Notes:
It crossed my mind the other day that I have left out a good number of characters in my story so far. (Fifth Brother, Seventh Sister, Vader, Rex, Wolf, Gregor) I just want to let all of you know that I have just been going with the flow of the story, and I haven't taken ANY time whatsoever to make an outline for the bigger picture. I literally sit down and write what comes into my head, and then just kind of make the dots connect. Now, If I want to add those characters in without writing an ENTIRE version of the Rebels show, I'm just going to have to make references to other episodes. Sorry if you find any of this confusing, but I assume that if you're reading this, you have already watched all of the available episodes. Also, for the sake of simplicity, I'm going to assume that Rex, Wolf, and Gregor still have those nasty tumor chips from Order 66, but their trust and loyalty to the Jedi generals helped them overpower their genetic programming. I'm really not sure what actually happened, but that's what I'm going with.
Disclaimer: I do not own or make profit from any content within the Star Wars universe. I merely write for the entertainment of myself and others. All things Star Wars belong (unfortunately) to Disney now.
CHAPTER SEVEN:
It turned out that the Destiny, the ship the Ghost crew had boarded, was not alone. It was one of three sister vessels in the rebel fleet. There was also the Expectancy, the Concordance, and a number of smaller cruisers and frigates. Life aboard the Destiny cruiser had begun to feel natural. Not only did the crew of the Ghost have a greater expanse of space to move about in, but they also had found their 'extended family'. Now that they were at the heart of Rebel operations, they were acquainted with more sympathizers, more sources of intel, and more powerful allies than the likes of the smugglers and traders of the black market on Lothal. True, their life of crime and thievery had thrown a wrench into the cogs of the Empire, but now, they had the potential to remove those cogs entirely.
There were of course disagreements on who was considered friend and enemy however. Ahsoka brought back some 'old friends' that she wished to introduce. They arrived on a shuttle, and they were indeed old, but Kanan was not about to call them comrades any time in the foreseeable future. "Clones!" Kanan growled through grit teeth. Before the clones even had a chance to step down from the shuttle ramp, Kanan leaped toward them, lightsaber ignited. Perhaps sensing his feelings at the same moment, Ahsoka had already closed the gap and had her twin white lightsabers drawn in defense of the newly arrived clones. Their sabers clashed, surprising Kanan who expected his blade to be planted straight into the chest of nearest of the group.
"Kanan! Don't do this! Not all the clones defected against the Jedi." Ahsoka tried to rationalize.
"I watched them kill my master. I can't take anymore chances with them." Kanan was pulsating with hatred.
"Kanan, what you're trying to do isn't in the name of safety. You're using that as an excuse for revenge." The two had their sabers locked, and neither seemed to be gaining ground.
"So? What would you know about it?" he spat.
At that moment, a ferocity welled up within Ahsoka, something that none of the crew had seen yet.
"I was there too, and I remember seeing terrible things that I have wished for years to forget. It was MY master who had his judgment clouded, MY master who led the clones' assault on the temple at Corescant, and MY master who killed the younglings without a shred of remorse! You know NOTHING!"
Kanan was now filled with awe in spite of himself and his passion. Ahsoka, broke the lock, made several swift strokes on the offense with her duel sabers to throw Kanan off balance, and finished off her combo with a force push that hurled Kanan into the wall of the hanger.
The others, as well as the newly arrived clones were frozen in place and utterly mute. The duelists were both panting heavily, sweat glistening, eyes gleaming and taking in every motion the other made. Ahsoka, obviously better off standing victorious instead of slammed against a wall, was the first to compose herself. She closed her eyes, controlled her breathing, and powered down the sabers she so skillfully wielded.
"Kanan, I must apologize. Lately, I have sensed extremely dark disruptions in the force. I have been meditating in my spare time, but the more I try to see what it is, the more distraught I become. I was by no means justified to vent my frustration on you."
She crossed the hanger and offered a hand to Kanan who took it with alarm clearly written on his face. Everything he had just heard truly was an overload of information. With Ahsoka's help, he stood uncertainly and finally found his voice.
"I also must ask forgiveness, Master Tano. I had no excuse to attack your guests, no matter how much I distrust them." He turned a wary eye toward the troopers who still remained silent, unsure of how to react to the outburst.
"Please, I neither want nor deserve the title of Jedi Master. I left the Order when I was a padawan. As for your suspicions regarding the clones, I can assure you they have been close friends to me my whole life. Even they were targeted along with the Jedi because they refused to obey their orders. I understand your misgivings, and they are only natural, but I'm sure they will gain your trust over time as they have recently regained mine."
"But… why would a clone disobey a direct order? The clones that I remember were heartless tools used by bureaucrats and politicians to do all the dirty work."
"You see Kanan, when I went on missions with my master and the clones, we were dependent on each other for success. Time only strengthened the bonds that were forged early in the clone wars. When Order 66 was given, many clones preferred protecting the relationships they had with the Jedi rather than follow the order from the officials who hid behind a mask of politics. They overcame the pressure from the altered DNA that had been implanted in them from an early age. The clones standing here now have done exactly that."
"Sir, I know we gave you a scare and I don't know what it will take to correct what has been done, but I assure you, nothing from our past influences us like it did the others."
"I'm sorry. I've never moved on completely." Kanan said as his troubled eyes looked at the floor.
"I'm Gregor, here's Rex, and this is Wolf."
"I'm sorry to say that… I'm not exactly pleased to meet you, but I hope I can get to know you all in time."
"Not to worry, sir. It's completely understandable." Rex replied.
"Yeah," Wolf chimed in, "Remember how much convincing we had to do with Ahsoka before she got her sabers our of our faces?
"Heh, for sure… You aren't still upset with us for barging in trying to prove ourselves, are you Ahsoka?"
She let a grin creep onto her calm disposition. "I admit, it took time, but it was one of the best chances I've taken in a while."
Ashoka was engaged in a conversation that didn't seem like it would end soon. After all, she was trying to make Kanan see that these three mortal enemies from his past were now on the same side he was. The crew decided such a conversation was suited for the two Jedi and the clones only. Hera returned to the Ghost to keep up on some minor maintenance issues chopper couldn't handle alone, and Zeb seemed to have made friends with a group of pilots.
"So I guess I'm stuck with you then." Sabine lightly slugged Ezra's shoulder.
"Is that really such a bad thing? I saved your life you know." He thought about punching back, but figured she was in enough pain as it was. "Wanna go check out that lounge I told you about?"
"That would actually be great. I feel like I'm gonna fall apart."
Ezra took the lead, and they were soon standing in the entrance. This particular lounge wasn't a typical crew member lounge. Ahsoka granted them the permissions needed to access it. True, It wasn't tasteful in terms of color, but It was satisfactory for a sorely needed break from all the action. Along the far wall, a snack bar with limited options was managed by a droid. On the left were what looked like private bathrooms and showers, definitely higher class than the cramped closets in the ship's sleeping quarters. Over to the right, and merging with the seating area of the snack bar, was an assortment of extremely comfortable looking couches. Among the couches were various holochess tables and a large monitor with a control console.
"Hey, this place isn't so militarized after all." Sabine marveled. "I wouldn't mind staying in here."
"It's the officers lounge. Nobody really comes here during the work hours, so we can watch anything we want… and stuff our faces with crappy military rations." Ezra offered.
"I'll pass on the rations, but I could lie here for hours watching horror movies."
Sabine sunk with a sigh of relief into the couch in front of the monitor.
"I'm just happy to have something soft to put my back on, so you can watch whatever you want."
Ezra seemed to enjoy planetary documentaries, maybe because Lothal was somewhat boring without much of an ecosystem. Ezra was engrossed by the film and didn't seem to notice Sabine slowly succumbing to sleep.
"Hey Sabine, look. It's Mandalore. Is it really so… Uh, Sabine?"
At this point, Sabine just didn't have the attention span to watch anymore. She had dozed off, her head on Ezra's shoulder.
"Sabine, wake up. I wanted to ask-"
"Just shut up. I'm napping here." Sabine said sleepily, shifting to the side and slipping an arm up onto Ezra's chest.
"This is the way things should be… the way things would be if..." But Sabine never even finished her thought, for she was fast asleep in the only pair of arms she trusted this much in the entire galaxy.