Kanan had to resist the urge to call out for Hera when he slipped into the mansion. The Zygerrian apparently thought he had nothing to worry about security-wise if it was this easy to get in. Of course, no security system could stop a pissed off Jedi anyway.
Keeping his senses open for any attack and with blasters in both hands, Kanan silently made his way through the house with a firm hold on Hera's Force-presence. She was still alive, but the pain he'd felt from her in the shuttle had lessened only slightly. He had to find her and fast.
The hum of a droid passing by the doorway in front of him focused his thoughts away from near-panic and back to the present. He flattened himself against the wall and waited for the droid to pass before poking his head out into the darkened hallway. A light shone from a room a few doors down. As good a place as any to start.
A wave of relief washed over him when he saw Hera inside. On the floor, arms chained above her head, and her clothes torn, but alive. "About time," she said when she lifted her head to him.
Kanan holstered his blasters and struggled with the restraints for a moment before losing his patience with them. He reached for the pieces of his lightsaber at the back of his belt and quickly assembled it. "Are you alright, Hera?"
"Oh, yeah. Just great. I love the feeling of my arms going numb."
Kanan gave her a one-sided grin. She hadn't lost her attitude, which meant she wasn't too badly hurt. He cut through the cuffs in an instant and deactivated the blade. "Where's the Zygerrian?" He didn't need to say what he really wanted to do to the felinoid; she could read him well enough to know what he was thinking.
Hera rubbed her wrists to get the circulation going again. "I don't know. He left me here." She suddenly gripped the collar of his shirt. "Kanan, did Xyla get my data package? It has the names of everyone he's done business with, including some in the Tilo Prime Senate."
"Yeah, she did. You did great, Hera." He carefully pulled her to her feet, his hands tightening around her arms when she stumbled with a muffled cry. "What's wrong?"
She winced as she pulled her skirt aside to reveal long, painful-looking scratches on her thigh. "Bastard."
Heat flared in Kanan's chest. His vision blurred. "Where. Is. He?"
Hera didn't seem fazed at all by the coldness in his voice or the sudden stiffening of his back. In fact, she seemed almost amused. "Calm down, Kanan. He got the worst of it." She fixed him with a look when he didn't move. "I'm fine. They're just scratches. Nothing I can't handle. Now, let's go."
One hand on her arm and a tenuous hold of his emotions, Kanan led her to the door. He made sure the way was clear before stepping into the hall, Hera limping behind him. He couldn't think about paying the Zygerrian back for this; not only would thoughts of revenge lead him even closer to the Dark Side, but his priority was Hera. She needed medical care immediately. That was what was important.
A nudge from the Force had Kanan's lightsaber active again. It blocked a blaster bolt that would have hit him squarely in the chest. "I don't take kindly to thieves, human." The Zygerrian stepped from the shadows, blaster aimed for another shot. "Or should I refer to you as 'Jedi' instead?"
"Call me whatever you want," Kanan replied flatly. "Doesn't change the fact that I've got no problem killing you if you get in my way."
The felinoid stepped closer. The dim light didn't hide the bruises that had formed on his angled face, or the way his left cheek was swollen. "Told you he got the worst of it," Hera whispered, a smile in her voice.
"I've met Jedi before," the Zygerrian continued. "Killing people outright isn't their style. The whole morality thing. And certainly not unarmed opponents."
To Kanan's surprise, he tossed the blaster aside and held up his hands. Kanan didn't lower his blade. "It might have escaped your notice, but I'm not a typical Jedi. What makes you think I won't just behead you now?"
"Because I've got a wild card: if you kill me, my droids will transmit the security cam footage to the rest of my guild. As if you weren't already hunted like an animal by the Empire, you'll have to contend with them as well. You and your Twi'lek pet."
A line of red streaked under Kanan's raised arm and slammed into the slaver's chest. Hera had pulled one of his blasters from its holster and fired before either of them knew what happened. "I've heard enough out of you. You got all electronics shut down here, right, Xyla?"
Kanan turned to see her speaking into a comlink whose design he didn't recognize. She must have stolen it from the Zygerrian and used it to contact Xyla when she had the records they needed. "Had everything dark not long after Kanan landed, Hera," Xyla responded. "You guys are in the clear. Now, get back here so we can take off."
Hera switched off the comm with a satisfied smile, which dropped when she looked at Kanan. "What's that face for?"
He hadn't realized he'd been smiling at her ever since she'd pulled the trigger. "Nothing. Let's get you back to Xyla's ship and look at those scratches."
Thankfully, the wounds weren't deep. A little bacta and they'd be gone in a few days. Hera had explained that the Zygerrian had thought he could scare her into submission when he'd caught her in his study. But he hadn't counted on her knowing how to properly defend herself. She'd laid into him with punches and knees to the face, and when he'd fallen to the floor his claws had raked down her leg. The distraction had been enough for him to activate the collar he'd put on her when he'd discarded her necklace and send paralyzing electricity coursing through her body.
Although the danger was over and the slaver wouldn't be harming anyone else, Kanan still couldn't help feeling responsible for Hera's injuries. Even now he stood outside the medbay while she slept with the aid of some powerful painkillers, watching over her as if the Zygerrian would rear his ugly head again.
"You're a weird kind of Jedi," Xyla said as she approached.
Kanan glanced at her. "What makes you say that?"
"Well, you actually have emotions. I've met a few before, back when the Republic was the one ignoring the Twi'lek slave trade instead of the Empire. Not bad people, but not exactly the type I could see myself hanging out with." She flashed him an easy-going smile. "But you...you're different."
He let out a low chuckle. "I guess I can take that as a compliment?"
"Just an observation." Xyla looked in at Hera's prone form, contemplative. "You care about her a lot."
He recognized the truth of those words, but having them spoken by someone else made his defenses shoot into place. "She's my friend," he said simply.
Xyla looked at him with a smile that clearly said she didn't believe it was that clear-cut. "Again, just an observation. We'll be back at the Ghost in a few. Might wanna let Chopper know so he can get things set up for her." With that, she walked away, leaving Kanan to stare at her back in confounded silence. She was awfully perceptive for a Clawdite. While he didn't feel the least bit threatened by her or her 'observations', he wasn't exactly comfortable with someone he'd only just met a few days ago being able to see through him so easily.
He shook his head before he could start brooding. Xyla was right: he should let Chopper know they were close.