Chapter 65 – Path of the Jedi

Author's Note: I know this chapter is a little fast-paced, but we're finally back in the action again :D

~ Tirana Sorki

"If you ever stay on our ship, you can share with me," Sabine announces cheerfully as she leads Vizma into her bedroom. They used to know each other fairly well, even if they weren't exactly friends, but she's also the first person she used to know – and another Mandalorian – who Vizma's seen in years. She's really glad to see her again.

Vizma stops in the door, eyes widening the slightest amount at the sight of her room. "Quite the... decorations," she observes.

"Thanks," she replies.

"This is my favorite," Vizma decides, stepping over to the painting near the doorway of an X over a stormtrooper helmet. She can only imagine what would happen to them if they so much as try to put one toe in Sabine's room, after all.

"It stands for none allowed in here," Sabine grins.

There's a flurry of beeps from behind them, and Vizma turns to see an orange and black astromech droid rolling into view in the hallway, chatting with BD. "This is Chopper," Sabine announces. "The last member of our crew. Chopper, this is Vizma. She's going to be staying around us."

The droid's dome turns, and it beeps almost unhappily. Rude.

"What's his problem?" she asks.

"He doesn't want more organics around," Sabine translates, clearly amused.

"It's like astromechs are always programmed to be as sassy to people as possible," Vizma muses.

"Sometimes I have to wonder," Sabine agrees.

"That's why BD will always be better than any astromech," she declares. BD beeps, sounding almost proud. Chopper spins its dome, waving its arms about, beeping what sounds like protest.

"I think you hurt its feelings," Sabine quips.

She laughs quietly. "I doubt it." And even if she did, it's the truth. Her favorite droid will always be BD.

She misses the few friends that she made on Onderon, including Jyn, but she's pretty sure she likes it more here already. Sabine is one of her people, and they understand each other in ways no one else could, and of course there's Ezra who... she gets the feeling she's going to get along with well, even if she's hardly seen him thus far. Her father seems happier here too, after having reunited with someone he also apparently used to know. So yes, she thinks she's more than content to stay here, until it's time for them to go back to Mandalore.

**w**

"How'd you get this thing?" Vizma asks incredulously, eyes widening at the TIE in front of them. She wasn't supposed to be here, but she couldn't help watching from afar, curious to know what the other children were up to.

"We stole it," Ezra answers lightly.

"Well, why are you hiding it out here?" she inquires.

"We were supposed to crash it," he replies guiltily, "But I thought we could use it later and give Sabine another thing to paint."

"It will be amazing when I'm done," the other Mandalorian says with a smirk, studying her artwork. "We can fly it to confuse Imperials the next time we need to."

Vizma outright laughs. "Oh, I'd love to see their reaction to that! It's too bad I can't see their faces." It's incredibly therapeutic to see one of their weapons being reduced to an art piece, something the Empire has absolutely no knowledge of. "Maybe they'll learn creativity and better color patterns after seeing it."

"Not likely," Sabine replies, "All Imps are about as dense as the last."

"Almost all," Ezra agrees, "I went to the Imperial Academy on Lothal briefly and managed to help another kid escape. It was for a mission."

"Too bad I couldn't have come." Vizma highly doubts her father would have been willing to let her anyway though. He's very protective which is... unsurprising. They only have each other now, so she won't complain about that. "I want to help," she declares emphatically. This is going to be fun.

**w**

It's several days after first coming here that Marr finds the chance to talk to Ezra. He's sitting on the ramp of the Ghost, staring out at the surrounding fields. Everyone else is busy elsewhere. "Ezra?" he asks, approaching the boy.

"Yeah?" The boy looks up at him.

"How's your training going?" he asks casually, settling next to Ezra.

"About as good as usual." Ezra shrugs. "You used to know Kanan?"

"I did," Marr confirms, "He was my mother's padawan."

That definitely catches Ezra's attention. "He was?"

"For a little while, before he got a different master." Maybe he shouldn't have brought this up because he knows the boy is inevitably going to start asking questions now, but on second thought, it's almost relevant to the topic of conversation.

Ezra frowns. "Why'd he get a different master?"

"She was investigating some ancient Sith artifacts, and she was corrupted by a holocron. She Fell," Marr explains. (Is she alive? Is she working for the Empire? Or was she killed? He doesn't know if he'll never know the answer, and he almost doesn't know if he wants to.)

"How could a holocron do something like that?"

"The Dark Side can be dangerous," Marr replies, "If it isn't being controlled."

"I used it," Ezra says, shifting uncomfortably, "I didn't know what I was doing, but..."

"Kanan told me," he assures him. "The Dark Side itself isn't evil. It's fueled by emotions, especially intense ones – like your fear of Kanan getting hurt or killed. And there's nothing wrong with that. It is more powerful, but it must be controlled. The Jedi don't use it because it's easy for people to get lost to their own passions, instead of helping others."

Ezra looks contemplative for a few moments. "Why's it more powerful?"

"The way the Jedi use the Force is about achieving a state of calm and having as much control as you can over your emotions, but that doesn't work for everyone. The way I see the Force now, there are no real 'sides.' It's merely how the person chooses to use it, and what their beliefs are. So as long as you're using your emotions to fuel you for doing the right thing, there's nothing wrong with it, but there must be a line that you won't cross. Making exceptions and doing things for the 'greater good' has led people down... dark paths, even if they never started out with their intentions as evil. Kanan is a good teacher, and I have faith he can train you," Marr continues, "But if you need help with learning to control the Dark Side, I can teach you that part of it."

"Wait... you know how use the Dark Side?"

"I'm not exactly a normal Jedi," he admits. "I have always been darker. I lost my way once. It wasn't easy to come back, but I had help them. I had more peace than you could have now. It is far more dangerous for a Jedi to lose their way now than in the past. The chance of having the right people to help them is... low."

Ezra looks a little more serious now. "I will be careful," he promises. "I won't lose myself."

"That is not always a choice you can make," Marr warns. "You must be careful, and trust in the Force, no matter what."

**w**

"I talked to him about it," Marr tells Kanan the next time they're alone. It's weird seeing how much he's changed from the little boy Marr used to know. Caleb is an adult now. It's not like he didn't already know that would be the case if he saw him again, but it's still jarring to see.

"Thank you," Kanan says again.

"Like I said, it's no problem. If him using the Dark Side becomes more of an issue in the future, I can teach him more about the way I use the Force, if you want."

"Maybe," Kanan murmurs, "I've been thinking that maybe I should take him to a Jedi Temple. See if I can get guidance from there about if... If I'm the one who should keep training him, or if he's meant to become a Jedi."

"Hasn't the Empire been destroying all the Jedi Temples?"

"Yes, but I've found some that are left."

"You have?" Marr perks up immediately. He doesn't know if he wants to go to one himself, but at the same time...

"There's one right here on Lothal that's still standing," Kanan informs, "And there's a few others scattered here and there in different systems altogether."

"He needs to learn to follow what the Force tells him to do," Marr muses, "Perhaps letting him use the Force to determine what Temple to go to will be the best."

"That's what I was thinking," Kanan agrees, "He's supposed to be here for another training session soon. I'll have him do it now. All we can do is trust in the Force and ourselves."

Marr nods. It's what he spent so much of his life doing, after all. Since he Fell the first time, even if it was hard at first because he nearly had lost faith in himself.

**w**

"You haven't said anything about this to Ezra?" Marr wonders, eyeing the data that Hera is scrolling through. He hasn't spent much time with Hera, but they're... friends of friends at this point, he supposes. He imagines that's going to change in time, though.

"I don't even know if we'll be able to find anything," Hera replies, looking up at him, "And I don't want to give him false hope about his parents when there's still a high chance that they're dead or will be before we can find them."

Now that Kanan and Ezra are gone to the Temple on Lothal, Hera is working in the hold, going through some of the data that Tseebo apparently gave them before he left, about where Ezra's parents are Imperial prisoners. There's so much data from it missing, though, that's it hard to tell who anyone is or anything. It's definitely going to take a long time to find anything, so he can see why the rest of the Ghost crew made the decision they did.

"Yeah, I can understand that," he agrees. He knows what this is like well enough already, with how he feels about Obi-Wan and Ahsoka. (And Anakin, because if both of them might still be alive he has an even harder time imagining that Anakin isn't.)

Just then, BD runs in from the next room, followed by Chopper, both of them beeping.

"The Phantom is coming back?" Hera asks, flipping off the holodevice and standing up.

"I'll go see what happened," Marr decides, turning and heading for the ramp.

Any concerns he might have had about what would happen while they were gone to the Temple fade when he sees the excited look on Ezra's face, and Kanan looks more pleased than usual.

"What happened?" Marr queries.

"I got my kyber crystal!" Ezra exclaims, pulling the sparkling blue crystal form his pocket and holding it out.

That is... unexpected. "Looks like it went well," Marr remarks.

"It did," Kanan agrees, as Ezra sprints past, running into the ship, "And I know this doesn't make sense, but I heard Master Yoda."

Wait – "What?"

"When I was meditating at the Temple, I heard him speaking to me. I asked him how, and he said it didn't matter. You know, the usual..."

"Cryptic answers he always gives?" Marr asks, and Kanan nods, a look of mild amusement on his face briefly.

"Maybe... maybe there's more Jedi out there than we realize," he suggests, slowly. Of course, it's possible that it was just a vision of some kind, but something about that doesn't feel quite right. Maybe. He doesn't know, but in time, they will find out.

**w**

"He's been working on it for weeks! What kind of lightsaber could he possibly build with the junk we have laying around?" Zeb demands grumpily.

"You'd probably be surprised. I think he's gonna finish it any minute," Vizma chirps, leaning back in her seat and elbowing Zeb. She just has the feeling. And whatever Ezra makes, she also thinks it's going to be unusual, just like he is.

The Lasat bonks her on the head.

"Hey!"

She nudges him back, and Hera gives them a flat look before they can start pushing back and forth.

"Well, I had a few spare parts I found over the years," Kanan offers.

"And I had some bits and pieces that might work," Sabine adds, "Modulation circuits, energy gates. Chopper even donated a power cell."

"I gave him some additional tech," Hera interjects, "He was pretty specific about what he was looking for."

"Am I going to get my own lightsaber someday, Daddy?" Vizma asks hopefully, looking to him.

"Maybe at some point," her father replies, "You need a crystal first, and those aren't exactly lying around everywhere."

"If Ezra just found one at the Temple, couldn't I too?" Although she's not really a Jedi, she supposes. She's a Mandalorian first and foremost. Her father isn't even training her to be a Jedi, just a Force user. Going to a Jedi Temple would be... odd.

"That's not quite how it works," he replies, "The kyber crystal is unique to the person, and it can take a while to find out where yours is. It did for me, at least."

Huh. That's... interesting. She doesn't have any longer to contemplate it, because then Ezra slides down the ladder, holding a strangely shaped lightsaber hilt in his hands. Vizma shoots a grin at Zeb, who scowls. "I thought I'd let you check it out first," Ezra says, holding it out to Kanan.

His master takes it from him, turning it over in his hands as everyone crowds around to look at it. "Well, it's different," he observes, "But that seems about right for you."

"Cool," Vizma exclaims, eyeing her newest friend's creation. It's nothing like any lightsaber she's ever seen – not that she's seen very many – but that's part of what makes it intriguing. She thought they were usually straight cylinders, except her father's, which is curved. This one is... different.

"Go for it," Kanan nods approvingly, handing it back. Ezra presses the button, and the blue blade springs to life, humming his hands.

"Want to spar?" she asks.

"I was thinking about doing that with Kanan first, but..."

"No, you two can go ahead," he encourages.

Vizma reaches down, unclipping her father's lightsaber from its spot on her belt. "Come on," she says eagerly, bounding out the door, Ezra close behind.

"Don't use your armor against me," he warns, though he sounds as cheerful as ever.

"I won't. I'll have to go easy enough on you as it is," she shoots back.

"We'll see about that."

Oh, yes. It's not as if he knows how to wield a lightsaber properly yet anyway...

**w**

"I started the recording before he came on," Hera calls as Ezra sprints into the main quarters. He was practicing outside with Kanan, Sabine, Zeb, Chopper, and Vizma, who are likely going to show up any moment now. Marr and BD are already inside, having seen the broadcast. Personally, Marr has his doubts, but the others seem to trust the Senator.

"Yes!" Ezra exclaims, scrambling to sit next to Hera.

"I'll play back the entire message," she says, pressing a few buttons on the holotable.

"The insurgents terrorizing our world will soon be brought to justice," the Lothal governor is saying emphatically. The door opens in the background, and the others file inside, gathering around the holotable to watch the recording. "I have assurances from –"

The hologram disappears and an image of Senator Gall Travis appears. "Citizens, Senator-in-exile Gall Trayvis here –" he begins. Personally, Marr questions his trustworthiness. He doesn't really understand why. There's something about him that simply doesn't sit well. Maybe the fact that he's so blatantly fighting against the Empire and has yet to be found. Marr knows personally how relentless the Empire is, and they crush anyone who opposes them. yet somehow, this person survives. It may mean nothing, but instincts tell him better.

"Coming to you with a reminder that the Empire applies the term 'insurgents' to anyone who dares defy their tyranny, such as some very courageous souls on Lothal," the Senator continues.

"He's talking about us!" Ezra exclaims eagerly, "He said Lothal."

"I know," Hera replies, smiling, "Here it comes."

"To those rebels, I have a message: The sun may have set on the Old Republic, but a new freedom can be won if we are brave enough to fight for it today. See you soon, my friends."

Hera flips off the recording. "He's coming here to meet us."

Vizma is smiling widely – Marr is still wary but impressed. "I didn't know we were so well-known!" she exclaims.

"Uh, how do you know that he's coming here?" Zeb demands.

"The senator hides coded messages in his transmissions," she replies, "When Trayvis mentions a world, it's always the next one he visits."

"How come the Empire hasn't caught him?" Kanan finally voices the question Marr has been wondering this entire time.

"You know, he pirates the Empire's own signals just like my folks used to do," Ezra interjects, almost proudly.

"And the clues he puts in his messages where to meet him are obvious to the locals but go right over the Empire's head. Watch," Hera says, turning the recording back on.

Marr wonders again, briefly. One of the first things the Empire does is learn everything about the planet when it goes somewhere, because it's that which helps control those on it. Someone would have to be extremely brilliant to always chose the very things the Empire doesn't look for. Of one thing Marr can be certain: the senator is not working alone.

She plays back the end of the message again, before pausing it. "He said 'Old Republic' and 'new freedom'," she declares.

"Well," Ezra muses, "Everybody on Lothal knows the New Freedom mural. It's painted on the wall in – inside the Old Republic Senate building!" That seems almost too easy. Maybe. He doesn't know much about Lothal and Ezra grew up here, but...

Sabine instantly moves forwards, pulling up a hologram of the building. "It's been abandoned since the Empire built an imperial complex. A good place for a friendly get together."

"Yeah, but when's this meeting?" Zeb demands.

"Uh, he worded 'sunset' and 'today' into his message. It's pretty obvious."

"It's too obvious," Marr points out, "I don't know how the Empire hasn't already found him. We must be cautious."

"We should have some insurance in case the Empire is more clever than we think," Kanan agrees. Of everyone, he also seems the most skeptical about this.

"Well, you have a contact inside the Imperial complex, right?" Hera offers, "So, find out for sure."

"I'll meet you at my parent's house at 1700." Ezra yanks on his cadet helmet, spinning to run out of the room.

Kanan hurries after, catching his arm. "Ezra, about your vision, don't be too quick too –"

"To take it literally?" Ezra cuts him of, pulling away, "Kanan, I know it's right. You always tell me to trust my feelings. Well, I've never felt stronger about anything in my life." Shooting him a very unconvincing smile, he spins around and takes off again.

"What vision?" Marr asks, looking to Kanan.

"Before we came inside to watch the transmission, he had a vision of us with Senator Trayvis. And we were fighting off Imperials together."

Marr frowns. "Then we can probably count on the Empire figuring out Trayvis' message too, but let's see what Ezra finds out."

**w**

Sure enough, the Empire does know about what Trayvis is planning to do. Frankly, Marw would be more surprised if the entire Old Republic Senate building wasn't completely under lockdown. "Why haven't they moved in yet?" Hera objects, as they take in the situation.

"They want us too. It's a trap," Kanan replies.

"So, we're just gonna walk into it?" Vizma asks dubiously.

"Maybe for once we shouldn't just walk right in?" Zeb proposes unhappily. "We don't even know for sure your precious Senator is in there."

"Yes, I do! I saw it!"

"If we can get up there without being seen, maybe we can fly him out on his own ship," Kanan proposes.

"I know just the way," Ezra insists, and they take off again. Marr can only hope that this idea will work out. The Force is humming with a sense of wrongness, though, and more and more, he thinks that things aren't quite as they seem.

They arrive a sewer pipe a distance away, and ignoring Zeb and Vizma grumbling about it, and Ezra and Sabine talking about being able to smell each other, Marr scrambles down the ladder into the system. He's been in much worse conditions before, and... it abruptly reminds him of when he and Ahsoka were trying to chase Maul through the sewer pipes back on Mandalore. Hopefully things will go more smoothly than they did back then.

They reach the other end without problem, and the top opens above them. Marr carefully pokes his head out, looking around, scanning the area. Two protocol droids are standing guard a distance away from his shuttle. "What now?" asks Ezra.

"It's probably better if they don't see us," Marr says. The less eyes the better, even if they are on their side.

"Better to be safe than sorry," Kanan agrees, raising a hand. He makes the ship tremble ever so slightly with the Force, and as soon as the droids' backs are turned, they scramble out of the tunnel and run for the building.

"Hold on. You two, up top," orders Kanan, looking to Sabine and Zeb.

"Vizma, stay with them," Marr instructs. It's going to be a safer position, and he'd rather not have her in the middle of danger if there's a better choice. She nods, darting after the other two, leaving Kanan, Hera, Ezra, and Marr to enter the building alone.

Sure enough, the Senator is standing at the front of the room, two droids flanking him. "I was beginning to think no one on Lothal had gotten my message," he greets. This... it's really too obvious. Does he really think that there's no way the Empire could've picked up on him? Or is he just getting more careless?

"Senator, you're in terrible danger!" warns Hera. "The Empire knows you're here."

"What? That's impossible!" he protests.

Right on cue, a blaster shot rings out, striking a droid next to him. Moments later, stormtroopers are swarming into the room, surrounding them all sides. The five of them immediately move to standing in a circle, Kanan, Marr, and Ezra all pulling out their lightsabers. It's the first time he's used the Darksaber in public, but in a situation like this, he wasn't going to risk his daughter without one.

"Kanan Jarrus, Jedi Knight," announces the officer, stalking forwards, "And Padawan Jabba, and... another Mandalorian." Marr nearly outright laughs. Where in the galaxy did they get it from that Ezra's name was Jabba?! He's seen that fat, ugly slug before. Someone would have to be out of their mind to confuse them.

"If you won't talk, then my troopers will become a firing squad," he warns.

"You better do as he says," Trayvis says desperately. Marr's eyes narrow. He has three Jedi with him, and he's advocating that they surrender? Even when he's courageous enough to fight against the Empire on his own? No, this is definitely not adding up.

He hears a sudden movement, and forces himself not to glance up, right as smoke bombs fall down in the middle of the stormtroopers. Sabine and Vizma instantly open fire from up above, and Marr and Hera shoot the troops surrounding them, allowing them to make a dash for the door. The Senator's shuttle is mysteriously gone and... it makes Marr wonder again. There's no time to dwell on it, though.

They take off down the sewer pipe again, but not before the stormtroopers start catching up to them. Zeb finally shoves the hesitating Trayvis inside, and they all jump in after, letting the top slam closed behind them.

They take off running, though they're moving a lot slower than Marr would like because the Senator is slowing them down. "Get him out of here. We'll cause a distraction," Kanan instructs, as they reach a split in the tunnel. A blaster shot rings out, striking the wall right above their heads as stormtroopers run into view. Hera, Ezra, and Vizma take off one way with the Senator, and they take off another direction.

Curving their way through the tunnel, they finally run to a stop at a drop in the tunnel, where it goes down into a larger area, on the far side of which is an enormous fan. Down on the floor in front of the fan, Trayvis is laying on the floor, Hera, Ezra, and Vizma standing over him.

Marr jumps to the ground, approaching them. "What happened to him?"

"He betrayed us!" Vizma exclaims, incensed.

"He's working for the Empire," Hera explains, a little more calmly.

"Is there anybody on our side?!" Sabine exclaims.

"I suspected as much," Marr replies, grimly. He had worried about it, and now it makes sense how the Empire was unable to find the Senator. It makes him wonder, though. He knows there are many who dislike the Empire, and he knows Ahsoka is still out there, fighting, and so are Saw and Steela, but it still feels like they're practically the only people doing anything, and it's not as though they're making much of a difference, anyway. Its upsetting is what it is, and he's tempted again to rally Mandalore against the Empire, but he's afraid to. He doesn't know what would happen to his planet if he tried.

"I had to wonder," Kanan agrees, "But we better get out of here. What was your plan?"

"We were gonna go through that fan," Hera answers.

"Then let's do it." Marr raises a hand, slowing the thing with the Force, trying to hold it still even as the motor strains against him. They've just barely finished jumping through when stormtroopers appear in the opening behind them and open fire. He jumps through last, letting the fan turn on again, and they take off, heading back for the Ghost.

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