A/N: Hi everyone! Here's the net chapter of this, at long last. It's kind of a bridge chapter to get from one place in the story to the other. I've had a lot of trouble with staying inspired lately (writer's block!) so if you have any kind words...if you like this, I'd love to hear it. :)

4.

"She tried to do what to my droid?" Hera's eyebrow went up. Ezra had called her and told her that some girl had sneaked onto the Ghost and ripped them off. Now she could see him sitting back in the Pilot's chair grinning.

"She didn't just try, she stole his memory core."

"Please tell me you found her."

Ezra shook his head. Her eyes went wide, then he grinned. "Your son found her. I'm telling you, this kid is something."

"Caleb better be ok…" The "General Syndulla" look was in place on her face.

"Of course he is. There was some hand to hand, but he was well equipped to handle it."

"So is she okay?" Hera asked. At Ezra's nod, she relaxed. "Come on, Ezra. Quit holding out on me."

"Okay. The girl, her name is Phaedra, did get hurt. Caleb was chasing her and she fell. When we got a good look at her, Hera…she was just a street rat. Like I used to be." He lifted his mismatched eyes to hers meaningfully. "And she can use the Force. Her mother survived the Purge like Kanan."

"Her mother was a Jedi." It was more of a statement than a question.

Ezra nodded. "She's strong with the Force. She's never been trained, but I can feel it in her. I know we're supposed to help her."

"Okay. What do you need?" Hera's small blue hologram leaned forward. Ezra could see the look in her eye that said that she was going to fix this.

"First, I want to see if you can get in contact with Leia Organa. I know either she or Skywalker has access to the old Jedi temple records. I want to verify her story, just in case."

"Do you think the girl's not being truthful?"

"No. I don't imagine she's lying to us, but we both know how deceptive those from the dark side can be. See if they can find a record for a Master Maia Alata. She could have been a temple guard. The girl deserves to know about her mother."

Hera nodded. When the Empire had fallen and the old Jedi temple records had been recovered, Leia had sent her Kanan's files. In them were observations of Caleb Dume's performance in his classwork in the temple. Hera had not been surprised to see that her son bore a striking resemblance to his father. She made herself read all the observations from his instructors, comparing him to the man she'd known. "Inquisitive mind," "loyalty and determination are two of his best qualities," and "seems to have a talent for strategy" were just a few of the things she'd read. Master Billaba, his Jedi Master, had written up several reports on her Padawan. Kanan had loved her like a mother, and Hera wasn't surprised that Master Billaba's report read much the same way:

To some, it may seem that Caleb's actions on Kardoa were reckless. However, the Padawan's youth may be to blame for his impetuousness in battle. I postulate that with time, the Padawan will become a formidable leader in any engagement. He is younger than most Padawans going into war and this should be taken under consideration when evaluating him. He should not be judged harshly for the missteps of youth.

He has a keen mind for strategy and it is just this ability, which will serve him and the men under his command well. He is a quick learner who asks the right questions at the right time, and he is conscientious when given a task. I have, in fact, never given a task to Caleb that he hasn't worked to his utmost to achieve.

In the file were also two holos, which Hera had watched only once. They showed the eager-eyed youngling Kanan had been. In the first, he was battling a dark-haired girl with practice sabers. They were intent; it was obvious that the two kids took their bout seriously—much more seriously than other kids their age would have. The two were pretty evenly matched, but he hit her three times in succession and she stumbled and fell backwards.

Good try, Tai, he'd said with his hand out to help her up. Then he'd turned toward a tiny figure in a brown robe. Master Yoda? May I ask a question about Form two? He asked a few questions of his teacher before the footage cut out. When it was done, she had just sat there, watching the black screen of the data pad in her lap. He'd been so young; unaware of the heartbreak to come in his tragic future. It was so sad, that she had rolled over on her bed, clutching the datapad to her chest and sobbing.

The second recording was security footage of Kanan's Initiate Trial to become a Padawan. She knew Ezra had watched them more than once, but she couldn't bring herself to look at them again. They reminded her too much of what she'd lost and hurt in the way that fuzzy memories did not. She and Ezra had decided to hold the whole file until Caleb was old enough to understand it, and on his 13th birthday, they'd given it to him. He'd taken the data pad into his room and stayed in there a very long time. When he came out, he had handed the datapad back to Hera and wrapped his arms around first her, then Ezra. "He…he was a lot like me," Caleb had said wonderingly.

Hera started when Ezra called her name.

"You okay?" Ezra asked.

She nodded. "Sorry. My mind wandered for a minute. You mentioned helping the girl?"

"Yeah. I was saying, she took Chop's memory core because someone stole her mother's lightsaber from her. She was going to sell the core for the credits to try and retrieve the weapon. I want to help her find it. While you contact Skywalker, I'm going to contact Kallus and see if he has any knowledge of the scum that stole it."

"That's a good idea. Are you still making the delivery to Yavin?"

Ezra nodded. "We'll slip that in. It'll give Phaedra some time to heal up."

"I'll bring the Phantom and meet you on Yavin in 48 hours."

"Hera, you know you're supposed to be resting. That Dantari flu is nothing to play around with."

"Nonsense, I'm fine. I was on the mend when you guys left."

"Nothing'll keep Hera Syndulla down." Ezra gave her a smile. "This girl, Phaedra. I gotta say, I think Caleb's got an eye for her."

"Ezra!" Hera chided him, but then began to smile herself. "Seriously?"

Ezra shrugged. "Maybe. I'll keep an eye on him, don't worry."

Hera nodded. "Ezra…"

"What?" he finally asked, puzzled.

"I was just thinking how much I appreciate you. All these years, you've been there for Caleb—keeping him safe and guiding him the way Kanan would have. Thank you for being there for him."

Ezra's expression softened. "We're a family. That's what we do," he said gently. "You taught me that, that very first day when you sent me back to warn everyone of the Empire's trap. I appreciate that, Hera."

For a moment, Hera saw the fourteen-year-old boy he'd been, and she felt tears threaten. What was it about getting old that made one more sentimental? She couldn't explain it, but she wished it would stop. "Oh, someone's getting a hug when I see them again," she said. "I'll get back to you when I hear something. Spectre two out."

"Spectre six out."

Ezra cut transmission, and sat back a minute, thinking. A few minutes later a voice pulled him from his thoughts.

"Hey, Ezra?"

Ezra raised his eyes and saw that Caleb was standing in the doorway to the cockpit. "Yeah?" Ezra gestured to the co-pilot's chair. Caleb sat.

"Everyone's headed to bed. Phae's going to take my bunk and I'll be in with Zeb."

Ezra nodded, reclining back in his seat. "Okay. Your mom's gonna meet us on Yavin in two days. She's going to see what Leia Organa or Skywalker might know about Phaedra's mother."

"You think they might have some information like...like my father's file?"

"That's what I'm hoping." Ezra said. "So, what's your plan?"

Caleb looked up, eyes wide. "Huh?"

"You can plan this one. How do we go about getting her mother's saber back?"

Caleb thought a moment. "Well, we know the name of the guy who most likely took it, so we definitely should start there. Estin Devian. Maybe Uncle Xandr might know something…"

"Okay." Ezra nodded, not mentioning he'd thought the same thing. "Good use of your resources. What else can we be doing while we're waiting to hear back?"

"The guy at the bar. BoDan. We can check him out and see if he knows something he didn't tell Phaedra."

"Good idea." Ezra said. "You probably should use the holocron to brush up on the mind trick. If this guy BoDan gives us the run around you can persuade him to help us."

Caleb nodded, eyes wide. He'd never had to use a mind trick before, but Ezra had required him to study the technique. "I will, Master."

"Good." Ezra sat thinking. "Go ahead and let's contact Kallus." He tilted his head to the side so that he could read the chrono with his good eye, then did the mental calculations. "It's late, but I bet he's up." Ezra knew that, like himself, Alexsandr often had trouble sleeping. The war had left its enduring mark on everyone.

In a few moments, Kallus's holo appeared above the emitter Ezra had been using for Hera.

"Caleb!" Kallus was obviously at his office on Coruscant, sitting behind his desk.

"Hi, Uncle Xandr."

"Is that Ezra behind you?"

"Yeah. I'm here." Ezra said, leaning forward so he could be seen.

"Well, what can I do for you? It's been a while since I came to visit. Caleb's growing like a puffer pig!"

"Hey! I'm not sure that's a compliment…" Caleb said with a raised eyebrow.

Ezra laughed. "Yeah. He is growing—but more like a Spinebloom, straight up and tall like Kanan. And you know you've got an open invitation to come see us, Alexsandr. Anytime. "

Kallus smiled. "I've got some time next month…if I don't take it off, they're threatening to fire me, so I'll comm and let you guys know."

"Fire you? Yeah, right." Ezra snorted. "Anyway, Caleb's got a question for you. We've sort of had something drop in our laps, and Caleb had the idea of calling you. I think we've found the child of a survivor of the Purge."

"Interesting."

"Her name's Phaedra Alata. Her mother was a Jedi with a golden lightsaber—I think she must have been a temple guard."

"Does the daughter have the same ability with the Force?"

Caleb replied, "She's untrained, but she can use the Force to help her fight, so she's probably pretty strong to have figured out that much."

"We should contact Skywalker. Perhaps she might be interested in training at his school."

"Already on it." Ezra said.

"Good. So, what do you need from me?" Kallus steepled his fingers and rested his chin on them, a curl of greying blond falling over one eye.

"We need information on a criminal. We're on Queln."

Kallus began tapping at a terminal. "Got any names?"

"Estin Devian. Kind of a low-level bishwag around here. He stole Phaedra's mother's lightsaber from her, and we're going to retrieve it. Any background you have would be helpful. Home planet…associates…past arrests?"

Kallus nodded, eyebrow raised as he tapped on the keyboard in front of him. "Hmm…I see him. Arrests for dealing everything from death sticks to glitterstim—but some of it just didn't stick. Been arrested on Jantal and Queln. Did two years in prison on Jantal."

Kallus kept scrolling.

"He was born there…might still have family in the area. Maybe try the capital city Telsca. Oh, and uh…five years back he was crew on a smuggler's ship. But, I think that's all the data we have. Small time criminal."

"He may be looking to make a big score." Ezra murmured. "What are lightsabers going for right now?" During the war, lightsabers had sold on the black market for five or six thousand credits, but he had no idea what they went for now.

"Close to five, I'd say. More if it's rare and he's selling to a 'collector.' Probably good money to someone like him."

"Thanks, Alexsandr, that is a big help." Ezra said.

"Yeah, thanks," Caleb echoed.

"You're certainly welcome. I'll put my agents on alert. Keep me posted if you need anything."

They both nodded. "We will. Spectre seven out." Caleb cut the transmission.

"Okay. Let's get some sleep and then we'll check out the guy at the club tomorrow." Ezra got to his feet. "It's getting late."

"I'll look over the mind trick information tomorrow morning." Caleb promised.

Ezra nodded. "That'll work. And Padawan,"

"Huh?" Caleb stopped in the doorway and turned.

"You did a good job today."

"Thanks." Caleb replied. "I tried to use everything you taught me, and…well, it was Chopper. I had to save him."

"Yeah. He may be a little murder droid, but he's our little murder droid, isn't he?"

Phae opened her eyes on unfamiliar surroundings. For a moment, she felt panic and sat straight up, but then she realized where she was. On the Jedi's ship. Yesterday's events came flooding back; the chase, waking up on the ship, the kindness of the people she'd stolen from so casually. She felt another pang of regret.

She swung her legs over the side of the bed and placed a hand on her knee. The pain was still there, but it was a lot better than the day before. She'd always been a quick healer. As she got to her feet and experimentally put her weight on the knee, it hurt, but it wasn't bad. She hobbled to the door, unsure of what time it was.

The galley was dark, as was the rest of the ship. She listened and could hear the snores of someone, probably Zeb, in the quarters on the opposite side of the hallway.

She walked to the hatch leading out onto a balcony. As if something was pulling her, she followed the feeling down the ladder to the loading deck for the cargo bay. There she saw something that caused her to pause.

The early morning shrouded the spaceport in darkness. The cargo bay was open and there was a slight chill. Ezra, the older Jedi, was kneeling silently on the deck plating, sitting on his heels. The extremely straight posture recalled memories of her mother and she stopped, immobilized and afraid to interrupt. It was as if she were somehow watching a ghost.

She began to back up against the ladder, to go back upstairs and leave the Jedi in peace when Ezra spoke.

"I find it to be really quiet early in the morning, which is good for meditating." His head turned slightly to speak over his left shoulder.

She took a few steps forward. "I didn't mean to interrupt. I'll just go…"

"You don't have to leave."

She walked to him, unsure of what to say or do. "My…my uh…mom used to sit like you. Meditating early in the morning. I used to wake up and find her like this."

Ezra's hands moved from their position to gesture to his side. "Sit with me, if you'd like."

"Oh no, I tried it when I was a kid, but I didn't really get anything out of it." Phaedra lowered herself gently, sliding her wounded knee out in front of her.

"So, you've never touched the Force consciously." Ezra said and his words were somewhere between a question and a statement.

Phaedra shook her head.

Ezra thought back to his first few lessons with Caleb. "Would you like me to show you?"

Phae bit her bottom lip and nodded. "Sure. I'll try. I'll probably suck at it, but I'll try."

"Do not be so sure you will fail." Ezra murmured. "You already use the Force. It's not in a concentrated way like the Jedi, but in a more unconscious way. The way I was before I met my own Jedi Master." Her face was crinkled in concentration so he went on. "You can leap higher, run faster, get feelings about people, right? Things that most would pass off as normal, or coincidence?"

She nodded.

"It was not coincidence. You are able to do those things through the Force because it is strong in you. Close your eyes."

"My knee is still sore. I don't think I can kneel like that to do the pose."

He smiled at her. "You don't have to. Just close your eyes."

Phae did.

"Now, just breathe. Slow and easy. That's all you have to do right now."

Ezra could feel the steady glow of the light in her, but would she be able to see it for herself? He focused his thoughts, so that the river of the Force flowed more strongly about them with its waves and swells.

"Now," he whispered. "Think of the most beautiful light you've ever seen. Imagine it growing about you, going from soft to bright. Now, just let that light warm you."

There was a long time of silence. Ezra's eyes were closed, but he still felt Phaedra smile when she grasped the Light in her mind. Now awakened, her Force signature bloomed like a rose.

"The Force is an energy field that binds all living things together. Let it flow around you and through you. This is the Light that's always been there, only you've just now focused your eyes upon it."

"It's so…so…" she trailed off, lost in the beauty of it, "…so perfect." As the wonder overwhelmed her, she wobbled, lost her grip and opened her eyes.

"I did it right?"

He nodded.

"Wizard," she breathed, looking around her as if seeing things in a new way. "It was everywhere. Like everything was vibrating with it."

Ezra smiled. "The more you meditate, the better you will get at quieting your mind, and connecting with the Force like that."

Now she understood a little bit better how her mother had seen the world, and it was amazing. "Thank you…for helping me understand my mom a little bit better."

Ezra nodded slowly, closing his eyes again. As he did, she found herself studying his scarred face. The thick scar tissue carved a jagged line through his eyebrow, over his eye and down his cheek to his neck. It had to have been a dreadful wound, and she found herself wondering how he'd gotten it. He had to be one fearsome fighter.

"It happened a long time ago," Ezra murmured, sensing her interest.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I gained a lot more than I lost." Ezra had opened his eyes and was looking at her now, as he changed the subject. "Caleb and I made some calls last night. We've got someone on the lookout for Devian."

"Your network?" Phaedra asked.

"You bet. Today, we're going to go to that club and talk to your friend 'BoDan.'"

"I'm going too."

Ezra shook his head. "You're doing better, but your knee's still not right. You stay here."

She started to protest, but then she nodded slowly. "Okay. I suppose you're right."

"I'll give you a full report when we get back. We have to make a delivery to Yavin tomorrow and pick up Caleb's mom. Would you like to go with us? I hope to take what we find out and decide our next steps from there."

She nodded. "Oh-ok. Will she mind that I'm with you?"

Ezra smiled. "Not at all. In fact, I already told her about you. Our path may take us far from this area for many days. Do you need to go get your things?"

She shook her head. "I have everything in my backpack." After the lightsaber being ripped off, she figured it was better that way.

"I understand that," he nodded. "I was on my own too, once."

"Sabine…mentioned it."

He nodded. "I do believe you're feeling guilty about stealing from us, right?"

"C-can you read m-my mind?" Her eyes were huge, suddenly.

"I could, but I'm not. You just…you broadcast your thoughts very distinctly when you're not watching yourself."

"Oh," she said.

"Look. Don't trouble yourself anymore about the stealing. I…I lifted my share of things back in the day to survive. No one understands your situation better than I do," he reassured her. "But, know this, we're gonna help you out, Phaedra."

"Thank you." She hesitated a moment, then went on. "Um...You called me Phae once before. You can call me Phae. It's what my mom called me."

"Okay, Phae. Hungry?"

She nodded.

"I'm not much of a cook, but I can find some fruit and ration bars as well as anyone." With a smooth motion, he stood and then held out a hand to help Phae to her feet. "Come on, kid."

When they entered the common area, Ezra saw that Caleb was sitting in the Dejarik booth, his head buried in his folded arms. His lekku curled sleepily as there was the sound of a yawn.

"Good morning." Ezra said as he patted Caleb on the shoulder on the way by.

"Mornings are not good." Caleb yawned, turning his head so that his face could be seen, but not opening his eyes yet. It seemed too early to let the light in.

"I let you sleep in for morning mediation, but I had company anyway."

Caleb opened his eyes and saw Phaedra. Of course she looked beautiful, her blue curls framing her smiling face as she limped over to the table. He sat up immediately, a blush coloring his cheeks. He suddenly began to smooth down the tangles of a bad case of bed head.

"Oh, Don't worry, I'm not a morning person either." Phae smiled as she limped over to the table and slid in across from Caleb.

"Yeah. Sabine says it's a law that teenagers can't like mornings."

Phaedra laughed softly. "That makes her ok in my book."

Ezra raised an eyebrow as he put caf in the caf machine and started it. Yeah, it definitely looked like the two of them were taken with each other. Somehow, he couldn't wait for Hera to see it. Caleb had a few friends on Lothal, but as far as dating or showing interest in anyone, he really hadn't. Caleb reminded Ezra in those first few days after meeting Sabine. He'd been equally as smitten, and equally as inexperienced. "Hey, Sabine only says that because she doesn't like mornings and she wants someone to hate them with." Ezra added. "She is only able to wake up after two cups of caf are flowing through her veins."

"Mom's the same way," Caleb said. "She always said the Rebellion ran on caf."

"Your mom fought in the Rebellion?" Phaedra asked.

"Yeah. She was the best pilot in the whole Rebel fleet," Caleb said with pride. "My mom can fly anything."

"Wow." Phae was impressed. "How many battles did she fight in?"

"Scarif, Hoth, umm…it's probably easier to say where she didn't fight. You'll get to meet her; she's rendezvousing with us at Yavin," Caleb said.

"Yeah. Ezra told me." Scarif, Hoth…names—famous names that she knew from stories of the fight against the Empire. Phae wondered what Caleb's mother would be like. "I can't wait," she murmured, wondering what his mom would think about the street rat that had broken into the ship and tried to steal their droid's brain. She bit her bottom lip nervously, and tried to think of something else.

"Look. I don't think you two are going to get much from BoDan. If you talk to him, be careful. He's the band's drummer, and seems like a nice guy, but he's got a Ryll habit. He carries a blade at all times and can get riled."

"Can we mention to him we know you?" Caleb asked.

"Sure. We're usually on pretty good terms, but watch your back in there, though. It's not a nice place."

"We'll be careful." Caleb promised.

Ezra brought over a plate of fruit, and some ration bars. "I could try my hand at a few waffles," he offered.

"How about I make the waffles?" Caleb said, getting up. "I'm a better cook," he explained to Phaedra as he went for the kitchen.

"That sounds great." Ezra replied. He walked over and slipped into the booth with his cup of caf. "Works every time," Ezra whispered with a wink to Phae, who laughed.

"I heard that." Caleb called, causing another cascade of laughter.

Thanks for reading!