat her hand, squeezing it lovingly. He would do it again in a heartbeat. "That's what I'm here for." And so far I'm doing a terrible job. He mentally jabbed himself. He slipped his hand to his lap, curling a self loathing fist. He's the elder brother. He should be exhausting himself to keep her safe. He's failing her. Again.

Katerina tilted her head all the way up, opening her glistening eyes to the starry morning sky. The smile returned to her face. "Wanna get some air…?" She giggled. Small twinges of pain pulsated, though she ignored it. Kanan snorted to himself. "If I recall correctly, that was my idea."

"Oh really?" He countered with a playful bob of his head.

"Yeah, really! And you know it!"

Kanan threw his hands up, shrugging in ignorance. "I don't know what you're talking about." He wiggled an imprint in the dirt, hands behind his head. "I'm telling you, Riina, I think Lyste threw you head first into that wall. Your memory isn't what it used to be." He tapped his head, mocking her.

"Oh I think you do." She copied his position, basking in the momentary triumph of big brother. She raised an educating finger, "It all starts with a certain boy who was ripped a new one by Master Windu for - oh what was it…" She tapped her chin, humming in fake ponder while admiring Kanan's failed attempt to keep a straight face. "Let...me...think...OH YEAH!" Her snapping fingers made him jump. "Using your lightsaber to roast marshmallows, and causing an explosion of sticky goodness!" Kanan draped a dreadful hand over his eyes. The marshmallows! Oh the marshmallows! "In turn he roasted you in front of all the other younglings, sentencing you to clean the bathrooms for the next month! Complete with toothbrush for tiles." Kanan groaned miserably, running his hands over his face. He prayed she'd forgotten about that. That was the worst month of his life. "So, me being the loving baby sister that I am, I ask you if you want to get some air, and we end up on a three hour long trip to the market."

"And if I recall correctly," Kanan erected a finger, taking over this scintillating tale. He folded his elbows to her chair arm, batting his big eyes adorably, "Someone got lost in the crowd and cried so loud until I found her." He crooned tauntingly. He leaned in closer, relishing in her pink tinted cheeks. He pinched her chin, preventing her from shying away. He arched a brow, "And then the authorities called the temple and we were grounded for a month. BOTH of us," He tapped her nose, "Cleaning those bathrooms." Katerina groaned grimly, smoothing a hand to her shamed face. She wished he'd forgotten that part. "You're not the only one with a good memory, you know." He winked.

"Yeah...yeah…" There isn't enough time in the century for them to swap stories to one up each other. An embarrassing picture can be beaten by a recording of terrible singing. And, force as their witness, these two have enough dirt to bury one another. As fun as it would be, there's an important matter Katerina needs clarified. "Speaking of the Master…" Kanan ogled her curiously. She sucked on her lips. Flashes of the prison flickered in her mind. Their entry to their less than grand escape, and a few blurred seconds of what's in between. Two images were clear as day. The Inquisitor...and Master Unduli. "Master Unduli...is she really…?" She trailed off, glossy eyes praying what she saw was death's hallucination.

Kanan cleared his throat, lowering his head in failure. "Yeah. She's gone." He choked. Katerina's eyes squeezed closed. She sank in her chair, slapping the arm. It's gradually coming back to her now.

The last 72 hours were a blur. Kanan and the others were filling it in. Some of it she wished they'd leave unknown. She appreciates it though. After she was stabbed, the world was fading in and out of black. One minute she's weightless off the ground, the next searing pain, and she's drowned in a variety of explosions and screeches. Her slipping consciousness was a barrage of failing lights flickering on and off, on and off. Swirls, and blurs, and shadows battling to ensure she saw nothing, yet doing everything in their power to create a picture. Kanan, Stormtroopers, the night sky, weird flying creatures...The Inquisitor - a jumbled up mess, crashing down in no particular order. The landing platform they were escaping on was the last thing she saw before...before IT happened. The wound in her stomach aches at the thought. That...being...with a simple stretch of his hand, plucking her off the ground, and...and… 'The beam sprouting from her ribs.' Obviously she made it to the ship, otherwise she wouldn't be on Lothal. Safe...and with her brother. How she got there was a guess in the dark. Katerina remembers hearing shooting, screaming, and the roars of engines. The rest is concealed in shapes and blurs. And...a hard, cold surface at her back. She heard Kanan begging her to wake up, and then...Zeb?...screaming her name. Zeb called for me? Or she was hearing things. Why would I imagine Zeb? The next thing she knew, she was waking up with Lyste holding Kanan and Zeb at gunpoint in a basement. Chopper offline on the ground. In a blind fury, she injured him, he threw her to the floor, and she fell unconscious again. Then she woke up again...her legs unable to move, twitch, and were numb.

"I want to say I'm not surprised. But…" She buried her teary eyes into her hands, stifling her woeful sniffles. She wanted Luminara to be alive. Someone, anyone, from the temple to be breathing. Not for the sake of the rebellion. But because she misses those friendly faces.

"I know. Me too." Kanan rocked her knee, wanting desperately to begin rebuilding the Jedi order. Now they are back to square one with only two Jedi, and skilled warriors.

"And Ezra?" There was a heated debate on Ezra's future as Kanan's Apprentice. "What are you going to do about him?"

"I'm glad you asked." He cheered up instantly. Katerina stared anxiously. "I'm not going to TRY and train him anymore. Because if I TRY, I don't have faith in my abilities as a Master. So I am going to DO it." He recited confidently.

Katerina burst with laughter, reaching around and hugging him. "And the student solves the Master's riddle." She flicked that empty head of his. "Took you long enough."

"Not like you solved it any faster." He twisted two fingers to her skull. Katerina looked away guiltily, pursing her lips. Kanan pulled his fingers back, his expression scrunching with suspicion. "Wait...you…" It can't be. There's no way she knew the answer. Kanan sharpened his scrutinizing glare. Her sheepish laugh sent Kanan hurtling into full stupidity. "KATERINA...!"

"I'm sorry! I'm promised to never say!" She cowered under her arms. Kanan stomped angrily, throwing himself into spins. He hammered flimsily at her meager barrier, profanities sputtering from his frothing mouth. The words stupid, traitor, dummy-head were discernable. "Master Yoda swore me to secrecy!" She laughed between poundings. Kanan's taking this better than she thought.

"YOU SMARMY-THAT'S IT!" He's had enough. Time to make her pay. He slipped his hands to her sides and fiercely wiggled his fingers

"HA-HA-HA! STOP IT, CALEB!" She pushed at his hands, flailing as they slipped from her sides to her stomach to inside her ears. "COME ON! STOP IT!"

"Nuh-uh! Not until you pay!" He caught both her wrists, stretching them behind her head, and tickled at her underarms. She screamed in a fit. A...twitch...in her leg. "Oh and you have 15 years to make up for!"

"ALRIGHT! ALRIGHT! I'M SORRY!" She begged.

"Not good enough!" Kanan pried her from the chair, lying her on her stomach. "So not good enough!" He sat on her back and digging his fingers in her sides. Katerina pounded a fist at the ground, pleading for it to stop.

Though it was torture, and very sadistic on his part, pieces of Kanan and Katerina...felt happier than they have in a long time. Granted they've laughed, cried, and argued since the day they were reunited. But nothing like this. Not...in a very long time. It felt good to laugh again. To feel as if there was still jubilation left in this dark laugh, and that nothing could steal it from them. Sure, the next day the Empire could attack and ruin their day. Kanan and Katerina will return to this hill, get what needs to be said off their chest, and then find a reason to laugh. And they won't stop until...until they've come to a point where not even The Empire can touch it. In the long run...that's what will help the universe heal from this cancer. The same wasn't certain for Katerina. Physically anyway.

Before long, Kanan and Katerina discovered they've been outside for the past two hours. The Sumars were going to wake up soon to make breakfast. It would be in their interest to be inside, pretending to sleep, before they're missed. Kanan hauled Katerina into her chair, planting his feet on the back and riding it down hill. The hill sent them racing at what felt like 100 miles per hour, the world whisking by in streaks. Katerina threw her hands up, both hooting at the rush. Another laugh rejuvenating their battered spirits. As Kanan wheeled her back to the home, he couldn't stop his eyes from peering down at her legs. His heart tore to tatters, sprinkling to the grass he trampled.

From her toes to her waist, maybe an inch higher, she wasn't able to feel a thing. She can't move, walk, or even tell if there's an irritating itch on her pinkie toe. All because...he can't protect her. Mr. Sumar asked for second opinions from Alyss's team of doctors. Alyss managed to pull herself out of bed long enough to give a fresh set of eyes. Each one had the same result - inconclusive. X-Rays or any sort of scan cannot conclude the full extent of the damage done to her spine. Permanent or otherwise. The damage can be long term - a month to a year - or...worse. Katerina can't feel the pricks of syringes, or a stub of her toe when her leg drops. Receptors to pain were nullified. Although she's reported thumping muscles in her thighs and calves, an occasional pressure pull for a charlie horse. Involuntary muscle reflexes are a good sign. The brain is still transmitting signals to her legs, slipping threads of life through her veins. The bad news, however, is that it does not determine if she'll be walking anytime soon. Or ever. Reflexes like this are common for those on the verge of paralysis. They could last another day, another hour, or another second. And Alyss doesn't feel comfortable giving an estimation to either. The swift hand of fate will decide if she's going to be climbing into engines ever again. For now, one outcome is absolute. Katerina not fit for travel or another encounter with empire. Leaving Kanan to with one of the most difficult decisions he's had to make in four months.

Katerina...can't go with them. Not now. And...possibly...never again. Regardless if her legs are on the mend.

xxx

The sun rose above the mountainous horizon, awakening the call of Roosters on Sumar's farm. A couple of Loth-Cat hissed at the blinding light, ducking behind large rocks. Norio and Chopper were inside the barn, tending to final touchups to The Phantom's repair. During Lyste's raid, stray laser bolts hit The Phantom, puncturing the oil and fuel tank, grounding The Ghost Crew's hasty escape. The morning after Lyste was escorted off the property via a crate marked for the consulate on Lothal, Sabine put together a long term patch job she could use to fix their tanks. The Sumars had all the necessary chemicals, and a melting pot so she can brew up a plaster to coat the rips. In between repairs on the home, Sabine, Norio, and Chopper would take breaks to work on the damaged tanks, making remarkable headway in a day. Replacing the fuel and oil was the easiest part of the repairs. Kanan and Zeb lifted the last support beam in place on the porch, holding it steady as Mr. Sumar nailed it firmly in place. Ezra gathered up scraps in a wheelbarrow, dumping them into an incinerator pit by the fuel tanks for the tractors. And with that, Sumar's home was fixed. Time to celebrate with a proper meal.

Alyss, free of her electrifying experience, was up and about, working on a hearty breakfast for her house guests. Eggs, Pancakes, freshly squeezed juice, bowls of fruit, and whatever else she can scrounge up from the pantry. It's been awhile since she's had the pleasure of solid, saturated foods. And she knows The Ghost crew doesn't have a steady diet. She's going all out as thanks for all that they've done. Hera and Sabine agreed to help her, take the load off of her. Alyss isn't the only one looking to repay a debt. She was electrocuted in her efforts to save them. The least they can do is work on the eggs and juice. Katerina pitched in, setting places at the dining table. She wished she could do more for the woman that saved her life. Perhaps at another time.

Kanan and the others returned from their work just as the stack of breakfast was put in the middle of the table. It smelt like heaven in that kitchen, and heaven came with sides of bacon and sausage. The choice between coffee or juice was strenuous. Better to have both. Needless to say, the table wasn't big enough for everyone. The kitchen from walls to table had hearty friends gorging themselves ten belt notches. Delicious moans resonated across the kitchen. The soft pancakes melting in their mouths, releasing the sweet syrup. Tangy orange juice, or bitter coffee sending satisfying shocks that awoke new vigor. The overwhelming cholesterol rush clogging their arteries from the sausage and bacon. One or two would have died of elation were they not so hungry. This is a historical day for them.

Jokes were told, shooting juice out the nose. Stories of hardship were shared, bringing them closer and able to sympathize with one another. What they endured and survived has given them all new hope in the days to come. That brand of grim talk was evaded by Sumar's laugh at Lyste's unusual situation. He put a curled hand over his full mouth, stopping food from falling with his laughing. "I still can't believe you put Lyste in a shipping crate! Brilliant!" He praised Zeb, slapping the table. Zeb blew on his knuckles, rubbing them to his chest with pride. Sabine and Ezra elbowed him. "Do you think he made it alright?" Sumar's not without heart. He cares for people regardless of their hostilities.

"He should be being dropped in a storage container at the consulate with a monstrous headache. And a bruise or two." Zeb cracked his knuckles. He won't insult himself by hiding the gratification of putting an Imperial Monkey inside a metal box. He wished he had a bow to slap on it. "And I made sure there were no questions asked when he was picked up." Running the speeder at mach speeds and driving into a sharp U-turn throwing him off at the shipping yard was compensated for it. He shivered thinking of the broken bones he sustained.

"Nice." Kanan purred, shoving two thick sausages in his mouth. The charred ends were amazing. Katerina and Hera when he started to choke. He's terrible at restraint when it comes to food.

"By the way, Ezra," Katerina clamped a hand on his shoulder, "Heard you and Kanan are going to stay as Master and Apprentice."

"Yep! He's been training me this past week!" Katerina thought she heard disgruntled curses of a new Apprentice and Padawan outside her window. He doesn't mean to toot his own horn, "My saber skills are getting better."

"You have saber skills?" Zeb snorted. Ezra bent his spoon full of eggs back.

"Don't listen to him." Katerina steered the spoon in his mouth, while simultaneously flicked a blueberries into Zeb's eye. Sabine held up ten fingers. Katerina ruffled his hair. "I'm happy for you Ezra. Remember to keep your feet apart, elbows up, and use your the force to heighten your senses."

"I don't think I've learned that yet."

"Don't worry. You will." She gazed hopefully to Kanan. "You have one of the best teachers around." He smiled appreciatively to Katerina. Hera, Sumar, and Alyss raised their glasses in cheers. They couldn't agree more. The rest were a little busy on the eating side to agree. They agreed in spirit. That's good enough.

xxx

Breakfast wrapped up after a few rounds of chatter. Ancient history of his Alyss and Sumar met, the strange way The Ghost Crew came to be, and a riveting tale on Chopper's exploits in the chasms on Tatooine. A possible lie, but they ran with it. Ezra and Kanan pitched in with the clean up, and arranging the kitchen back to order. Meanwhile Chopper was being given a cleansing by Alyss, having his tubes washed out and his gears lubricated. Hera and Sabine went to run a diagnostic on The Phantom. If everything checks out, they'll be up and leaving Lothal in a matter of hours. The patch Sabine oversaw was settled. Nothing was leaking from there any time soon. Another hour or so and it would be completely dry. Katerina, on the other hand, did the only thing she could do. She left breakfast early and waddled away time staring into the distance from the porch. Watching the weeds bob in the wind, listen to the chattering of wild cats, and lavish in that dulcet aroma of industry from miles away. She'd rather be swallowed by a Roggwart.

"Oh, there you are." Zeb announced from the door. He released a breath of relief, meandering with hands on his hips. "You left so suddenly, we thought you went for a wa-" He bit hard to his lip, forgetting her chair condition. He groaned turning bright pink, nervously rubbing the back of his head. "Ugh… can we forget about-"

"Gimme a break, Zeb. It's an expression." She giggled lightly. Zeb shied his fifty shades of red face in the opposite direction, grumbling curses under his breath. Way to break the ice, Zeb! More like shatter it. He squeezed a hand over his eyes, groaning like an idiot. Thumping turned his head. Katerina was giggling, tapping the bench beside her for Zeb to relax. He didn't argue. He plopped down, sighing with relief, letting his head fall backwards. I really am an idiot. "No need to be so uptight. I'm not offended at all."

"Good! Good. I just…" He leaned on his elbows on his thighs, running his hands down his neck. He shook his head grievously, exhaling exasperated by the past few days. "There's been enough offending for the past couple of days. I don't want there to be anymore." Katerina nodded solemnly. He's talking about their argument on Stygeon. Long before their break in, actually. Ezra and Kanan's first day of training didn't run as smoothly as planned. Tension was rife in the air, words...not meant to be said...came pouring from mouths like a flash flood from beginning to the end. An almost bitter, red covered end. "Listen, about what I said to you at the prison..." There aren't proper words to apologize. If things had gone south, he'd never have this attempt.

"I'm sorry, Zeb." Katerina hugged hands to her elbows.

"No, no, I need to say-WHAT?" He whipped around, bracing hands to the bench arm. He ogled agape in utter disbelief. Katerina hung her head sadly, unable to meet his gaze.

xxx

"And...done!" Alyss pat Chopper on the back. Sumar and Norio admired Chopper gave himself a little test shake. He bleeped ardently, wheeling around in gleeful circles. He felt amazing. He used his prongs to shake Alyss's hand, making her giggle. "You're welcome, Chopper. Glad I could help." Kanan and Ezra emerged from the rigorous kitchen cleaning. The nastiest of grime won't touch that kitchen for months. Not really, but it's a hope. "Good news! Chopper is ready for action, and will look good doing it." Chopper posed for them as proof.

"Glad to hear it! Thanks, Mrs. Sumar." Ezra said. Alyss was happy to help.

"And the ship is ready to go!" Hera announced, she and Sabine strolling through the back door. "The patch will hold beautifully, and won't corrode from fill ups of numerous elements."

"Sabine's seal of approval?" Kanan arched a brow.

"And Katerina's." Sabine stated. Kanan's nerves jolted. "She gave the patch a once over and agreed. Not that I doubted my abilities." She blew on her knuckles. "We're all ready to go when-"

"Not all of us." Kanan gruffly inserted himself. Sabine's mouth hung open. Hera, Chopper, and Ezra ogled him in surprise. Kanan tensely folded his arms, lowering his head, drastically considering his next statement. The Sumars and Norio cleared their throat uncomfortably. Each made a random excuse to allow themselves to leave the cloudy room. Norio went to the barn, the Sumars upstairs. Kanan checked they were out of earshot due to habit. Before he was going to proceed, he realized he was a man short. "Where's Zeb?"

"Kanan, what are you-"

"Where is Zeb?!" He stopped Sabine's protest.

"Outside on the porch with Riina." Ezra answered, apprehension raising his voice. He opened his mouth to ask, but Kanan's austere glare corked his words. "I'll...go get him?" A question if he brings one or both. By Kanan's silence, Ezra knows the answer. "Yeah…" He left in a hurry. Kanan closed his eyes, refusing to keel to the hard eyes locked to him. This isn't something he wants to do...but has to. For the good of the team...and her.

xxx

"Karabast! What are you sorry for?!" Zeb frothed at the mouth. The paralysis must have seeped from her legs to her brain. "I know you hate being compared to Jedi, and still I jabbed at you for it! And then there's what I said about you failing…" He's missing the part where she has to be sorry. He labeled her as the seventh wheel. Wanted her to feel inferior so he could be the big man, save his pride.

"I called you useless! Said the team would be better off without you!" Her throat cracked. In turn for his stab at her lack of Jedi strength, which she is grudgingly coming to acknowledge, she wanted Zeb to know - believe - he was just the hired muscle. Expendable. He's none of those things. If it weren't for him...she'd be hiding herself in the garage on Chandrila. Her current condition not a viable argument. "Zeb…" She folded both palms to his hand, glossy eyes taking Zeb aback. "I can't imagine you not being with us! I…" Her cheeks shaded bright pink, her shoulders tensing. She had unintentionally touched the back Zeb's hand close to her mouth. The musty, yet natural aroma was...bewitching. The swarm in her mind set her lips loose, "I don't want to imagine it. I'd miss you too much."

"I…" Zeb was lost for breath. He panted to regain it. His heart must have skipped ten beats. The thoughts in his head were...on a ten car pile up. He breathed. Before he was able to stop himself, he gasped at his hand caressing her cheek to her the back of her head. Katerina sucked on her dry lips, but didn't resist snuggling her cheek into his palm. "I'd miss you too...Katerina..." Zeb swallowed a large lump. He inched a little closer on the bench, drawing her in. A dozen streams of electricity snaked her muscles, every vein, nerve, and pulse running on overdrive. Yet she didn't fight it. She let it happen. Their locking eyes transmitted the same tidal wave of confusion...and euphoria. Everything in their minds begged them to stop. They ignored that voice, allowing this impulse to take control. "I...would have...missed...you…" Their heads tilted. Their eyes closed. Lips only inches away parting open.

"Zeb?"

"BAH!" Zeb's sudden jerk away sent him to the floor with a painful THUD! Landing on his head like that, Alyss may have a new patient. Katerina panted heavily, hot breath huffing, her hands tossed in the air. The pounding in her chest was like a stampeded. Every fiber within her was screaming at what nearly...his lips. Her fingers brushed her lips. Zeb hurriedly flipped onto his knees, staggering as he got on his feet. He had to plant a hand on the porch railing. His body was no stronger than a wet noodle. He and Katerina were transfixed in each other's gaze, both trying desperately to confirm what the other was about to do.

"Hey, uh, guys?" The two yelped, spinning to a startled Ezra. He wasn't sure what he walked into, but catching Zeb hitting his head was worth it. Though his is wondering why they're staring at him like a ghost. Did I interrupt something? Whatever was going on, something important was happening inside. "Can you...come here for a sec? I need your help with something."

Zeb tilted his head, glancing unsure to Katerina. "Go ahead! I'll…" She noticed she was talking fast, clearing the squeak from her throat, "I'll be right here."

"Right! Um...be right back!" He practically ran inside. Ezra looked back and forth, raising a finger, then just ducked back inside the house.

Katerina deflated on her long held breath, slipping into the chair. She blankly stared at the awning, contemplating the last few seconds. His breath was fresh on her lips. Her stomach was in knots that...if Ezra had stalled his walk… "Oh...Katerina…" She placed a hand over her eyes.

xxx

Zeb entered the ominous living room, and felt a loop tie around him. The suffocating silence sank his shoulders. He would look back to Katerina, watching her sit their idly for him to return, then back to Kanan whose pokerface cracked each time he tried NOT to look her way. "Why do I get that feeling a decision's just been made, and Katerina has no say in it?" He curtly accused.

"Because it has." Kanan's voice went hoarse. Zeb ran a hand down his head to his neck, reeling at what he's walked into. "Katerina can't go with us, Zeb." He declared, leaving no room for debate. Not that the team was going to try. As much as they want Katerina to come along, they all had to accept - deep down - that the field is no place for a paralyzed mechanic.

Kanan has tortured himself over this decision since the moment The Inquisitor's lightsaber plunged into her. She is fearless in the face of danger, and fierce in battle. She's held her own several times, and long before The Ghost Crew walked into her garage. But this is an all new game. Katerina isn't a soldier. She's not a Jedi, a warrior, or a pilot. She's a mechanic who can throw a decent punch. That decent punch was thwarted one handed, and she was on two feet. With that chair, she can't remotely protect herself. She can't even use the restroom by herself, let alone fight The Empire. If she falls out and no one's around, she's as good as dead. Katerina's time with them...was at a stand still. A lengthy stand still. He won't lose her again.

"You know she's not going to take this well." Zeb warned him. He knows he sure despises it.

"I know." Kanan marched past him. "But she'll get over it."

xxx

"DAMN WRONG I WON'T GET OVER IT!" Katerina roared. Kanan held in his flinch, but he was terrified. He wanted to talk to her in the fields for moderate privacy. He knew better. Hera and the othersides were inside the house, but could hear them clear as day. Master eavesdroppers. Hera predicted the outcome of this conversation and went for backup. "Caleb, I'm not unreasonable! I know I'm a liability in this chair! But holding cloak and dagger meetings?! What'd you think I'd do? Object?!" Kanan stared incredulously. "Okay, fine! I would have! But you didn't have to keep me out!"

"So you're staying?" He quizzed.

"Hell no!" He knew it. They all knew it. They'd be more surprised if she said yes. "There's no way I am staying here on the sidelines while you're taking on The Empire!" She's developed a habit of touching her wound. "I will not give that smug bastard the satisfaction of my absence! I want him to know he failed!" That The Empire failed AGAIN!

"There! That right there!" Kanan jabbed an accusing finger towards her. She missed his point. "That's the main reason you need to stay behind! That will make you reckless and get you..." He bit on his lip. Katerina's brow furrowed. He's leaving her behind, why? Because she wants revenge?! Who is he to preach?! "Katerina, he almost killed you! He would have!"

"And what? I should play the helpless, frightened damsel while big brother plays hero?!" That's a recurring play.

"This isn't about heroes or damsels! This is the about The Inquisitor wanting to hurt us! Hurt me!" He got on a knee, holding her hand for her to sympathize with him for ONE MOMENT. "He tried to kill you so that it would put me and Ezra in his hands! He wants Jedi dead, and he was willing to kill you to make it happen!"

"For a murderer he stinks at it!"

"Please! Try to see it this way! He thinks you're dead!" For all intensive purposes, until Lyste's starts running his mouth - and he will, Katerina was dead and buried. "Therefore The Empire will think we're grieving and off our game! They'll be expecting it!" He cupped her head when she scoffed at the ground, refusing her pride from blocking him. "We've gone into hiding after the prison! Lyste's raid...will scare us off! The element of surprise is ours!" A rough guess, but it can be formed into a plan with careful steps.

"And you're saying I'll ruin it?"

"I'm saying you aren't ready for the field, on or off the ship!" He squeezed the chair, silently stressing the disadvantage she's been put in. The one pin sticking a halt in her argument. "You're staying here, Riina!"

"The Hell I am!"

"This isn't up for debate!"

"Because it's not! I'm going!"

"No you're not!"

"AHEM!" The two snapped their heads sideways, foreheads ground together. Hera and Alyss snuck up on them. Alyss wore a very unnerving expression. Kanan and Katerina parted, ogling her curiously. "Katerina, I am going to insist that you stay." She decreed. Kanan's jaw dropped. Hera inhaled, fortifying herself.

"What?!"

Alyss raised a hand, wanting her to listen. "The state your body is in is no better than a yarn quilt with a loose thread. Too much stress and you're wounds will unravel you." Showing her x-rays and charts won't convince someone like Katerina. Sound logic, what she uses to explain failing parts, will. "There are regular check ups I need to conduct, and you must endure rehabilitation. As a mechanic, you can appreciate why I don't want my charge off in battle. "

"Rehabilitation for what?!" She won't dignify her comparison to a vehicle part with a retort. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm stuck in this chair!"

"You don't know that! Nothing in medicine is certain! Neither is it in mechanics!" Katerina hated how her metaphors are sticking her with sense. "You may walk, you may not, but your chances worsen if you plunge into battle!" Alyss won't rub salt in the wound by forcing her to recount customers taking their vehicles back before proper maintenance was completed. "And if your wounds tear further, death is a 90% certainty! Are you going to put that on your brother and friends?" Hera and Kanan looked away. Sabine, Chopper, Ezra, and Zeb oohed. Katerina was in a tough spot, and even her sharp business tongue can wiggle her out of it. "I don't want to twist your arm...but you have to stay."

She has to. No ifs, ands, or buts. Alyss won't let her leave, and Katerina wouldn't challenge this woman even with her legs in tact. "Fine…" She grudgingly acquiesced. She doesn't like it. But… "I'll stay."

xxx

Roughly an hour passed and The Ghost crew was loading up The Phantom will supplies the Sumars offered them. Medicine, food, a holomap of homesteads owned by departed friends they can use as bases for a time. They wouldn't allow the crew to refuse their generosity. The Ghost Crew has gone to Hell and back again to protect their home from The Empire. Complete strangers who their only tie lies with a boy they barely know. Good people like this need to know their efforts are appreciated, and that there are others who will stand behind them. Ezra warned them that the Sumars are pushy, and won't take no for an answer. And it's the least they can do for babysitting Katerina for a while. The argument was dropped. They needed to leave while they have a chance.

Katerina, in spite of her rage, wished to see them off. She's angry, but she wants to know they left on...semi-good terms. Chopper supervised with her, not really one for labor. "I'm surprised you aren't throwing a party." Katerina scoffed at the droid. "I'm not exactly your favorite person."

"^I don't have a favorite person!^" He sardonically replied. "^And...maybe...the ship will be too quiet without you.^" That's as close to an 'I will miss you' as she was going to get. She pat him on the head, sending him on his way. Kanan walked to her, giving her the heads up that they were leaving. "You guys sure you have everything?"

"Pretty sure." Kanan answered, showing her their list. Check marks by everything, and a few tabs added last minute. "We're going to hit a fuel depot on Garel, and we'll go from there."

"Here…" Katerina handed Kanan a pouch of the industrial glue caps. He snorted recalling her trapping The Inquisitor and Stormtroopers with this stuff. In case the patch wears off, or something else tears in the ship. Because it will. "Use them sparingly. Grim hates sending these out every week." She winked.

"I will." He closed both hands to the pouch. She dropped her head. This itch to implore him to take her was nagging at her. She doesn't want him to go away. Not again. He placed a hand to her shoulder, rubbing it lovingly. "We'll be back. I promise." And he always keeps his promises...doesn't he.

Hera meandered over to bring Kanan on board. It was almost time to go. "Hera, take care of him please. You know how irresponsible he can be."

"I will. And you watch your back too, and don't cause these good people problems." Katerina was offended she'd insinuate such a thing. Kanan kissed Katerina's forehead, then he and Hera walked onto the ship, freeing Sabine to say her goodbyes.

"Be seeing you, Riina!" She bumped fists with her. "Take care." Katerina wordlessly waved, sighing irritatedly.

Ezra didn't have any words, so he just leaned on her shoulder. "I can't believe this!" She frothed at the mouth.

"Don't worry! We'll send you a postcard with a funny picture on it." He gave her two thumbs up with a dorky smile. That sort of brightened her day.

"Thanks, Ezra." She ruffled his hair. "You guys take care of yourselves."

"We will." He promised, and joined the others. One by one team was departing. Once they're all on, that's it. She'll be alone again.

"Don't worry, Monkey Wrench." Zeb clamped his huge head to her skull, shaking her head, "We won't be able to forget ya." He chuckled.

"That's it! I need a nickname for you!" She shoved his hand off.

"Oh come on! Really?"

"Yeah really." She thought about it, his ears catching her eye. "Droopy!"

"DROOPY?!"

"Your ears!" She giggled.

Zeb groaned in humiliation. Of all the names she could pick. And begging her to change it will only encourage her. When her laughter silenced, Zeb noted the sadness wrinkling her face. "Seriously, Katerina. We'll be back faster than the night on Orto Plutonia."

"That doesn't make me feel better…" She moaned.

Zeb pressed his forehead to hers. Kanan was leaving the ship to double check they hadn't forgotten anything and then stopped. He inched silently back into the ship, gaping astonished at Zeb and Katerina. The two closed their eyes, nuzzling together. "We'll-be-back. I promise." He stressed, taking her hand.

"I know. Thanks, Zeb." She sniffed tears back. The hot breath tickling each other's lips skipped their hearts. We have a second, a part of Zeb's insanity uttered. Just...Zeb's lips opened and closed, No, then he slowly pulled away. I...I can't. Why do I want to? Zeb shook his head, abruptly marching for the ship. Kanan raced back inside, hiding on the second level.

Katerina's mouth closed, her body sinking in disappointment. Wait? Why am I disappointed? It's the medication. It's making her loopy, and she isn't thinking clearly. She moved the joystick, turning the chair for the house. Put it out of your mind, Katerina.

Zeb was on the ramp, grasping the the rod to pull himself on board. He growled in self destruction, whipping around. "Hey, Riina!" He shouted.

"YES?!" She spun the chair like a top. She was beaming like the stars, anxiously awaiting.

"I just wanted to say..." He trailed off, closing a fist on the lost words. What did he want to say? Something meaningful, or...wait? What DID he want to say?! He wants to tell her something. But he doesn't know what to say. Does that make sense. "You know what, I'll tell you when I get back." Maybe by then he'll figure out what it is.

"Oh. Okay." Why did my heart just drop into my stomach and explode? Accompanying this ache was a strong urge to scream frustrated. To call Zeb an idiot, and say anything to make him yell at her for another minute. Anything to make him stay.

All were on board. Everything's been said. Reservations were abundant, but not voiced. Hera was given a nod by Kanan and she turned on the ignition. The roar of the engine rumbled their bones. The musty, extreme gust of air blew over Katerina. Eyes were glued to the torturously slow closing ramp door, shutting Katerina out. Her head tilted as she watched the ship lift off, and fly for the clouds. That lone tear ran down her cheek. "You better come back."

xxx

Kanan wrapped fingers at his aching heart, closing his eyes. I will. He swore. From his seat on The Phantom he can see her on the ground, shrinking to the size of a dot, and vanishing beyond the clouds. Another gorge fate has chosen to rupture between them growing wider. But he is a man of his word. This time he'll come back. But he isn't sure he wants her to go along again.

"It won't be like last time." Hera promised him. She doesn't have power over the force, but she knows Kanan better than anyone else currently on the ship. "You'll see her again."

"I know." He bobbed his head. "I know I will."

"Then what are you thinking?"

"I dunno. I'll tell you when I've made sense of it."

"Well, make sense of it soon." She partially glanced to the others, ensuring none of them were listening. She lowered her voice, motioning for Kanan to come closer. "Fulcrum contacted me last night. He has a job for us."

"He does? When?"

"While we refuel on Garel he'll disclose the details." Kanan faked being surprised. He wondered why she chose Garel instead of Montroe, which was hours closer. "Ready for another mission?"

"As I'll ever be." He shrugged.

xxx

Two weeks have come and gone in the most torturously languid pace of Supply Master Lyste's career. The constant, not even bothered to be discrete mocking whispers, the degrading leers impaling him, and the ever popular -if not mundane - sudden silence of all conversation and timid turn aways when he walks into a room. In irritated him. NAY! It truly boiled his blood. The true immature face of the Empire always reveals itself in moments like this. When those of significant rank, prowess, and skill fumble in the wake of their triumph, and have their seemingly immaculate records stained by a permanent mark. In Lyste's case...this makes failure number three. The crates he lost to that boy and his Rebels, losing prisoners and prime farmland, and being effectively repelled by Rebels and Farmhands while being rendered unconscious by a crippled, bedridden girl. The humiliation does not end with his accumulating string of losses, nor does it end with underlings and superiors alike rubbing salt in his pride damaging wounds. An inquisition of Lyste's latest failure was called by Agent Kallus, the officer to receive reports of his second attempt to reclaim the Sumar real estate, as well as recapturing fugitives from justice.

The report Lyste tried to submit in order to escape inquiries did nothing to derail their desire to make a circus ape out of him. Naturally, those who served under him during the raid saved their own skins and told rehearsed variations of their experience to throw him under the tank. Thus bringing him to the uncomfortably stark and intensely silent office he is standing at attention in, waiting for Kallus to pry him apart. To make matters worse, Agent Kallus was joined by none other than The Inquisitor. Lyste's inclusion of the two Jedi roused his interest, as well as a purposefully made minor note of an ailing rebel in the Sumar basement.

Kallus clicked his tongue in feigned disappointment, shaking his head at his tablet's copy of the report. "This is most disturbing, Supply Master. And to think you voiced absolute confidence in your ability to retake the Sumar Farm." He placed the tablet on his desk. He smirked tauntingly. Lyste's whole body was shaking uncontrollably in an effort to contain the overwhelming rage burning inside of him. His teeth gnawed a small cut in the inside of his cheek. "Your report states that Mr. Sumar was hiding The Rebels in his home at the time you went to ask him to surrender his farmland. Their ship was even discovered inside the barn." Kallus meandered around his desk, past the idly and grimly observing Inquisitor, approaching the shivering Lyste with a disconcerted leer. "Yet, according to the reports of your squadron, you were ambushed all the same and beaten back on your every advance. You even captured and damaged their ship, and lost that ground almost instantly." Lyste spat through gritted teeth, screaming in his head that that isn't AT ALL how it went down. "Also…" Lyste lost barring and flinched at how close Kallus had gotten, "You managed to make it inside the home, and were later seen being carried out, completely unconscious, and were admitted into the infirmary with a scarring needle mark in your arm." Lyste cast a scatching glare at his arm. Beneath the sleeve is a tightly wrapped gauze to the syringe mark that girl injected into him. "The doctor's found a high dose of an anesthetic in your system. Anymore and you would have most certainly died. So I suppose this inquisition is entirely based around," He moved his face within inches of Lyste's, ensnaring the younger officer in a petrifying stare, "What truly took place on that farm that you neglected to put in this report?"

Lyste's mouth hung agape, shallow breaths lost of their voice exhaling. He darted attention to The Inquisitor, knowing full well the Jedi Hunter was not going to lift a finger in clemency for his position, then back to Kallus who was peeling the layers of his wavering nerves. The muscles in his fingers stiffly curled and limped, his knocking knees struggling to stay standing.

xxx

"I'd miss you too, Katerina." Zeb's words shocked Katerina's chest. An agreement that life on The Ghost would be unbearable without one another. The sensation hadn't left her skin yet. It's as if Zeb was sitting beside her, keeping his large paw pressed to her cheek. Funny. Her whole head can fit into his palm. When she touches her cheek she can feel the soft brush of fur on her skin. Those strong fingers cupping to her cheek, the skin beneath blemished by calluses from wielding his bo-rifle and from his never ending struggles. And his eyes...cream green colored orbs so crass and harsh by nature were soft and delicate. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach when she realized those eyes were only centered on her. He started to move in so close she could see her reflection. She remembers every muscle in her body tightening and holding her still, while her mind was screaming for her to run. But she wouldn't. "I would have missed you." I miss you too. She whispered. He kept getting closer...and closer...their eyes had closed...their lips were parting...then nothing. Ezra showed up and the mood was killed. Not that there was a mood, mind you! No! Never! He was...probably checking her temperature! An arm stretched across her flushed face, Katerina huffed heatedly at the fool Lasat. "That idiot…" To whom was she referring? Zeb or Ezra?

A melancholic sigh escaped Katerina's parted lips, her depressed aquamarines glued to the always blue sky. Well, today the weather was overcast, much like her mood. Through sheer willpower alone, and a lot of convincing on her part to Alyss, Katerina managed to get permission to wander the field and get some much needed fresh air. She mastered the art of flipping her crippled body out of her chair, and flopping to any given surface that was willing to catch her. Although, when she flopped into the wheat, the rocks stabbing at her back kind of ruined her mood more than what it was. She situated herself on a large hill with a fantastic view of the plane. Her hands folded behind her head, she let her thoughts drift on the breeze. The rustling of the tall blades of wheat melodic to her ears, and the blissful sounds of nature massaging into her stiff shoulders. This is what she craves, lately. A place where she can rest in peace and not fret over a single thing. One would think, with her being in recovery, resting is all she has to look forward to. That's not the case at all.

It's been two weeks since Kanan and the others departed on The Ghost. Alyss has fully recovered from the shock she took, and has been dutifully seeing to Katerina's own recovery as her own self appointed physician. She's put Katerina through rigorous exercises to beat off muscles commonly atrophying due to lack of use. The routines last for three hours twice or three times a day, usually running by pretty quickly with the idle conversation and laughs the two women share. However, that hasn't prevented Katerina's time in their home to become mundane, making her agitated. She was losing her mind being stuck there. Kanan's been kind enough to call with updates, assure Katerina that they were still alive, and regale her on what's been happening while she's away. The more she heard of their adventures...the more nervous she became. Not for them, though she worries about them. But...the fact that...she's recently lived the life they've been narrowly evading death in for only a few short months...and came out paralyzed. And should her paralysis prove temporary...she'll be back at it again. If she's being honest with herself, the idea of returning to the rebel fight knotted her insides. It must be because she's been out of the game for so long. Not by choice like on Chandrila and certainly not as long. But the forced confinement was causing her to pause and be rung like a battered cloth, bringing on doubts that...she'll be able to do it again.

Maybe...leaving me behind was a good thing.

These past weeks have been anything but easy for Katerina. She's constantly feeling antsy, jumping at the slightest BOOM from Sumar and Norio dropping something large. She disappears for an hour jaunt around the farm to clear her mind, only to return with her unease increased to a new dramatic level. A couple times here and there she's verbally lashed out at Alyss while she was trying to help her into her chair. Shouting, "I'm not helpless! I can do it myself!" Or, "Will you stop worrying about me already?!" She doesn't mean to. Truly. She appreciates what Alyss is trying to do. But it's all in vain in her eyes. That could be the injury to her spine talking...or being a rebel is finally getting to her. Her recently developed insomnia can testify to which one it is.

Stygeon Prime.

She closes her eyes for a fifth of a second, and that lightsaber is right back in her ribs. The Inquisitor's foul breath touching her ear as he mocks the futility in her efforts. Master Unduli, who she and Kanan sought and prayed survived the purge was long gone. Nothing than a mummified trophy meant to bait Jedi who survived Order 66. Katerina is infuriated that they couldn't free her from her mortifying place, give her the proper send off a Master of her caliber deserves. Let her spirit find the peace her mortal body wished to bring to the universe. The moment Katerina closes her eyes, and her mind drifts into that dark abyss of her subconscious, every single moment leading to that red blade, 'The light saber piercing her back,' returns in a tsunami, decimating her mind and jolting her awake with a pounding heart. As a mechanic, short nights of sleep are a requirement. Surviving on five hours of sleep becomes habit. Lately, she's barely gotten two. Black rings are forming at her eyes. Going into the hills is all she can do in order to stave off the fatigue, and place a minor barrier on her nightmares.

If I go back to them...will I ever be able to...The Inquisitor's demonic grin and his Hellish yellow eyes permeated her mind, coiling to her darkest fears. That red lightsaber ignited, tearing her asunder. Katerina shot up stricken by terror, clawing at her scalp. Her pupils narrowed to the tiniest dots as she succumbed to the horrors plaguing her. "First that boy...and now him!" She can't escape! No matter how far she goes, or where she hides, she can never escape. This is her punishment! For the sin she committed six years ago. "WHY CAN'T THEY LEAVE ME ALONE?! WHY?!"

Beep-beep-beep. Katerina's hysteria evaporated, her head twisting to her chair. A red light was flickering on the right arm. "Someone's calling?" On her spare time, and because she was feeling really bored, Katerina installed a communicating device on her chair. Her own communicator from The Ghost was acting as an amplifier in order to receive long distance calls like a normal projector. In theory it should work. This may be her chance for a test run. She clawed her way back into her chair. The trick is to get her knees to the seat, bend them and then turn, and she'll sit naturally. It's a Hell of a workout. She pushed on the red light, linking the call. "This is Katerina."

Sabine's smugly grinning hologram fully materialized. "How's farm life?" She teased, arms folded to her chest.

Katerina snorted at her brazen tone. That;s a typical hello for Sabine Wren. "Repetitive, tedious, and not as beautiful as I would have hoped. Hard to really admire anything from this chair." She knocked on the arm, wanting nothing more than to throw it into a ditch. "What about you? How's life on the front lines?"

"Oh you know. Repetitive, tedious, and not as beautiful from the ends of cannons." She winked.

"Trouble already?" A real shocker. NOT!

"Yep! Nothing new." Sabine flipped a hand, sighing grouchily. "Just another deathtrap Hera and Kanan led us into."

Kateria titled her head at her tone. "You okay?"

"Yeah! Sure! Why wouldn't I be?" She barked back, almost sounding offended by the question. She twisted away, sucking on her teeth impatiently.

Katerina knit her brow crossly, folding her arms. Mandalorian or not, teenage girls are so transparents. "Sabine, we haven't known each other long, but I can tell when something bothering you." She put a finger at Sabine's curled lower lip. "That sucking on your lower lip isn't as easy to hide without your helmet." And she will thank Sabine to not insult her by playing fine when she's not. The girl exhaled in defeat, bringing her hands to her elbows in contrite. Katerina's expression lightened, and she pleaded in a tender tone, "What's wrong?"

Sabine shook her hanging head, hesitant to say. Trouble glossed her foxy eyes, a faithless hue dampening her expression, catching Katerina off guard. She never wears a face like that. "You ever get the feeling...Hera and Kanan are keeping secrets?"

Katerina's widening eyes lit up in awe. Hera and Kanan keeping secrets can only be attributed to one thing. Rather, one person. "Is this in regards to the Fulcrum behind the curtain?"

"So you do know about him!"

"On accident, and I twisted Kanan's arm. But yes." Pure accident is accurate. Katerina was hearing strange noises from the cockpit one day when they returned to Garrel for some supplies Lothal doesn't have. She opened the maintenance hatch behind the Captain's chair and went inside. About ten minutes into her work, Kanan and Hera secluded themselves in the bridge and began arguing about how dangerous Fulcrum's jobs are. More so than Vizago's. Hera defended this Fulcrum with every breath, fully aware his requests are unorthodox but are what pay the most. Kanan went on a rant not caring how much they are paid if their team is constantly at risk. That he won't risk their lives for something that more than likely doesn't pan out every time. The conversation took such a nasty turn that, before Katerina realized she even had it, Hera accidentally dropped her hot tea and it seeped into the hatch and spilled on Katerina. Her yelp revealed her location, thus beginning a long and awkward conversation. "And before you ask, Kanan only mentioned he contacts Hera, and that I should trust him to trust her to trust Fulcrum." And he also made her swear to never breathe a word of what she heard.

"And...you don't do you?! Trust Fulcrum?" Sabine was hoping.

"I can't trust or not trust someone I've never met." She shrugged her hands.

"What about someone who only talks to the one person who keeps the most secrets around here?"

"Sabine-"

"No, Riina! I'm tired of this!" Her welling hostility finally exploded. "About an hour ago, we were nearly killed being sent on a suicide mission arrange by Fulcrum! And now Hera is arranging a meeting with this guy!" Katerina groaned under her breath, not at all surprised. Narrow escapes are their forte. "A supply run to who knows where, for who knows what!"

"But you do know what. It's to help you guys." She grinned puckishly.

"Please don't do that! I get enough of it from Kanan!"

"Get enough of what?" Katerina brought her chair around, deciding to head back to the house.

"When I asked about Fulcrum, Kanan said we follow orders, no questions asked! I ask questions because I don't like silence!" Her fists balled, her grounding teeth broke the skin of her cheek. Unadulterated rage shrank her eyes to dots. "That's what leads to deaths or people disappearing!"

Katerina hummed pensively under her breath, stopping her chair at the foot of the hill. She leaned on a elbow, locking an deadpan inquisitive stare to the fuming warrior. "You know you never did tell me what life was like for you at the Imperial Academy. They hate questions too?"

Sabine choked on the air, rooted by the out of the blue accusation. Katerina inwardly smirked. Right on the mark. "This isn't about that!"

"Maybe, maybe not. But it definitely is forcing you to guard yourself inside red flags." Sometimes, because of their past, people inadvertently grow calluses, and immerse themselves in a barrier so no one will get too close. It's the easiest way to hide your terrors. "Sabine, sometimes we keep secrets because...it's safer for the others. And we're scared of losing them."

"Riina?" Her words just now. Sabine can't help thinking...Katerina is hiding something.

"It's nothing. But I need you to do me a huge favor, Sabine." She pressed on for the house, all the while making a plight. "Trust in Hera. She hasn't given you a real reason not to."

"I guess not." She somberly replied, sitting herself to a stool. "I still don't like all this secrecy."

"I know. But you like Hera. Which is why I know you'll give her the benefit of the doubt." Snap! Katerina diverted her gaze, catching a glimpse of someone ducking behind the Sumar home. "I gotta go. Alyss gets am if I'm late to my rehab." She slowly eased the chair forward. "She's hopeful my chances will rise if I keep up on them."

"Yeah...I should go too." Loud bangs and crashes followed by vulgar screaming emanated from the background. "Zeb, Ezra, and Chopper are about to kill each other."

Katerina's heart skipped a beat at Zeb's name. 'His lips coming within inches of hers,' Pinkened her cheeks. "You'd better hurry before they actually succeed." She giggled flustered.

"Already on it. And Riina…" Katerina paused before she ended the call. Sabine's hopeful smile wanted her,"I'm holding faith you'll record too."

Those few words erased Katerina's apprehensions. She smiled tenderly, "Thanks, Sabine. Take care." The call was severed there. Katerina released a held breath. When I have recovered... If I do...what then? The rustling from before interrupted her gloom, bringing bumps to her shoulders. She turned around. Once again she caught a glimpse of someone, this time they ducked behind the barn. Incidentally, Sumar and Norio were visiting a fellow farmer and weren't due back for another hour. Alyss was busy making punch and hasn't moved from the kitchen.

The Empire? If so, she's the only one there who can protect Alyss. Not that she needs it. But if an Imperial sees her with a Rebel, Alyss will be carted off. And given her current state, Katerina wasn't in any position to protect herself, let alone anyone else. No matter! She has to do something! She raced to the barn, slowing her speed as she ghosted along the spanning side. She instinctively stretched her hand behind her back. Her fingers wrapping to air tolled a dreading reminder that she left her pistols on the table in her room. She reached for the next best thing. A stray stick. She's at a serious disadvantage, but if it is The Empire, her assault will more than likely cause them to arrest her and take her away. Sparing Alyss and the others another run with Imperials.

Her hover chair may not crunch the grass, but the whirring sounded shrill in the plane's expanding silence. The blood in her ears resounded like drums. Her nerves weakened and tensed her grip on the stick. She came close to the corner, her breathing slowing as she braced herself. Her hearing rounded the corner, catching a crunch of grass. NOW! Katerina slammed the control stick at an angle, sharply rounded the corner with the stick raised. A rifle barrel appeared inches from her face, perfidy her still as stone. Sweat beaded down her brow to her nose, glazing the ridge of the barrel. No way! Not like this! Her life faded before her eyes, friends and family fading. The click of the hammer forced her to close her eyes. Sinister chuckling curdled her stomach.

"Bringing a stick to a gunfight. Very foolish."

Katerina's eyes shot open. She knew that voice. She tilted her head, the barrel blurring out and bringing the smugly grinning face of Vizago into view. "Hello there, Katerina." He winked.

"Vizago!" He's worse than an Imperial! He fooled Katerina into helping him find a partner in crime of his who turned snitch for The Empire. He said he wanted to scare the guy into staying silent. Instead, Vizago blew his brains out and then proceeded to blow up the apartment. Not NEARLY enough decades have passed for her to even remotely be passive on what he did. She swatted the barrel away, gritting her teeth animally. "You have a lot of nerve showing your face around me!"

Vizago scoffed at her posturing, propping the scratched rifle to his shoulder. He has to admit, even in a chair, her hostility is adorable. "Forgive me if I am not trembling in the face of the crippled girl." He pat the chair. Katerina was shaking violently. She'd love to punch him. Vizago placed a hand over his black heart, bowing with false remorse, "I understand that our last meeting wasn't...amicable. But I thought you would forgive me if I brought you a gift."

"Oh really?! What gift is that?!" Knowing him it would be another crate of stolen goods he needs to be transported. Her blind assumptions couldn't have been farther off the mark. Vizago gracefully stepped off to the side, sweep a hand to the stack hay bales behind him. Katerina half expected them to either burst into flames or begin dancing. Instead, a scratched brown work boot stepped out, hugging to the navy pant leg of a pair of work overalls. Katerina's eyes widened as her gaze scrolled up the green, and multi-tailed features of a Nautolan man. She was fixated on his gruff exterior, the scar running over his left eye sent sparks shooting through the disbelief racking her brain. As impossible as it may have seemed, a trick brought on by her desperate need for a change of scenery, "GRIM?!"

xxx

On The Ghost, Kanan had hid himself in his room. Fulcrum came through with another job for them and asked Hera to complete it for him. Sabine forcefully volunteered to join Hera on the mission, wanting to lend her services to the cause. Naturally, Kanan saw right through her. Sabine has been dying to meet Fulcrum for years, wanting to know who it is that's hiding under the cloak and hood always giving Hera orders. Her tenure at the Imperial Academy has diminished her tolerance for silence from those who give orders. She has a severe lack of trust towards those who hide behind pseudonyms and go to extraordinary lengths to remain in the background. Of course it's not as simple as that, but it is as far as Kanan will divulge with anyone else. The rest is up for Sabine to reveal. And while Kanan respects Sabine's tortured past, he needs her to come to grips with the fact that, sometimes, those around you are safer when they don't know everything. Secrets can keep them safe. And, though she may not see it now, there is a long term plan in this madness.

Kanan just hopes that by the time Sabine has this epiphany there will be a ship left for her to revel in it. Since Hera and Sabine left, Zeb, Ezra, and Chopper have gone an extra lightyear in their attempts to kill each other. Kanan tired to tune them out by meditating, but the force can only block them out for so long. And it's not like he could jettison them into dead space and call it a crude accident. Well...NO! NO-NO! He can't kill them! Because if he does then Katerina will kill him! And she will do it brutally and without mercy, leaving him alive long enough to watch his entrails spill out of him. UGH! Now that he takes a second to ponder, if Katerina was here she'd put an end to this chaos without breaking a sweat. She's good at that sort of thing. Crowd control Katerina. It's...a little dimmer without her around.

Did I...did I do the right thing? He questioned himself. As much as it hurts him to admit, Kanan never wanted her to become a rebel in the first place. She'd built the perfect life for herself on Chandrila before he came along. Her unrivaled talents in mechanic paid off in the long run, earning her ownership of Kendril's business when he passed. In spite of what's happened she's managed to keep her head on straight and never went down a dark path like he once did. She'd become successful in her own rite. Then Kanan and his crew come along and pluck her from that life so he can be part of his. And...for a while...he loved having her by his side. Waking up in the morning he'd sneak over to her room just to see if she was actually there. When he hugs her, he almost breaks down because he can't believe she's there. Was his decision to leave her behind the correct one? Did he make it out of her best interest...or for his? Does he even want her to rejoin the crew? "OF COURSE I DO!" He blurted aggressively. Why would he even ask himself such a thing? Of course he wants his sister to com back to them. Katerina's been a godsend to the team since she joined. Fixing the ship sporadically, fussing over their inventory list, helping Ezra with his training, and lending Hera a hand in keeping the peace around the ship. And for all her hard work, she never passes up a chance to behave like an absolute goof. She loves to hang out with Sabine, or goes out of her way to cheer up Kanan when he's in a slump. And when she reprimands Zeb for behaving like a child, it's hilarious. She really is like the doting, strict Aunt of the ship. H'ed love for her to come back. But then...she might encounter HIM again. The Inquisitor.

"A Jedi Hunter. Just what we needed." Kanan won't pretend he hasn't heard of people working for the Empire hunting down the remaining Jedi. Although, for the longest time, he imagined hired guns like bounty hunters or mercenaries trying to make a quick credit or two. Never did he dream an acolyte of the Darkside had taken up the mantle of hunter. "This changes everything." Kanan stared at his lightsaber, clutching in self loathing. Against Stormtroopers or ordinary adversaries like Kallus, Kanan reigns supreme in combat. No one has been able to match his skills in combat. But The Inquisitor is beyond his level of training - a whole other bracket. He played Kanan, led him around like a puppet on string, making him dance to a tune he arranged in anticipation of them falling into his trap. A trap Kanan should have anticipated coming since Master Unduli's arrest was announced. As a result...Katerina is trapped in a wheelchair...left alone with strangers...again.

"Riina…" He moaned.

Knock-knock-knock. Kanan twisted to the door. Zeb slid the door open, poking half his body inside. "Hey there. Making some lunch. Ya hungry?"

"Uh...no-no thank you." Kanan waved off, appreciating the offer. Zeb hummed suspiciously. He entered the room, locking the door behind him. "What's up?" Kanan stared blankly.

Zeb folded his arms, pressing his back to the door. "You think leaving her behind is for the best?" He asked out of the blue.

Kanan gulped nervously, cringing at how effortlessly he saw through him. "Um...uh...who-who are we talking about?" He laughed like a wreck, facing in the opposite direction. He was breaking down in a sweat. "Because last I checked, Sabine got her wish to go."

"Nice try, but not even you are this big a moron." Kanan was impaled by his blunt stab at his ego. Zeb can be brutal when he's serious. "Don't be ashamed. I kind of want her to stay on Lothal too."

Kanan sighed defeatedly, a meek smile on his face. "But we aren't. Are we?" He retorted already knowing the answer.

"Nope. We can't." Zeb said with a complacent smirk. "She's in even greater danger without us than with us." And he doesn't mean from the Empire. Katerina's mouth will wind her up in five mountains worth of trouble while they're gone. Or worse, she'll try to ditch her chair and go crawling off into trouble. Now Zeb wants to run through space to make sure she hasn't done that.

"Somehow that doesn't sound right. But you're right." Kanan planted a hand to his knee rising to his feet. "No matter what - if she goes home to Chandrila or stays on Lothal, I doubt the Empire will leave her alone for long." On Lothal she may be known as Anastasia Stark, but Kallus and The Inquisitor know her face, and a handful of Stormtrooper have manifestoes of The Ghost Crew. "She's too tied to us. She'd be catch of the day for them."

"And they'll kill her without a second thought if she doesn't talk."

Kanan flinched the ill choice of words. He sank grimly, rubbing the back of his neck anxiously. "She was almost killed anyway." He moaned. "Zeb, I can't lose her. I can't."

"I know." Zeb sighed.

"NO YOU DON'T! You don't know-" Kanan's tirade extinguished almost on the spot. A gloomy air circled Zeb as he seemed to sink against the wall. The usual gleam in his eyes was unhealthily dim. His lips were spanned in a grim, barely able to hang on his face smile. If Kanan didn't know Zeb so well, one would think he was ready to cry. Then again, ever since leaving Katerina behind, Zeb hasn't been himself. "Zeb? Zeb...do you-"

"Katerina's a good kid, Kanan! Strongest woman I've ever gotten the pleasure to meet!" 'Her face was mere inches from his. Her sweet, oily scent tortured him.' He became queasy at the thought. Had Ezra stayed inside the house a few seconds longer...Idiot! Him or Ezra? He abruptly interrupted, turning on his heels irked. "I'm tired of strong, good hearted people paying the price! Her being your sister not only makes her family, it makes it harder to bear!" He snarled. He slammed a fist to the button, wrenching the door open.

"Zeb, wait!" Kanan reached a hand

"Kanan, for Katerina's sake!" Zeb whipped around, glossy eyes filled with blind anger, "Use your head for five seconds, instead of your heart!" When Zeb left the room, Kanan flinched at the door seeming to slam.

"Head...instead of my heart?" Kanan itched that baffled head of his. "What does he mean by that?"

xxx

Zeb hid himself in his room, locking it so Ezra and Chopper would take a hint and keep chasing each other around the ship a while longer. He collapsed to the floor, propping his back against his bunk. He clamped a hand to the back of his head, holding his head down in abject revulsion. "Use your head instead of your heart. Way to be hypocritical, Zeb!" He placed a hand over his pounding heart, clawing and tearing at the vicious organ. To leave her or keep her, why is this so difficult to come to terms with? Can he walk the ship knowing he'd never stumble upon her oil stained face, gaze into those...mesmerizing eyes, be bewitched by her intoxicating smile on a daily basis? A scarlet blush broke across his face. "OH SHUT UP, GARAZEB!" He wants to tear himself apart. Why?! Why does his mind keep saying these things?! Bewitching...intoxicating...mesmerizing. Such cheesey words to be spewing. She's a partner in crime, an asset to the team, and a welcomed member of the Ghost family. Nothing more...right? He doesn't want to lose a partner. "I don't want...to lose...a friend. Just a friend!" The almost on the porch begged to differ. Nothing more than an accident! He just...wanted to make sure she didn't have a fever or anything! He wasn't going to...to...gulp. You don't do that with friends! "Right?"

xxx

Katerina gawked at the scarred Nautolan in skeptically. She half expected a changeling to be standing in front of her. But not even the masters of disguise can mimic the distinctive smell of fossil fuel. "Grim?!" She cried elated.

Grim inhaled through his nostrils, scrunching himself to maintain composure. Seconds later, "KATTY! YOU'RE ALIVE!" He bawled hysterically, throwing himself to her lap and wrapping her in an iron tight hug. "THANK THE STARS! YOU HAVEN'T LEFT ME YET!"

"Grim! I...you...Ha! What are you...how did you get here?!" She sputtered under his sobbing. She was overjoyed to see him too, returning the hug. "Wait! What do you mean by alive?!"

Grim collected himself, taking deep breaths to calm down. "Dominique heard from your friend Sabine! You were stabbed and on the brink of death!" Dammit, Sabine! Katerina grimaced. That girl has a terrible habit of opening her mouth. She half expected this from Hera. "As for your first question, long story short, word reached Chandrila about seven Rebels giving The Empire Hell. A Lasat, C-1 Droid - ringing any bells?" A few, Katerina chuckled dryly. "Bounties have been placed on your heads, and people are looking to collect. So I contacted Domenique, hoping she knew where you'd be."

"How does that lead to Vizago?"

"Another long and funny story made short." Vizago chortled, approaching her. Her stomach curdled sickly. "After our last rendezvous I needed a place to lie low until the heat died down. Domenique was hiring." He shrugged mischievously.

Katerina clenched her fingers and teeth, eyes narrowing to slits. He went to Dominique for help after bringing that Hellstrom to her place of business. The absolute, merciless nerve of this Devonian. "You son of a-"

"AH-AH! Language, pretty one! I did not bring her any harm or trouble, and she guaranteed me a jaunt out the front door." What Vizago would keep to himself is that, during his time under Dominique's place of business, that woman became the baroness of overbearing. And was more terrifying than ten dozen business deals souring on him. She worked him to the bone, relished in the sounds of his fingers breaking from that hazardous line of work. For days she would wake him after he barely slept for two hours a night, putting him on job he was overqualified - in reality less than qualified - to do. The second he tried to sneak off or slack off, she'd drop something on his head. It's a wonder his only horn hadn't broken yet. "But before my jaunt, my way was blocked by a frantic Nautolan looking for Katty." And if Vizago recall correctly in idle conversation, "The pretty Togruta called you that. Vizago's brains weren't taken with his horn." His sense of integrity and morals certainly were. "And I happened to hear on the holonet of a woman matching your description being executed on Stygeon Prime."

"You heard about that?! How?! Stygeon isn't anywhere near this system!"

"Stormtroopers are like academy students. They gossip, they boast of their victories on social media, and then the word spreads like wildfire." Katerina groaned, rolling her eyes. Figures. Vizago pinched her chin, scrolling lecherous eyes up and down her figure. "All new equipment considering, You look good for a corpse." He purred.

Grim snarled rabidly, swatting his hand off of her. "Get away! Don't touch her!" He put himself between him an Katerina. Vizago backed away with hands raised, chuckling under his breath. Grim's face twisted with disgust. He was reaching for his pack at his waist.

Katerina's hand snapped to his wrist. Grim forgot about Vizago, wondering what was wrong. "How did either of you even know I was out here?" Her question dissipated the electrifying tension.

"The fireworks I drove by on my way to work." Vizago chuckled. He glanced at the Sumar home. "You and your friends have a knack for angering The Empire. I had a nice view of the carnage."

"And I'm sure you profited from that carnage!" As is Vizago's style. "Death seems to benefit you quite nicely."

"We all can't be honest mechanics, Anastasia." Grim deadpanned at the alias. Figures you'd pick that one. "And, lest we neglect to remember, you profited nicely from my brand of business."

"That is enough from you!" Grim decreed. "I may appreciate your help, but I will not allow you to berate her in my presence!" Her history with this man may intrigue him, but by how uncomfortable she is, Grim won't torture Katerina further by asking her to explain. "Katty! What happened to you?!" He demanded. The chair, her legs - these aside, on the surface she was the picture of health. But something about her was off. Because of their time apart, Grim can't quite put his finger on it. "How did this come to pass?"

"Nothing permanent, I hope." She knocked teasingly on her thigh. Huh! Her knuckle hovered over her thigh. Just now, she felt something. She tapped again, not feeling a thing. My imagination? Grim bothered expression made her uneasy. "It's nothing, Grim. I just...miscalculated."

Grim mouthed her word, becoming infuriated by the understatement. "Katty, you miscalculate measurements! You miscalculate trajectories! This is NOT a miscalculation!" As he is older than her, and their relationship is close knit, Grim tends to play big brother from time to time. He grasped at her chair, baring his teeth growling, "Who did it, Katty? Huh? Did your brother cause this?"

"Kanan had nothing to do with it! THIS is all on me!" She erupted, frightening Grim and Vizago back. "Don't you dare pass blame on someone when you haven't an inkling as to what went down!"

"Then tell me!"

"It doesn't matter! What's done is done!" She can't tell him about The Inquisitor or anything about Stygeon. He might become more involved than he already is! Not to mention, Grim might put in the effort to keep Kanan away from her. "Now was there a reason you came all this way? Because if it's to kick me while I'm already down, you can go home!" She wrenched her chair around.

"Katerina, I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" He stopped her suddenly. "I just...you haven't called!" Katerina blinked in shock. "You haven't called, left messages, even Dominique said she hasn't heard from you in a while. And then I hear you died! To find you...like this…"

Guilt tore at Katerina, the word stupid wrote itself across her forehead. She has been out of contact with him for a very long while, and isn't exactly the most diligent with updates to Dominique. She didn't even bother to think to call Dominique, and never knew Sabine spoke with her. She's a terrible person. "I'm sorry, Grim. Saying a lot's gone on wouldn't cut it. But that's the gist of it." She shrugged. There literally is too much to tell, not all of it pretty. "From the moment I left the garage to this very moment, I've been dodging bullets and fighting for a cause I've come to believe in."

"You or your brother?" Grim murmured to the side. Katerina arched a brow, catching the end. Grim dismissed what he said. He smiled warmly, patting her head, "Regardless, I'm glad you're doing alright. And glad to see you've taken up farm life. A 180 from your preferred glamor."

"What can I say? The fresh air is nice." She joked.

"Can we please get to the business at hand?!" Vizago roared, growing impatient with this sappy reunion. "While you waste my time with your nauseatingly sweet reunion, your DROID is escaping with my goods!"

"Droid? Dayve?!" Katerina cried. The D8-VE Astromech from the garage. He was there too?! Katerina gawked at Grim. He was scared out of his mind. This hue came to Katerina's face, terrifying Grim as if he's staring into the eyes of a demon. "Grim! What did you do?!"

"Nothing! I mean...it was an accident!" He began to sweat.

"GRIM SAGITTARIUS!" He flinched at his full name. "WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU DONE WITH MY DROID?!"

"Allow me!" Vizago shoved Grim aside, handing Katerina a tablet. He tapped on an image, materializing a 3D visual of a skinny drive. "That droid stole this drive from me! All my credits, the codes for my ships, as well as my lucrative business locations are inside." He put hands on his hips, glaring at the breaking down Nautolan. "No less than a day ago did we lose him in the crowd in the city not too far from here! Lecosta!" The second biggest city to the capitol. Katerina knows the one.

"Maybe if you hadn't tried to pawn him off!"

"PAWN HIM OFF?!" Katerina barked.

"Nuance!" Vizago stopped them, returning blame to Grim, "That droid stole from me and then ran! And this man here let him without a way to locate him!"

Katerina had to side with Vizago. That was a pretty dumb move. But still, "Why were you trying to pawn him off in the first place?!"

"Chandrila mechs are worth more than Rebels. Besides, I didn't know he belonged to you."

"Good. You would have charged me double."

"Triple considering the trouble he is." Katerina and Grim growled under his breath. "We must locate him fast before Imperial Troops scoop him up. It is not long before one of the Imperial Troops apprehends a droid without an owner. You know how they frown upon that."

"True…" Katerina's arms was twisted into a vice grip. Vizago's maintaining his number one spot on the floor.

Astromechs or dorids without proper authorization aren't permitted to wander without an owner. In the past, when droids wandered aimlessly and weren't given so much as a sideways glance, a handful made it to several government buildings and were involved in chemical attacks. There is also the incident in the Republic two decades ago involving Separatist droids disguised as cleaning droids. But that is only part of the problem. If Dayve is found, and it's discovered he's a Chandrila droid, all sorts of questions and problems will be raised. Why is a Droid from the Bormea Sector doing on Lothal? And when they run his credentials, coming across Kendril's imprint, Grim and the others may fall into the spotlight again. Then that is a long falling slope leading straight to Katerina, Kanan, and everyone else. A field day for Kallus.

"I can understand having to save Dayve," She acquiesced, then shot daggers to the unwavering Devonian, "But why the Hell should I help you?" She tossed the tablet at him. He effortlessly caught it with one arm, "This drive of yours! For all I know you'll dismantle Dayve when you get it! You don't have a problem blowing up a person! Droids should be cakewalk!" Blowing people up? Grim nervously repeated.

"You listen to me!" Vizago wrenched her by the collar, "What I do will be a mercy compared to what the Empire will do!" Then he paused, a sly grin splitting his face in two, "I wonder, how much information does he have on you, Grim, or those of your mechanical band?!" Katerina grunted under her breath, struggling to not flinch. "What do you think they will do to him, and then the rest of you when they've rummaged through his memory banks?"

"You bastard…" Katerina was losing ground fast. She knows they have to find Dayve, but she can't risk aiding Vizago. The blood on his hands was too apparent. It's likely to stain Grim who is figuratively clean. Or worse, Grim will come to see the extra blood Vizago is trying to pass unto her.

"Katerina, we have to find him!" Grim implored her.

"I want to help, Grim. Really. But…" She gestured to the chair. "And I'm not exactly the type of person you want to cruise the town with. I'm a wanted fugitive." Her face might as well be plastered everywhere.

"Are you saying you aren't going to help?!" Grim snarled.

"No!" She pursed her lips. A menacing smile crept to her lips. "I'm saying this is the most fun I'm going to have in two weeks. OH!" She grimaced at the home. She forgot about Alyss. "Alyss will lose her mind if I go! Technically I'm not medically cleared for action. She'll never let me leave!" And Katerina will never lie to her. Grim and Vizago could see it in her eyes.

"Then it is time for Vizago to use his silver tongue." He boasted. "Excuse me…" He strutted charismatically to the home.

"VIZAGO!" Katerina cried in vain. Vizago was already out of earshot. She moaned with unease, not really looking forward to that conversation. "This guy…" She growled, brow bouncing.

"Is the Devil given form." Grim finished. He hit the nail on the head. This day is going to suck royally.

xxx

Lyste finished going over every neglected detail, painting a dramatically vivid image for Kallus and The Inquisitor to grasp, and finally concluded his report with his awakening in the hospital attached to I.V's. Silence engulfed the room like a toxic cloud. Kallus was rooted in place, gaping in abject disbelief at the gory report he heard. The Sumar's employed a military grade ray shield, and possessed medical tools for aid normally found in the military as well. These farmers prove to be greater threat, and quite interesting, every time their names appear. His rebel quarry associate with the most intriguing of people. The Inquisitor, on the other hand, was on the verge of laughing. Lyste's dazzling failure was moot to him. The Rebels escaping didn't matter. The note that had him at a loss of how to react, was the survival of their mechanic.

"Thank you, Supply Master." The Inquisitor's remark startled Lyste. This is the first time he's spoken all day. "We shall convene and decide on the proper punishment for your disservice to The Empire." He shooed him out the door. "You may go." Lyste grit his teeth, lurching to protest. The Inquisitor's golden glare silenced him. He grudgingly bowed, then raced out of the office, leaving the two officers to delegate.

"These Rebels are surrounding themselves with quite the troublesome crew." Kallus rumbled, biting on his thumb.

"A resilient bunch as well." The Inquisitor's wolfish grin widened. He licked his lips hungrily. "To think their little mechanic survived." He took up his lightsaber, igniting the one end. Highlighted by the red beam, traces of the mechanic's hardened blood lined the rim. "What a delightful turn of events."

"A Rebel surviving pleases you?" Kallus scolded.

"Not at all. It was my hope that she did perish. But, since she survived," He sheathed his saber, placing it to his back. Then he cast a menacing smirk at Kallus, "I look forward to our next encounter."

To be continued.