Its been 18 years since the fall of the Republic. The Jedi were near extinct. The few that were alive went into hiding. Me, however? I've never been known to stay hidden forever. Whether it be stealing ships for Berk's Defence fleet, or just walking through populated towns without care of disguise. Then again, not many people knew about me. Besides, I've changed over the last decade. I have become more patient, more calculating. And within the last year, I became a guardian. I watched over Ezra and helped him in tough situations out in the open. Today, however, would be the most important day since I first helped the kid. Today, he would meet Kanan.
Meditating in the small room on Ezra's tower, the hum of a Star Destroyer vibrates through my bones. It does not, however, hide the sound of a speeder heading towards the town. I slowly stand up and grab my two lightsabers before opening the blast door to the fresh air of Lothal. I reach the side railings and leap over them, free-falling toward the ground, cushioning my fall with the force, I begin to walk towards civilisation.
As I reach the town, the sound of an explosion and panicked civilians could be heard. I casually made my way to the source, as four speeders leave the area. Before I could pursue, an Imperial officer tries to stop me.
"You are not authorised to be here." He states coldly. I turn to him and stare into his eyes.
"Go take a hike on top of a Star Destroyer." I say, using the Force to throw him into the air, with no intention of him surviving the impact of the fall. I then open a portal to the highway, and walk through, waiting for Ezra to arrive. Within a few minutes, the sound of blaster fire hitting an engine could be heard faintly, as two speeders make their way towards me. Before the young driver could fully comprehend my presence in front of him, I grab him by the shirt and haul him off the speeder. "Seriously Ezra, how many times do I have to tell you to not steal. I understand that you are used to living on the streets, but you at least have me." I say to him. Before Ezra could retort, I look towards the man who was chasing him. "Caleb Dume, it's been a while." I say, shocking the man.
"Who are you?" He asks, taking his blaster and pointing it towards me. I hold out my hand and will the weapon into my hand, stunning him even more. "What are you?" He asks. I laugh for the first time in a while.
"So you don't remember me? Well, that's no surprise, but I thought you would at least recognise the man of myth." I say, referring to the rumours that spread through the Jedi Temple.
"Vex is a myth." He says firmly.
"Then why is he talking to you right now?" I ask rhetorically. Ezra simply looks at me with confusion, but before our little debate could continue, the sound of a TIE Fighter pierced the air. I turn towards it and reach out with the Force, slowly crushing the weakly built ship and throwing it towards another one approaching from the other side, destroying them both, before the Ghost came into view, covering us in its shadow as the ramp opened. Kanan, ignoring the previous debate, jumped up and called back to us.
"Come on! Get up here!" He says to us, but as I notice Ezra look towards the crates, I nod to him and let go, as he runs and grabs one and proceeds to jump aboard the Ghost, amazing Caleb, as I then do the same. The ramp closes and we head to the main area. Before Ezra could properly sit down, the ship rattles as it is hit by blaster fire, and Ezra stumbles onto the floor. I make my way towards the top turret and proceed to open fire on the pursuing fighters, eliminating all three within seconds. As the ship begins the jump calculations, a dozen more TIE's attempted to stop us, but before they could get into range, we made the jump into hyperspace.
As I descended back to the main area, I noticed that Ezra was gone. Zeb and Sabine were sitting around/
"What the hell did I miss while saving your asses?" I ask fiercely.
"And who the hell are you?" Zeb snapped at me, cracking his knuckles as intimidation. I then unhook my main lightsaber and ignite it, creating my own source of intimidation.
"Does this answer your question, Lasat?" I ask in a deadlier tone, covering myself in a Force Aura. Zeb then nods and steps down, and I disengage my blade, returning the hilt to my belt. "Now, where is the kid?" I ask again, more calmly this time.
"Somewhere in the vents." Sabine answers. I walk towards the nose gun, and as I open the door, I find Ezra in the seat, looking at the blur of space passing by. Before I could come any closer, Ezra speaks up.
"Something was calling for me, I was simply following it." He states. I sigh and stand beside him.
"I know. I could feel it as well. But I still can't teach you to be what I never was." I say solemnly. "All I can say is to keep following your instincts." I say, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Head up to the cockpit. You might as well meet the rest of these guys. I'll be in the common room if you need me." I say, leaving Ezra to think.
I sit down into a meditative position, letting the Force flow through me, letting it calm my mind. While time passed, I could hear voices talking about something to do with the Wookie's and that someone knew too much, all of which I ignored due to the knowledge of what it all meant. After an unknown period of time, I was disturbed by a plea for help through the Force. Ezra. He was being taken by the Empire. I bring myself back to reality and notice everyone yelling at Zeb. Instead of letting it continue, I speak up.
"Shut the fuck up already!" My voice seemed louder than normal. Once everyone's attention was on me, I continued. "If you weren't complaining you would have already been able to find Ezra. Don't blame Zeb, it was just a bad judgement. If he knew that Ezra would have been captured, he wouldn't have gone first, he would have sacrificed himself. Not to mention he was the only one fucking shooting and was outnumbered. WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU EXPECT! NOW GET THE FUCK UP AND FIND HIM BEFORE I STEAL THE PHANTOM AND DO IT MYSELF!" I finally lose my cool and shout at the stunned group. The first one to recover from my outburst was Hera, who instantly put everyone into action. I walk back to the Top Turret and sit there. I sigh audibly before moving my hand to my forehead. I didn't notice Caleb until he spoke.
"Who is Ezra, really?" He asks.
"The son of Mira and Ephraim Bridger, a force sensitive child who has been living on the streets for the past decade. I only found him a year ago, where I started to help take care of him." I say.
"You should know that Caleb Dume died during Order 66. My name is Kanan Jarrus." He says unexpectedly.
"You will always be Caleb to me, but back to Ezra. He hasn't been trained. The rumours of me not being a Jedi are true, so I didn't train him in hopes of finding another Jedi who could teach him what I could not." I say, turning to the former Padawan. "He needs someone who can guide him through these times. I am not that person."
"I don't know what I would do to train him." Kanan admits.
"Look to the Force for the answer to that question. Also, when we return to Lothal, there is someone we need to pick up." I say. "But you need to trust him." I leave him to his thoughts as I make my way back to the common room, waiting for the plan to save Ezra.