A/N: Thanks for the great reviews, guys! I'm hoping to have this story hammered out and complete by the end of next week, but in the meantime here's part two - hope you all enjoy!
Chapter 2
"I remember one mission," Rex said quietly as he sat beside Kanan and Hera. "When Ahsoka was escorting a group of clones to the backside of a base we were attacking, while General Skywalker and I handled the main assault in front. Right when the rest of us were distracted, this group of Trandoshans attacked, stunning her and dragging the Commander off. We didn't realize she was gone until after the battle was over - I was one of the ones who investigated the area she'd disappeared from, where I found her lightsabers."
The Jedi didn't seem to be paying him the least bit of attention, but Hera at least had picked her head up a bit to watch as well as listen.
"Anakin nearly lost his head in the days afterward, trying to figure out where she'd gone, who had taken her, how we were going to get her back. The rest of the battalion was right behind him, at first, before the notion started spreading that she was probably dead." Rex couldn't help a slight smile as he thought about it. "I didn't stop thinking for a minute that she'd be fine. And sure enough, a week later, the Commander showed up back at the Temple on Coruscant, covered in grime and bruises, but alive, in the company of a couple other kidnapped Padawans and the wookies they'd allied themselves with in order to escape the Trandoshans."
"What's your point, Rex?" Kanan mumbled, head still bowed and staring at the floor. "The Empire has a lot better security than any Trandoshan hunting party."
"True," the clone agreed. "But Ezra's also managed to get himself past that security before. We'll look for him, worry our brains out the whole time, but I bet you ten to one, he's gonna show back up with a rebel cell complaining about us taking too long to pull of a rescue and how he had to go and bust himself out."
Kanan snorted, Hera smiled, and Rex felt better about helping the pair keep their spirits up.
-MS-
Sabine knocked on the door to Zeb and Ezra's room, entering despite there being no response. She found the Lasat sitting on the floor, slumped back against his bunk, staring at the ceiling. Without a word, she moved to take up a position beside him. The pair stayed there for at least an hour, simply taking silent comfort from the other, until Chopper rolled in to tell them dinner was ready.
-MS-
Ahsoka knew how important Ezra was, not just as one of the few remaining Jedi in the Rebellion but also as the youngest member of the Ghost crew. Getting him back was important for the moral of all the Spectres - and the first step to retrieving the kid was locating him.
So, Fulcrum checked in with all her Imperial contacts, searching for any word of the captured Bridger. Finally, she found a report that chilled her to the core: one detailing a prisoner transfer from Agent Kallus' custody to that of a member of the Inquisitorius.
While still stewing over the decision to let Kanan and Hera know about the heightened danger their boy had been placed in, Ahsoka stumbled across a different report. More of a notation, really, with brief mention of the same ship that Ezra was transferred to. Apparently, it sustained damage while in hyperspace and was forced to return to normal speed, whereupon further explosions crippled the engines shortly before all escape pods were jettisoned.
With a grim smile, Ahsoka went to inform the top two Spectres that Ezra was on the loose again.
-MS-
With a muted groan, Ezra pushed himself out of the escape pod and happily dropped to the dusty ground. While a dry expanse of scrubland hadn't been his first choice for a destination, it was loads better than still being held in an Imperial cell - especially since the desert had no Inquisitors poking him with all manner of unpleasant things, from mental probes to electro prods.
Still, if he wanted to avoid going back to that situation, he'd have to get moving.
Readjusting the bandages made from his torn sleeves, the teen set off across the landscape, heading in a direction that didn't seem quite so desolate.
-MS-
"Well," Sabine suppressed a chuckle as the Ghost came out of hyperspace. "This definitely has Ezra written all over it."
The starcruiser, smaller than a Destroyer but no less intimidating, was nearly in two pieces from the explosions caused by engine malfunction. It was clearly no longer carrying any personnel, any who survived likely having taken off in the escape pods to be picked up by other Imperial craft.
Kanan, though, wasn't looking at the wreckage like everyone else. His eyes were closed, one hand extended out in front of him, searching for the familiar Force presence that should be nearby.
Finally, he found something. "There. See that gas giant? He's on a moon on the far side. But we need to hurry - he's not alone."