Hey, once again, never to disappoint, Specter7 here! As I promised, the seventh chapter is here and... voila! It is magnificent:) Read and...

May the Force be with you.

Garazeb Orrelios walked around the mall, a bit lost.

He wasn't quite used to all this... hustle and bustle. Or so many people. You would think, Zeb reflected, that for a county so small, there wouldn't be this many people stuffed into one area.

But, unfortunately, there were.

Zeb wandered around for awhile before spotting one familiar thing in the sea of people. It was his anchor in wave after wave of unfamiliar element.

Coffee.

Zeb walked into the shop eagerly, ducking as he went through the door.

"Hello, sir," a bored teenager said from behind the counter. "Welcome to our humble grounds." he paused as if waiting for Zeb to get the joke. When the big man didn't laugh, the teen continued in a monotonous tone, "Our specials today include hot and iced cappuccinos. Each is a dollar off from their original price. Would you like to try one, sir?"

"Ah, no," Zeb said. "I'll have a large supreme latte deluxe with extra whip cream and a double-shot of caffeine."

The teenager behind the register wrote furiously on a cup and tossed it to another worker. "It's coming right up," the worker said in a bored manner. "That'll be fifteen dollars, sir."

Zeb's eyes bugged out of their sockets. Fifteen dollars for a cup of coffee?! "Are there discounts for military?" Zeb asked.

"Nope."

He wanted to growl at the teen. Instead, he dug his wallet out of his pocket, pulled out a twenty dollar bill, and slapped it on the counter.

"Keep the change," he snarled and grumpily waited in line for his coffee.

A few minutes later, Zeb was slouched in a booth, slowly drinking his latte. After a few sips, he pulled out his wallet again but this time, got out a small, folded up piece of paper. On it was Hera Syndulla Jarrus' name and operating number.

Right before Jim had given him her operating number, he had had given him a warning.

"Don't lose this," Jim had said. "If something happens to that operating number, you won't be able to find her. Now, if you want to get in contact with Hera Syndulla, you have to call wherever she's stationed at and give them that number. In turn, they'll give you her phone number and email address. But you can't lose that operating number..."

Zeb looked down at the little piece of paper. Odd, how something so tiny affected the entire reason he was even in Lothal County. Zeb had just arrived there the day before and was now trying to get familiar with his surroundings.

"Probably should get back to the hotel," he muttered, stroking his fairly long goatee. Maybe then he could call the military base Hera was stationed at and give them the operating number. Zeb did need to get in contact with her and her husband soon.

He sighed, stood up, and stretched. Zeb walked out the coffee shop, latte in hand, and put his wallet back in his front pocket. Suddenly, someone ran in to him.

Plowed into him, more like it.

It was a kid. He was fourteen or fifteen with longish black hair parted down the middle and wore trashy clothes.

"Watch it, kid," Zeb growled, annoyed. Suddenly, Zeb wondered if he had seen the kid somewhere... He looked awfully familiar...

The kid looked up at him with seemingly dazed electric blue eyes. He appeared to pull himself together and managed to say, "Sorry, Mister."

He walked away and Zeb watched him go until he disappeared in the crowd of people. "Kids these days," Zeb muttered, shrugging off the weird déjà vu feeling and continued walking.

Ezra sat on a bench, silently watching people pass by him. He was in the only mall in Lothal County and waiting for his next victim.

Ezra didn't have enough money to pay the mechanic, Sabine, to fix his dirt bike. So, as a result, he would have to steal the money.

Stealing to survive, Ezra thought privately. Will I ever be anything different?

And suddenly, Ezra found the victim he was looking for. There was a big, hulking, giant of a man lumbering through the mall's doors. As soon as he saw how many people there were, he seemed dazed. The man wandered around and without a second thought, Ezra followed him.

Ha, Ezra thought, smiling to himself. The guy's clueless.

It wasn't hard to keep track of the man considering he was a whole head taller than everyone else in the crowd. Ezra tailed the guy as he seemed to walk around aimlessly, when suddenly, the man stopped. Ezra froze, his heart pounding in his chest.

Did he see me? Ezra thought, fighting down panic.

But no, the man suddenly moved forward with purpose, making a beeline to... Huh. A coffee shop.

Ezra gave a lopsided grin and sat at one of the tables just outside the coffee shop. He watched the big man go up to the register and pull out his wallet and take out a twenty. And where there was one twenty dollar bill, there would probably more...

Ezra watched the man out of the corner of his eye and tried to think of a way he could get the wallet. He would have to wait until the man walked outside the coffee shop and then maybe Ezra could possibly, "accidentally" bump into the man.

He looked closer at the big guy, watching him sip his coffee as he sat in a booth. Judging by the way the man was absently staring into space, he had a lot on his plate. He was probably stressed, which meant he would most likely be unfocused and not alert... which just made Ezra's job easier.

The teen examined the man's broad shoulders, hard face, and huge muscles.

Ezra let out a low whistle.

Dude, Ezra thought, that guy is ripped!

His confidence suddenly wavered. Maybe he shouldn't steal from that guy. If the big man caught him... there was no telling what he would do to Ezra!

And then, Ezra saw the man pull out his wallet again. But this time, he had a closer look and... wow, that was a lot of money. In the little pocket of the wallet, Ezra saw at least a hundred dollars, all crammed into into it. Ezra forgot his earlier worrying.

I have to get that money, Ezra thought eagerly. It'll be enough to pay Sabine and maybe I'll even have a little left over for food!

He waited impatiently as the big man finally stood up, putting a small piece of paper back into his wallet, and his wallet into his pocket. Ezra jumped up and ran a ways off, all the while watching as the man walked out of the coffee shop. Ezra started forward, pretending to look to his right and plowed straight into his victim.

Instantly, Ezra's hand darted into the man's pocket and pulled it right back out along with an old, black leathered wallet. Ezra hid the wallet against his pant's leg and looked up. And suddenly, Ezra didn't have to pretend to be oblivious and confused anymore.

The man had a hard face and heavy brows above bright green eyes. He had a military style crew cut and had longish sideburns and a goatee. But as soon as Ezra looked at the man, he was dazed. The big guy looked eerily familiar. Ezra didn't know this man... but he felt like he did.

"Watch it, kid," the man growled in a deep voice as he pushed Ezra away. Ezra's numb fingers were barely holding on to the wallet as he clenched his jaw. How do he know that man?

Ezra pulled himself together and managed to reply shakily, "Sorry, Mister." Then hesitantly turned away, as if nothing had happened. Ezra felt the man's eyes on his back as he slipped into the crowd and gradually made it to the front of the mall.

He stepped outside and pressed his back against brick wall. Ezra closed his eyes tight and swallowed. First Sabine, and now this guy.

"I'm losing it," Ezra muttered. He glanced down at his shaking hand that gripped the wallet. Ezra slowly opened it up and leafed though the bills. Yeah, there was about two hundred dollars in that thing. A good find and a successful steal.

Ezra looked at the man's drivers license.

"So," Ezra murmured. "You're Garazeb Orrelios, huh? That's a mouthful."

Ezra suddenly noticed a small, white piece of paper sticking out in one of the folds. He faintly remembered Orrelios pulling it out and looking at it. Ezra slowly opened it up. On it were numbers someone had scrawled out on one side under the name, 'Hera Syndulla Jarrus.'

"Another mouthful," Ezra muttered to himself. "Who names you people?"

He flipped the paper over and it had simple directions on how to use the number. It was an operating number, apparently. The one military people use. Supposedly, if Ezra called some kind of military base or something, they would give him Hera-What's-Her-Face's contact information.

Ezra looked curiously at the name scratched into the piece of paper. He slowly laid his finger over the last word, 'Jarrus' and stared at the name in front of him. He recognized that name. He recognized those two words.

"'Hera Syndulla,'" Ezra said aloud, his eyes narrowed. "Who are you?"

Zeb got back to his apartment and sat on his bed with a sigh. It had been a busy morning and Zeb was worn out from being around so many people.

He stood up again and dug a hand in his pocket, looking for his wallet. Zeb frowned. That was weird. It... it wasn't in there. Zeb checked his other pocket. Nothing.

Frantic, the man checked his other two pockets and then the bed and then around the floor. But it was in vain.

There was no wallet.

Zeb smashed a fist on the dresser. "No!" he growled.

Without the wallet, there was no operating number. And without the operating number, there was no way to get in contact with Hera. He couldn't go back to Jim and ask for her number again; Jim had just been deported to Vietnam.

Hera was the whole reason Zeb had moved himself and all his possessions seven hundred miles! Hera was the reason he had retired to a small, simple place like Lothal County!

Zeb mentally retraced his steps. He had had the wallet when he left the coffee shop and he didn't take it out the whole ride back to the hotel. Zeb thought hard. Did anyone bump into me? Maybe someone stole-"

His green eyes darted up. That kid. That ratty looking kid with the trashy clothes! That little punk had ran into him and almost made him spill his latte!

He's the one, Zeb thought angrily. He stole my wallet, he had to. I always keep up with my stuff... that kid is the only explanation.

Zeb balled his huge hands into fists. "If I find that kid," he threatened aloud, "I'm gonna end 'em."

Zeb slowly grew somber. He'd track the kid down, for sure... But without the operating number, what would he do?

"Hera Syndulla Jarrus," Zeb said quietly. "Where are you?"

Well, that's all for the time being. But don't worry, I'll have the next chapter up soon. Like the story? Follow/Fav and review!

P.S. I basically already know where I'm going with the story but if any of you have ideas you'd like to see in the next chapters, private message me. Who knows? I just might add it in:)

Specter7 out.