Chapter 6: Cousins
The next morning
Jacob's P.O.V
"Morning, guys." I said as I walked into the kitchen to join the crew for breakfast. "Hey, Jake." Ezra said. I helped myself out to some breakfast, and it was good. It turns out that food in this galaxy is pretty good after all.
After breakfast, Ezra and I decided to meditate in our room, which is common for a jedi. He wasn't looking forward to meditating since he didn't like it as much, but Kanan suggested that me and him do it for the sake of things, so we did. Just as we were meditating, feeling the force as we closed our eyes and concentrated, sitting with our legs crossed, I felt a strange thing this time from the force. I opened my eyes. "What's wrong?" Ezra asked, his eyes closed.
"Nothing, I just feel something...something calling to me." I answered. "What do you think is calling you?" "The force probably. I'm gonna go and check it out if that's cool." "I guess so." "I'll be back in a bit."
And with that I left Ezra, standing outside of our room, trying to detect the force signature. I detected it again, and it looked like it was coming from one of the rooms. I moved to the room where it was coming from, which turned out to be Kanan's room when I saw him walk out before I entered.
"What are you doing in front of my and Hera's room?" he asked a bit seriously. "I can explain." I said. "I felt something calling to me from the force. And it looked like it's calling me from this room." "Fair enough. Just make it quick, because if Hera finds that you entered her room without permission, she isn't going to like that, not that she blows up easily." "I will be quick, Kanan."
He walked away, heading to wherever he was going, and I entered his room, feeling the force signature become stronger. I felt it coming from a drawer at the bottom of the bunk bed, and I knelt down, and opened it.
When I opened it, a blue cube-like object flew right into my face. "Ow!" I said, putting my hand on my forehead where the cube hit me, me thinking that a mark got left on me. The cube was on the ground, and it still was calling to me via the force.
I knelt down, and grabbed the cube in my hand. But why would a cube just simply be calling to me? I examined the cube further, and it looked like it had components that could be configured someway.
So I sat on the bottom bunk, continued looking at it, and then when I ended up concentrating my mind unknowingly, the components of the cube started getting manipulated.
I concentrated further, and then more of the components came alive, parts of the cube twisting, until a small ball in the middle was revealed. And then a hologram played, and when I took a look at the blue hologram playing, I noticed that it was showing the same baby, being me, from the forest that I've kept on seeing in my vision, including the figure, and then the next part shocked me.
The hologram video played, my baby self crying in the forest, and then some text appeared, and it was written in English. It said "Seattle Police."
But that wasn't it.
Next, it switched up from me crying to a woman appearing. She looked like she had some similar characteristics to me, like raven colored hair, blue eyes, ones that were darker than mine, and she had a similar skin tone. Next, she started speaking, and it was in English.
"Don't cry, my beloved Ian Bridger. I fled the galaxy to hide you away from the clutches of the Empire until its downfall, and to make sure that you are not discovered by them to become a servant of the dark side of the force. You would be safe there. A dark time has revealed itself across the stars of our very galaxy, along with rebellions occurring and most jedi dying. Most jedi are dead at this point, and some force sensitive children have been captured by the Empire to become a sith. I only wanted the best for your cousin, come the day if he becomes a jedi himself, and I wanted the best for you as well. That was one of the reasons why I hid you on Earth, so that you could hide from the Empire. Ian, please stay strong and know that I love you. And if you see Ezra by some hope at all, please tell him that I love him and I will always love my dearest nephew. He would be about 4 or so years younger than you, he has the same eyes as you do, has raven colored hair, and he's strong in the force like you. Stay strong, my dearest Ian, and never feel the sadness in your emotions because of me not being there for you. Just know that I love you and I always will, Ian, always."
My brain lurched, unable to accept the fact that I was told as a child that I was born in Everett, and it was revealed to me that I was there in that forest as a baby. I was never adopted formally, I was discovered in that very forest. I broke into tears soon after, now on both my knees on the ground, pressing my hands against my face after I was not willing to accept this. My life will never be the same again after all that I've just witnessed in that hologram video.
And now I saw and heard my own mother, my very own biological mother who I had no idea of who she even was, and for the fact that I have a FIRST COUSIN PRESENT IN THIS GALAXY! I teared up even more heavily now.
The door opened behind, and though I was caught deep in emotion, I still sensed Hera walk in.
"Jacob?" I heard her say. I didn't respond, and instead continued crying, tearing up even more than last time. She helped me up, me crying into her shoulder, still traumatized from seeing that video.
Ezra's P.O.V
I dashed out of my room after listening to the video from the holocron that Jacob activated, hearing him tear up. At the same time though when I dashed out, there was no way that Jacob was my first cousin!
How did his mother know he was force sensitive, how did she know that I was force sensitive, and who was she as my own aunt that I never knew about? I had so many questions.
When I came into the hall, I saw Jacob crying into Hera's shoulder, me still thinking about him and me being cousins.
"What's wrong?" I asked him, Hera supporting him by bringing him in closer. "I have a first cousin." Jacob answered as he cried.
"Who's has a cousin now?" Alex asked after I heard him and Sabine step out from her room. I faced both of them, and said, "Alex, Sabine, we have to talk."
I pulled them away, and the three of us went into my room, locking the door after all of us got in. "Why did you pull us in here?" Alex asked me, him and Sabine crossing their arms.
"You guys know how Jacob claimed that he had a cousin earlier?" I asked them. "Yes?" Sabine said, me sensing where she saw this going. "Well, there...uh...there is just so-" I replied, stuttering a lot.
"There is just what?" Alex inquired. "Well, there is just something I have to admit." I replied. "We're listening." Sabine said.
"I think me and Jacob might be cousins." I admitted. "Seriously?" Alex asked, him and Sabine both shocked. I nodded, unsure still whether to still believe what the holocron video said was true or not. "Do you guys think I look like Jacob?" I asked them. Sabine and Alex looked at me, looking for similarities.
"Well, you do have similar noses and eye color." Alex said. "Not to mention the same raven colored hair." Sabine added. And it was confirmed from there that Jacob and I looked similar enough to be related.
"Can't believe I have a cousin I never knew about." I said in disbelief. "How are the others going to react to this if we tell them?"
"Some of them are probably unaware of it, so tell them what you told us, Ezra." Alex answered, Sabine nodding with him. "I would say during lunch, tell them." Sabine added.
I nodded at both of their responses, and then the two of them left, while I sat in my room still, still in disbelief about Jacob being my cousin.
Later during lunch
We were all eating lunch in the kitchen now, eating some meat from dinner last night. Jacob didn't eat much since he was still in shock about him having a biological cousin.
I was interrupted during my meal by a tap on the shoulder by Sabine, her nodding after I looked over, and then Alex nodded when I looked over at him.
"Question, guys." I said. "Do you think that Jacob and I look similar enough to be related?" Everybody stopped eating, and looked at me. "Why are you asking?" Kanan inquired.
I took a deep breath as I was about to answer, still hesitating to answer, until I let out another sigh and then gave my answer. "Just something that Alex, Sabine and I may have noticed possibly." I responded.
"Jacob, look at me." Zeb told him, and he looked over at him. While he looked at him, Zeb, Kanan, and Hera compared Jacob to me.
"Well, he does have similar eyes." Zeb said. "That, and he also has a similar hair color to yours, Ezra." Kanan added. "Not to mention the similar shape in noses." Hera added on.
There was silence in the room from all of us, until Kanan said, "Yup, you two look alike."
Then there was silence again in the room, all of us being more silent longer than last time now. This was 100% not normal. It's not everyday that you fly to a planet in another galaxy and find a long lost relative of yours on that planet. I said something quietly, but it was still loud enough for the others to here.
"What did you say?" Kanan asked me. I let out a long sigh, and then told them the truth. "I might be Jacob's cousin." I confessed to my friends. "It can't be, it just can't be." Jacob responded. "What makes you say that, Ezra?"
"In that video, the woman mentioned the name 'Bridger,' which is my last name. In that video, I heard it all from what I sensed in my room, the woman said that the cousin is about 4 or so years younger than you, Jacob, similar eyes, similar hair, and strong in the force like you." "Wait, your last name is Bridger?" "Yes."
Jacob let out a long sigh, and then said, "Wow. I actually have a biological cousin that I never knew about." He did say that a little bit relieved, considering that he was hid on Earth with no knowledge of anyone in his biological family, until now that is, including myself. "Can I call you 'coz,' or something like that still?" "Fine, just don't do it too often, Jacob."
"What happened earlier anyway?" Sabine asked.
"The force was calling to Jacob, and it turned out to be the jedi holocron that was calling to him. He activated it and it played a video of when he was left on Earth by his mom, or my aunt I should say since it has been confirmed that we are cousins. And it turns out that his real name is not Jacob actually. His real name is Ian Bridger. His mom/my aunt said that she wouldn't let the Empire take Jacob to be trained as a sith, which is the reason why she came to Earth with him, leaving him in a forest all alone as a baby." I explained.
"So, do I, or we for that matter, call you Ian now?" Alex asked Jacob. "I don't know what to say to that, Alex, but call me Jacob since it's the name that I've grown up with." Jacob answered. "I can see you two being cousins. The fact that you, Ezra, trained him a little bit in the ways of the force shows that a little bit." Kanan said. "And cousins help each other out after all." he added.
"I just find it strange that we landed on a planet in a distant galaxy and came across a long lost relative." Sabine said. "Trust me on that one. I didn't even know the nature of my abilities even until Ezra and Kanan told me." Jacob replied.
"Same thing here, and I've had them on and off again during my time on the streets back on Lothal on my own." I added.
I still can't believe that I have a biological cousin living on the Ghost with us, one that I've been seeing in my sleep lately and one who both of us had no knowledge of.