"What are you doing?" Rex yelled from the cockpit. "We could have hit those buildings!" Kanan sat in the cargo hold of Ketsu Onyo's ship. Rex had gone to the cockpit to see what was happening when the ship had entered Ord Mantell's atmosphere. There was no trouble getting past the Imperial blockade when they arrived. Ketsu would collect bounties for the black sun on a regular basis so the imperials recognized her ship immediately.
"I was just having a bit of fun, gramps," Ketsu said to Rex in a carefree tone. "Loosen up a bit." The ship's flight began to smooth and Kanan shook his hand. He had been gipping his seat tightly, he realized. He hadn't flown in a ship that wasn't the ghost or the phantom since becoming blind and he wasn't used to the feel of the Shadowcaster's flight.
"Loosen up?" Rex asked incredulously. "You're the one who made me restless by making me get into this ridiculous disguise!"
"The black sun hates clones," Ketsu reasoned. "If they saw you in your clone armor, they'd kill you immediately."
Rex scoffed. "They could certainly try."
"We're coming up on the landing site," Ketsu said loudly. Kanan heard the clicks as she flipped switches to prepare for landing. The ship slowed and set down smoothly as though Hera were flying the phantom. He smiled slightly as the thought entered his mind. .
"Come on, blind man," Ketsu said, walking heavily down to where Kanan sat. She grabbed his arm and pulled him to his feet. "Grandpa will lead you around so no one gets suspicious." Kanan lifted his arm and Rex rested it on his shoulder. He wasn't wearing his sturdy armor anymore. Instead it felt like a leather jacket with metal rivets fastened to the shoulder. It gave off a musty odor, as if it had been in storage for a long time.
Rex lead Kanan down the ramp to the landing pad. They followed Ketsu into a bustling building full of voices, growls, cries of pain, and smells of cooked food.
"Welcome to the Black Sun," Ketsu said. "We've got the slave market to our left," she said, leading them through the building. Electrowhips crashed and Kanan heard the cries of pain emanating from the direction she indicated. He hated everything to do with slavery. He frowned. There was nothing he could do about it now. Maybe another day. "And on our right is the rare animal market." Kanan heard loud growls and snarls mixed with banging of cages. An electrostaff sparked and one of the animals whimpered. Kanan could feel a fraction of the pain the animal felt and he grimaced. "A wild gundark can be sold for up to a million credits here."
"Too bad we don't have one of those on our hands, right Kanan?" Rex asked.
"Let's just focus on finding Ezra," he said. "We should talk to whoever leads the Black Sun. They should be able to tell us if Maul has been here."
"Ziton Moj is the head of the Black Sun," Ketsu said. "But we'll have to talk to his deputy to get a word with him." Ketsu lead them away from the growls and cries of pain and past the aroma of bantha steaks. They walked down the stone path and soon all of the rumbling voices vanished. Their footsteps echoed eerily in the seemingly large space.
Kanan felt the pain leave and he breathed out slowly. He had always been able to sense others' pain, but since he became blind it had changed to feeling a portion of the pain they felt. He hated it.
A door beeped, sliding open and Rex stopped.
"State your business," a booming voice said.
"You haven't changed a bit, have you? We need to speak with Ziton Moj," Ketsu replied. "We have urgent business with him."
"He is in another meeting," the man said. "I will need you to stay in the waiting room." Ketsu, Rex, and Kanan followed the man through the silent hallways of the Black Sun headquarters. He lead them to a room with a faint humming like a set of monitors were placed on the wall.
"I will come to unlock the door when you see that Ziton Moj's guests have gone." the man said. "For now you must wait in here." A moment later, Kanan heard the door slide shut and beep.
"Where are we?" he asked.
"Ziton Moj doesn't like having his guests roam around the compound," Ketsu said. "So we have to wait here until his business is finished."
Kanan frowned. "We don't have time for this." He let go of Rex's shoulder and felt for the wall. His senses had been clouded by his worry for Ezra and his anger at the present situation so it was difficult to feel where things were. When he found the wall, he rested his head against it. "What's happening with Ziton Moj?" A few moments passed before Rex gasped.
"Kanan," he said. "It's Maul and Ezra!"
"What?" Kanan turned toward Rex's voice, his mind racing.
"Maul is talking to Moj and Ezra is standing behind him!"
Why couldn't I feel his presence? Kanan wondered. "Ezra is here!" he said. "We need to get in there before they can leave!"
"The door is locked," Rex said. "We can't-"
"I can always hotwire it," Ketsu interrupted. "I've done it before." Kanan nodded. "Just give me a few minutes and we'll be out of here."
Suddenly a jolt of pain surged into Kanan's body. He clenched his teeth and brought his hands to his head. "What's going on?" Kanan asked. The pain he felt was indescribable. He heard distant screams and the hum of a lightsaber blade. The sea of red was all he saw.
"It's Maul," Rex said quietly. "He's…. He's killing them all."