"Ezra! Ezra Bridger." Vizago called out as Ezra entered the ship docking station "I knew you'd come!"
"Uh-huh, nice to see you too Vizago" Ezra chimed, sarcasm not very well hidden.
"Come then, onto the ship. We don't have all day." Vizago ushered Ezra towards the entrance, before marching inside himself and yelling some more commands to his crew. Oh boy, thought Ezra, fighting a wry grin, this is going to be fun.
It turned out Ezra was getting to bunk down in one of the lower compartments of the ship. It was actually a cargo hold, but if it meant Ezra had his own private space then he was more than happy to take it. A hammock conveniently swung from side to side as the ship jostled out of the hanger. Well- looking on the bright side- it certainly wasn't the roughest he'd ever had to sleep. He had just finished putting his minimal belongings down when Vizago entered the room.
"There we are, all settled…" He smiled falsely, pausing for a second. "Although don't get too comfortable, my friend; you never know what might happen. Oh- and I'd watch your belongings. We are pirates, after all…." His grin became genuine and unnerving.
"Um… okay." Ezra replied uneasily.
Seemingly oblivious to the boy's discomfort, Vizago continued cheerfully. "I expect you to act like any member of my crew would. That means you will be taking part in the night watch shift we have here. You're taking the rota between 3 and 6am, alright? I will be wanting to speak to you more tomorrow, but we'll leave it at that for now." He concluded with a toothy smile before striding out of the room, assumedly to hurl more orders at his crew. He was pretty organised- for a pirate.
A night shift rota? Ezra groaned. That was going to be simply marvellous. It was already fairly late; he would have to sleep now if he wanted any rest at all. So, settling down into the still-swinging hammock, he closed his eyes. He couldn't prevent a sigh escaping his lips; he wished he was in his own bed right now back on the Ghost (even if it did mean putting up with Zeb's snores).
Empty.
The Ghost felt so empty without that extra life force on board. It hadn't really hit Kanan until he'd lay down to sleep; he and Ezra usually brushed goodnight with their force bond, then, feeling out the ship and the humming life of his family, Kanan would gradually fall asleep. But without Ezra's presence, there was suddenly a gaping hole…
Damn that kid.
Fidgeting restlessly, Kanan drifted off to sleep.
"Oi! Oi, kid- get up!" A gruff voice shattered Ezra's eardrums as his hammock was shoved upside down and he was flung roughly onto the floor.
"Alright, alright. I'm up!" Ezra rubbed his bruised shoulder ruefully.
"You're turn for watch- cockpit." He ordered, before slinking away.
Sighing, Ezra dusted himself off, wiped the sleep from his eyes and attempted to find the cockpit. The ship was silent besides the quiet humming of the engine. With a stretch he set himself down in the cockpit and cast his eyes out into the night sky. He could feel the force mingling around him. Confident he wouldn't fall asleep, he closed his eyes momentarily and embraced himself fully into the force, sensing the ship around him with all the different life signatures.
He thought back on his lessons with Kanan, and toyed with the idea of if he would be able to reach him from here. Mustering all the concentration he was capable of, Ezra tried focus on his master, straining to seek him out from all the other life forces on the planet. He struggled to mentally follow back across the path he'd taken from the Ghost to get to Vizago's ship, feeling a surge of relief when he finally latched on to a familiar force- Kanan! He basked in the feeling of his master's presence, unconsciously smiling as he observed how he always seemed so… strong. He sent a wave of good thoughts towards Kanan, then tried to pull back, knowing he should probably go back to guarding the ship or whatever. However, he suddenly felt himself restrained from drifting away. The next thing he knew was complete darkness- both the life presences around him and the grimy interior of the ship had vanished.
"What?" He could still speak out loud, thankfully. "What happened? Hello?"
Kanan was sure he was asleep. He hadn't been dreaming before, but now he was suddenly aware of hearing Ezra's voice. He knew his padawan wasn't on board, and yet…
It felt too.. real-
Wait.
"Ezra?!" A familiar voice called to him after a few moments of unbearable silence.
"Kanan!" Ezra was relieved but still surprised. "How am I speaking to you?" Ezra tried to spot his master's face in the blackness that swamped his vision.
"Did you try to find me through the force?" Kanan asked, the pieces slotting themselves together as he figured out what his padawan had managed to do.
"Yeeaah…" Ezra replied slowly, wondering if he'd maybe done something wrong,
"That's impressive. I'm surprised you found me," He paused thoughtfully for a second. "But I think if you had tried to connect to me too much, you may have inadvertently placed yourself into my dreams." Kanan pondered aloud, "At least, that's what I think this is."
"Oh wow, that's pretty cool!" Ezra smiled "I can't believe that's even possible!"
"If I remember correctly, with practise force wielders can even see each other through the subconscious. It would be a bit like meeting our dream selves. Of course, there's always dark ways to use this skill-"
Ezra rolled his eyes. When was there not?
"-but for communication it's pretty useful." Kanan finished. He was shocked that the boy had managed to hold up the link for so long.
"Well… I hope I didn't interrupt any dreams you were having then, master." Ezra laughed "'Coz that could've been pretty awkward…" Kanan laughed at first before realising fully what Ezra could be suggesting.
"Ezra!" He cried, slightly embarrassed. The laughter of his padawan continued for a moment, before stopping rather abruptly.
"Kanan- you're fading slightly… I think I'm losing my connection." Ezra panicked.
"You've done well to hold it for this long. Don't push yourself, just let it go… Now that you've done it once you'll definitely find it easier to connect next time… You might feel pretty tired after this, Ezra, so let go now, okay?"
"But-"
"No buts, padawan. We can talk again soon… Stay safe, okay?" Kanan asked softly.
"Okay… Speak soon."
Ezra's presence suddenly jerked out of his awareness, and the feeling jolted Kanan awake. Miles away, Ezra was also startled awake. He was amazed by the force; he'd actually managed to find and talk to Kanan! The discovery left him feeling miles less alone, and determination flooded his senses. He could do this mission; he knew he could.
He wondered if Kanan would mind if Ezra joined his dreams every night.