A comfortable warmth–that was the first thing Kallus was aware of, and then, as he drifted slowly back to consciousness, the ache of his body surfaced. He shifted and took note of the fabric covering him.

Am I in my quarters? No, his Imperial issued bunk wasn't this nice. His blanket wasn't this soft.

He opened his eyes, surprised to find a C1 unit intently watching him. The little droid waved an arm at Kallus and gave a string of whirls and chirps that sounded remarkably like "good morning."

"Good morning?" Kallus croaked, surprised at the harshness of his own voice.

Again, the C1 unit was beeping and chirping, but Kallus couldn't sort out the meaning this time.

His mind clearing from the fog of sleep, Kallus ran through a quick inventory of his memories. Thrawn had discovered that he was Fulcrum. Atollon was attacked. He'd escaped from the Empire. He was aboard the Ghost. He was in a meeting with Hera and the rest of the crew and…

Karabast! He sat up, perhaps a bit too quickly, judging by the strain in his side. Ignoring the discomfort, he scanned the room. It certainly wasn't the common room–which meant someone must have carried him here.

Upon seeing the mural of the Ghost crew on the far wall and paint speckled floor, Kallus concluded he was in Sabine Wren's quarters. That made sense. The Mandalorian girl was leaving the ship to help Clan Wren battle Clan Saxon. She would not be requiring the space at the moment.

What he couldn't understand was why he was alone. The ship was quiet, but there should have been Rebels everywhere. Even Sabine's quarters should have been filled to capacity.

"How long have I been out?" he asked.

The C1 unit gave a long warbled chirp, and Kallus frowned. What was that supposed to mean? Perhaps a different question would provide a clearer answer.

"Have we reached Yavin IV?"

An unmistakable hum of the affirmative came from the unit.

Well, that did explain why the ship had cleared out.

Looking down, Kallus scowled at the wash of purple bruises decorating his torso. A lone bacta pad was plastered across his left ribs, and, though his side was sore, it did feel remarkably better than before. He pulled the blanket off his lower body to reveal another bacta pad wrapped around his right knee.

"Chopper?" He asked. "Where are my clothes?"

The melody of chirps escaping the droid was, quite obviously, laughter.

"I can't very well walk around the ship in my undergarments," he added sternly.

That statement only seemed to delight the little droid all the more. However, as Chopper's laughter quieted, the C1 unit wheeled to the foot of the bed, lifted the covers Kallus had flung off himself and revealed a pile of clothes.

Kallus eyed the outfit, noting the dull green and tan. It was probably for the best, having something to wear beside the Imperial garb. He would be more discreet this way. Still, some part of him mourned the loss of the familiarity, the comfort and security the uniform had granted him for so long.

After lowering his feet to the floor, he cautiously stood, careful not to put too much weight on the right leg. There was a dull ache, and the knee was stiff, but, thankfully, it too seemed to be on the mend.

With his sore muscles, it took him longer to get dressed than he would have liked, and the lively commentary from the droid was not helping. Of course, it probably would have been worse had he known what Chopper was saying. Kallus had most certainly not appreciated the celebration the unit gave when he finally finished putting his boots on.

"Yes, I understand that I'm not moving that fast, but you try and escape from the Empire and see how well you…."

Chopper cut him off, and, by some miracle, Kallus understood.

"Well, of course you have bested the Empire plenty of times and escaped, but that's not what I…"

Still, Chopper continued.

"I stand corrected," Kallus conceded. "I only wish you'd been around during my escape. That would have made things go much smoother."

The droid went silent. Its only movement was the focusing of one lense at Kallus.

"You've always proven to be incredible efficient."

Still, Chopper remained motionless, just staring.

The scrutiny was uncomfortable. Kallus couldn't begin to fathom what the C-1 unit was trying to process, but he knew he wanted it to stop.

"I could use something to eat, if you don't mind showing me where to go."

Chopper gave an exclamation of understanding and zipped for the door. The droid paused, waving an arm, motioning for Kallus to follow.

"Okay, just not too fast…" That seemed to work.

There was a quick answer from the C-1 that sounded as if it understood, but Kallus wasn't sure. Limping along, he followed the droid into the passageway.

What Kallus had not expected was the tour Chopper gave. The droid was chattering and pointing out areas and items the whole way. Unfortunately, Kallus could only understand a phrase or two at most.

The pair entered the common room and Chopper motioned for Kallus to sit at the table. Kallus obliged, but his curiosity was peaked as the droid started to wheel toward the galley.

"And what are you going to do?"

The droid's tone was very matter-of-factly as he pointed to the galley and then to Kallus.

"You are going to make me something…to eat?"

Kallus was given a quick, friendly affirmative answer before the unit sped into the galley. The instant cacophony of crashes and clattering metal was not reassuring.

"You okay in there?"

Chopper's answer sounded like an unconcerned 'yeah, yeah.'

Sitting alone, listening to thunderous racket the droid was making, Kallus realized, in that moment, he felt oddly content.

Reflecting back, he was glad it had been the droid who'd greeted him that morning. He hadn't much wanted to be reminded of passing out at the meeting, or chided for not asking for medical aid sooner, and, for as curious as he was as to how he ended up in Sabine's bed with treated wounds, he also wasn't sure he wanted to know.

Not to mention, he knew the time for him to stand before the Rebel Court was at hand, and he could not find fault in them handing him a harsh punishment for his past, if it came to that. His future, even his life, still hung in the balance.

However, by some means, Chopper had disarmed him of that tension and dread. The little droid had been such a welcomed distraction.

Another loud bang sounded from the galley, and Kallus smiled as he heard the unit begin a round of triumphant "whoop-whoops."

Breakfast must be done...

Hello all! Shorter chapter this time. I just couldn't get this little scene out of my head and had to give it a go. Should be just one chapter left, but I have some rough plans written up for another story (or two) to follow this one. Let me know where you'd like to see the next stories go. Like I said, I only have rough plans at the moment. I want to keep following Kallus, because I'm worried the show has too much to cram into season 4 and we won't get all the Kallus time I'd like!

Mistress Malica - Thanks! I'm glad you've been enjoying the story!

Maliwan - I really love all of the Ghost's crew, so it will be fun starting to write for each as they interact with Kallus.

Lynn Friedman-kinsey - Oh my goodness, I was so excited when I saw the season 4 trailer. I can't wait! *squeaks with excitement*

Rabbit887- Agreed! Hera is so great. She is so warm and yet so darn tough. I love her humor too!