Hey, everyone. Sorry for the long wait. I have had some awful writer's block. Hope you like the chapter.
Aboard the Ghost. Somewhere in hyperspace.
Ezra sat in the common room meditating. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was coming. Something that had to do with him and Galen. Sighing, he came out of the trance to see Zeb at the dejarik table playing a game against Galen. The two seemed to be getting along just fine, at least better than Kanan and Galen were. Despite what was on the surface, Galen knew that Kanan didn't trust Galen. Thus making it harder for him to trust Kanan. It didn't help that Ezra was learning more about the light side during their time on Atollon. It was a mixture of distrust and jealousy that seemed to be the wedge that was driving between the two. However, despite this Kanan and Ezra had started to get a sort of repertoire going. Aided by the fact that the two were becoming quite close. With Kanan even giving Ezra a few pointers on lightsaber combat, at least when it came to form three. Kanan and Ezra would do all sorts of things, train, eat and work out together. Kanan needed the extra training since he was now blind, and Ezra seemed to be helping with that. On top of that, Ezra and Galen started to become a favourite of Hera's quickly. Always offering to help, talking about anything, and getting them lots more supplies.
"You know, you almost look like Kanan, sitting there meditating like that," Sabine noted as she sat beside Ezra.
"What makes you say that?" Ezra asked
"Well, he is the only force user I have got to study up close. But you two seem to be getting along just fine." Sabine said as she leaned her head on his shoulder.
Galen looked up at the two and smiled; he trusted Sabine. Not as much as Kota, Ezra, or Juno. But he trusted her. He hoped that the two of them would get together, in fact, there was a pot going around the Atollon base about when the two of them would become an official couple. Galen had thrown in a few credits that it would be before the month was over. He may have also consulted the force on that one, but what the other members of the pot don't know won't hurt them. He frowned as his mind started to drift. He began to think of the Jedi, the two of them had started to come to terms with each other. But sometimes distrust is hard to overcome. Galen knew that it was partially his fault. He was aware that Kanan could sense the jealousy, thinking about what Juno would do Galen sighed and got up looking for the Jedi. Before he could find him though the force called on him, telling him to meditate first. Almost as if it was trying to tell him something. Shaking it off he continued on his way.
He found Kanan in his room meditating, that was what he seemed to do most of the time now. In fact, it was all he ever saw him do. Shaking it off he knocked on the door and waited for Kanan to respond.
"Come in; it's unlocked," Kanan said,
Opening the door he moved over to one of the cushions facing opposite of Kanan. Getting into a meditative stance Galen thought long and hard about what he was to say, finally looking up he spoke, "You and I don't agree on a lot, but, we need to work together, against the empire."
Kanan seemed to be taken back. He knew that Galen was the blunter of the two, but this was kind of far out there. "You're right. I don't agree with a lot of what you do; I don't understand I guess, that and I don't like the obvious bullshit that your wife said, about you two being trained by Kota. I know that there is no way you two got that good over that short of time." He stated in an even tone, probing outwards trying to get a feel of the man before him.
Galen's anger flared up as he bit back a retort, he didn't like how right he was, and the fact that he called Juno a liar was an excellent way to set him off. Calming himself, he released his anger out into the force.
"There is lots you don't know about my brother and me." Galen started, before sighing, "I don't like talking about it, but you are right, we didn't get trained by Kota, we were trained by someone much crueler, for much longer. It is why we use the dark side so well."
"Who trained you?" Kanan prodded. Trying to get a read on the Je'daii, only to be stonewalled.
Sighing, and closing his eyes, he rose and walked to the door, opening it he peered out into the hallway. After checking that there was no one coming, he locked the door and looked directly at the blind Jed, "If I tell you, you cannot reveal it to anyone, not even your wife."
"Hera and I don't keep secrets from each other," Kanan retorted.
"Then we have nothing to discuss here," Galen said as he turned to leave, his anger spiking, just when he thought he had had a breakthrough.
"Wait, if I were to keep this secret, even from Hera. Why would you tell me?" Kanan inquired, "I mean, as you said, we don't agree on a lot. And I would go so far as to say that we don't even trust each other."
"I would tell you because it is evident why the force put us in your lives," Galen said, with bitterness in his voice. "Your crew, your family, will become Ezra's family. I know this. I have foreseen it. "
"We aren't trying to steal him from you!" Kanan said, his voice rising as he sought to defend himself, "Besides, you're his brother. Nothing would change that."
"I know, but, I won't always be there, but I have seen him with you all. And happy." Galen said.
Nodding, Kanan seemed to understand. Looking at the ground and then back up, he stated, "I will do it then, I will keep whatever it is you were going to tell me from everyone, including Hera."
Looking at the Jedi, Galen walked back over to the cushion and resumed his position. Watching the cover on Kanan's eyes, he reached out and probed the Jedi and found that his mental shields were down, a sign of trust. He felt the honesty in his soul.
"It all began when I was four years old. I grew up on Kashyyyk, with my father, Kento Marek. My mother, Mallie, had died when I was two, I barely remember what they look like." Galen started, his voice quivering just a little bit, before he continued, "One day, there was a Wookie uprising against the empire. And the emperor dispatched Darth Vader to quell it."
He felt the shock of Kanan, but he plowed forward. "Things were going well until he showed up. When he did, it was all over. I remember watching from our home that overlooked the battlefield. He was like a tank. Slamming through the Wookie defenses like they were made of tissue paper. My father was helping them in their fight against the Empire. When Vader had shown up, he came back to the house and told me to hide. Of course, I didn't listen; I saw him fight valiantly against Vader. But it was to no difference. Vader used a force push so powerful that it threw him through the heavy oak doors of our house. I saw Vader pick him up in a force choke and say, 'I sense someone far more powerful here. Where is your master?' My father told him that Vader had killed him years before. Vader went to strike him down with his saber only for me to pull it from his hand."
"You. Pulled a saber from a Sith Lord's hand. At four years old?" Kanan said in disbelief.
"Yes, I have been told by Kota, that my brother and I have a unique and raw connection to the force. We are some of the most powerful force sensitives out there." Galen said, before continuing with his story.
"I was raised aboard Vader's ship the Executor. And what I went through is what many would call torture. Vader passed on a code of excellence he called, 'learn or die' I had many spars with him. Usually, he would put me at an even greater disadvantage, by breaking limbs. One time I had to receive surgery because he snapped my femur. But over the years I learned to use my anger and hatred as a tool for the dark side. By the time I was eight I had already performed my first execution. At nine my first assassination-"
"I don't mean to interrupt, but I have a question, Why? Why would Vader let you live? And then train you?" Kanan asked as he leaned forward.
"He wanted me to help him overthrow the Emperor. See Vader, while very powerful, isn't strong enough to do it on his own. Thus I was his way of evening the playing field." Galen stated, releasing his frustration out into the force, before continuing, "Now where was I? Oh yes, I performed my first assassination at the age of nine, but when I was ten. I did the one thing that I will never forgive myself for." Here Galen paused. His voice breaking, and a few tears leaking out onto his cheek. "I was sent to Lothal; there was apparently some governor there who had anti-imperial views, I was sent to kill him. The mission went fine; he didn't see it coming. But on my way back, I felt a tug in the force. Following it, I saw a young boy, around seven or eight. He was pickpocketing an imperial officer who was guarding the marketplace. I went to apprehend him, but as I approached, I felt a disturbance and noticed that the boy had seen me, and had taken off into an alleyway. I ended up cornering him and got a good look at him. As you have probably guessed this is how Ezra and I met. I was ready to execute him, but for some reason. The force probably I felt sympathy and mercy for him, he was terribly thin, malnourished is likely to be a better term. With sunken eyes, etcetera. So I let him live, he had an amazing connection with the force, so I figured I would present him before Vader, as a sort of gift. At the time I merely thought of him as a kind of hedged bet. I figured that sooner or later Vader would betray me. So I thought it would be good to have someone lower in rank than me for him to kill off first." here Galen's voice broke, looking at the Jedi, "I still don't know why he calls me brother, when all I wanted from him was to use him as fodder, I introduced him to this. It is because of me he is so attuned to the darkness, if I had left well enough alone, I could have saved him."
Kanan reached out and set a hand on the young man's shoulder; he felt his heart give out in sorrow. Galen had been forced to grow up too soon. And he was very much like Kanan. Muddling his way through life, trying to protect the ones he loved. That was the reason for why he was so stand-offish. He was worried for his family. Reaching out with his other hand he pulled Galen into a hug, and just held him. As Galen sobbed into his shoulder.
"He doesn't blame you. In fact, he completely idolizes you. Galen, you have done more for him than anyone in his life it sounds like." Kanan said as he tried to soothe the Je'daii
After a few minutes, Galen wiped the tears from his eyes, recomposed himself, and looked at Kanan.
"Thank you," Was all he had said before he continued from where he left off, "Of course, Vader was furious, me being alive was supposed to be secret, because if the emperor found out. It would be the end of my life, and Vader would be killed. After a severe beating, Vader told me that Ezra would train alongside me. But he would be disposed of if any sign of weakness became apparent. I came back to my room to find that Ezra was sitting on my bed. He looked so afraid; I didn't know why but I grabbed a blanket and gave it to him and told him that his training would begin in the morning."
"So you two were raised as Sith Apprentices then? I see why you would want to keep this secret." Kanan stated as Galen just nodded, to be honest, he was utterly shocked at what the two had gone through. Curiously he probed outward and found the mental walls that Galen had were down. So he got to finally feel the turmoil, and guilt, from the years of being under Vader's command. Looking at Galen again, he asked another question, "So how did you two escape then?"
"That. That is another story. One which I am also not proud of." Galen said as he bowed his head in shame.
"How so?" Kanan asked, feeling to see if he could get a read on the Je'daii.
"When I was seventeen I was tasked with taking out my first Jedi. The one we are going to rescue, Master Kota. Over the years it was something I had saw as the ultimate challenge. I was so disillusioned by the dark side that I couldn't tell that what I was doing was wrong. I committed so many terrible things." He said as he looked off into space, trying to come up with the rest of the story, but it was just not coming to him. Sighing he recentered himself, and let the force flow through him. After a few moments, he continued, "This was when I met Juno, she was the imperial pilot assigned to fly the Rogue Shadow. We went to Nar Shaddaa, to quell an attack made by General Kota. I was told not to leave anyone alive, whether they were Kota's men or Imperial. After I had fought my way to him, I faced him in a duel. Which I defeated him in, I ended up only blinding him, but I took his lightsaber as proof of the mission's success. After that I was sent to Raxus Prime, to take out Kazdan Paratus, then Fellucia, where I killed Master Shaak Tii." As soon as he mentioned Master Tii's name, he noticed Kanan's anger flared up. Galen knew that Kanan would probably take the killing of council masters pretty personal. But to his surprise, the anger washed away and gave way to acceptance and forgiveness. He could tell that Kanan didn't excuse what he had done, but understood that he was guilt-ridden about it.
Continuing onward, "After that was when I was first betrayed by Vader. I came back to the Executor, only to find that the Emperor's fleet had come to our location. It turns out one of his spies had followed me back on one of my mission's. When he entered the room, I was stabbed in the back by Vader. I was subsequently thrown around the room and had my ribcage crushed. Then thrown out into the vacuum of space. Only to wake up six months later in some Medical facility orbiting a star. Vader told me that the plan was the same as always. Only now we had to go about it another way. The emperor needed to believe I was dead. I thought of Juno and Ezra. When I asked all Vader told me was that they were no longer a part of the path, I was on. And I was to leave them in the past. He told me to gather up a rebellion of dissidents and rebels who hated the empire and would be willing to fight. This would keep the emperor's attention allowing for us to kill him and seize power. After he left I contacted Proxy and asked where Juno and Ezra were. I knew what Vader had told me, but I had to be sure. Proxy said that Juno was being held at the station for crimes of treason, but he couldn't find where Ezra was. So I set off. First I went to Nar Shaddaa to see where General Kota was. Only to have to track him through several star systems before I found him on Bespin. After that I went to Kashyyyk, apparently whoever was Kota's contact had approached him and told him that he needed to rescue a package from there. I ended up recovering none other than Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan. While there I had a vision of my father, as a spirit. He didn't say much, just told me that he didn't intend for this to happen to me."
"So you rescued Bail Organa's daughter? Is this how he knows you?" Kanan asked, "And you are the reason there is a rebellion going on? You started this?"
"Well yes, but it wasn't what they thought. See I was still serving Vader. After rescuing Princess Leia from Kashyyyk and then retrieving Bail from Fellucia. Bail told us that while several senators would be willing to rebel. They needed confirmation, see, at the time I was masquerading as a Jedi, changed out my lightsaber crystal and used Kota's old saber. I went to the shipyard that was built over Raxus Prime. After destroying it, I ended up sending enough of a message to these rebellious senators that they were willing to go and sign a treaty of sorts to stand up and fight the empire. Only, that's when Vader showed up."
"Why? Why not let you continue with your mission?" Kanan asked it seemed like the more he was told, the more questions he had.
"Because everything was a ruse. It didn't matter; I didn't matter. I was used as a way for the emperor to find all those willing to fight him and gather them in one place. Everything I was told, everything I was promised. It was all a lie. So, it was during the next week that I started to use what Kota had taught me about the light side, he never officially took me on as a Jedi padawan, but I still think of him as a master."
"So, Vader kept you and Ezra for all these years. Only for you two to be used and discarded?" Kanan tried to clarify.
"Yes, but that isn't where the story ends. I ended up going aboard the Executor and rescuing not only the senators but General Kota. And that is where I found Ezra alive and well. I was able to turn him to see what was happening, how he was just as expendable as me. And we turned and fought Vader and the Emperor, and won. Long story short, we ended up stealing a whole load of Jedi and Sith holocrons that we had found in our time with Vader. And that is how we found Tython, and how we learned of the Je'daii." Galen finished.
Kanan didn't know how to respond. He had just told him his life story. One where he worked with Vader, he felt the mental walls of Galen and found them down still. He had felt that everything he had told him was true. But one thing still nagged at him. "Why did you leave the alliance then? Why go into hiding?" He asked.
"Because of Ezra, he, how do I put it. He is stronger than me. And he had just broken free of the dark side. He could have still been turned back. Shortly afterward we left for Tython as I tried to teach him the things that Kota had taught me about the light side and we tried to learn from the many holocrons we had recovered." Galen said as he looked at the Jedi.
"That makes sense. You were only trying to protect him. But then why come back at all?" Kanan pressed.
"Well, we both got a call from the force. And so far it seems like Ezra can handle himself and isn't willing to turn. But it is something you will have to be on the lookout for." Galen said as he rose and moved toward the door. "Please, when the time comes. Take care of my family. They are all I have." He spoke as he left the room leaving Kanan in the darkness.
In the common room while Kanan and Galen are talking
Ezra had seen his brother take off with a sort of look that meant he was either upset or needing to speak to Juno. However he couldn't get a proper read as he rose to follow Galen, Sabine let out something of a grunt due to her head being against his shoulder. As he followed his brother back towards the crew quarters, he tried to get a read on what he was trying to do. Then he stopped in front of Kanan's door. At this moment he felt a tug from the force, unbeknownst to him the same tug that Galen felt. However, he responded to its call and made his way to the cabin that he was sharing with Zeb. Kneeling down on the ground he began to meditate. Only to be drawn into a force vision. He saw a red Zabrak and a lightsaber that was black as space. Green ghosts were flying around and a planet shrouded in the dark side. As quickly as it seemed the vision came, it left. Leaving him with more questions than answers. He would have to consult Galen and the Bendu on it.
As he came out of his trance, he stood and stretched his stiff muscles to reveal that he had been in meditation for over an hour. Going over things in his head, Ezra knew that they should be arriving on Pantora in roughly forty-five minutes. Going to the doorway, he turned right and into the washroom as he splashed some water on his face. He looked up and saw the little girl, scar across her chest and everything. She didn't say anything at first. Just looked at him. Staring at him with a look of understanding in her eyes, then she came up to him and reached up. Instinctively Ezra bent over as the little girl wrapped her arms around his neck and simply whispered, "Save me," then she was gone. Ezra felt the rock of the ship dropping out of hyperspace and felt he should get back to the common room. Slowly looking back toward where the little girl had been.
Back in the common room. Orbiting over Pantora
Galen came into the common room and saw that everyone was already gathered. Ezra stood off to the side already dressed in his battle robes and tunic with his mask hanging at his side. Before them, Zeb sat on the far right side of the couch as he cleaned his bo-rifle. Sabine was checking the charge of her blasters, Kanan seemed to be meditating, and Hera was waiting patiently to go back to the pilot's seat.
"Okay, so here's the plan," Galen said with an air of authority, as he pulled up some outdated clone wars specs of the facility, "This is the best map that we have got of the place. So we don't know exactly where Kota is being kept. However, I do have a few guesses." With this, he pressed a few buttons on the dejarik table causing three rooms to be lit up. The first one being where the old clone barracks. The second being the mess hall. The third and most likely candidate in everyone's mind was the actual prisoner cells, although they had supposedly been decommissioned before the end of the clone wars. Supposedly it was too easy for inmates to escape. Looking at all the members of the crew, Galen saw that Kanan was a little confused. Realizing it was due to him wanting to be able to see the plan but couldn't due to his eyesight. Reaching out with the force he allowed Kanan to at least get a general idea as to what was going on.
"I don't like it. It seems to risky, do we even have proof that Kota is here?" Hera fired off, as she fidgeted with a datapad.
"I know that the Intel isn't the best, but it is what we have." Galen said as he turned to Ezra, who nodded showing he was following along, "So here is the plan. Ezra and I will be inserted via air. We hope to land at this point here." At which he pointed to the gated entrance.
"Why the hell would you do that? That will be the most heavily fortified area." Zeb stated as he finished polishing his bo-rifle.
"Simple, we are the distraction. You guys will land up here on this cliff. Hopefully, you can waltz right on in and retrieve Kota and his team along with any additional intel. Sound okay?" Galen finished, looking into the eyes of the Ghost crew. "Hera, our masks should be synced up with the Ghost, giving you real-time info on how we are doing along with things such as vital signs." Hera just nodded as she rose and went to the cockpit to help Chopper start the descent past the Imperial blockade.
So there is Chapter nine! Sorry for not updating sooner. I have been dealing with a severe case of writer's block. However, I hope that this moves things along for you guys. Until next time.
Television1