Spark of Rebellion: Imperial Prisoner

Ezra stared at the door. That strange whispering 'voice' had lead him there and he could almost swear it was telling him to go inside. Curiosity burning, Ezra fished around in his bag for his tools and glanced around.

An old, beat up, orange astromech droid rolled by and paused to blink at him. Ezra raised a brow at it and pulled out his last remaining jogan instead.

"This bird ever gonna take off?" he asked it, taking a bite of the fruit.

The droid chattered and left and Ezra turned back to the door, tucking the rest of the fruit away for later. The lock took him barely a second to override and he slipped inside, doors sliding shut behind him.

There was almost nothing in the room, and if it weren't for the double bunk opposite him, he would have thought it an unused storage room.

"If this is someone's room, they travel lighter than I do," he said quietly, frowning as he crossed the room and looked for anything that might have caused the strange feeling that had lead him there; and he didn't doubt there had to be something. He'd long since learned not to ignore the strange feelings or calls he would sometimes get. Heeding them had kept him alive more than once. So, even though listening to that stupid call was what had gotten him into so much trouble today, he wasn't about to start ignoring it now.

As he neared the bunk his eyes were drawn downward. He knelt and ran his hand over a drawer, looking for the release, and started slightly as it slid open. Inside was a strangely marked cube made of glass and a metal that could pass as tarnished gold.

"Might be worth something," he decided, slipping it into one of his hidden pockets. He pulled the drawer open farther and picked up the only other thing inside. It looked vaguely familiar, though he couldn't say how or why, and as he grasped it with both hands a bolt of light shot out of the top. The bright blue light lit up the room and a thrill of excitement and dread shot through him.

"Whoa," he breathed, dragging it through the air. Despite having gained about two feet of extra length it still weighed the same as it had when he'd picked it up, and Ezra brought the beam up close to his face, mesmerized. So much so that he barely registered the door opening behind him.

Kanan stood in the entrance to his room, arms crossed and a hard, disapproving look on his face as he stared at the intruder's back.

"Careful," he warned as the kid turned to face him. "You'll cut your arm off."

Hera, lead by Chopper, came to stand beside him.

"Look," the kid began, tugging at his hat. "I know you're not going to believe me, but it's like this thing wanted me to take it."

"You're right. I don't believe you. Now hand me the lightsaber."

"Lightsaber?" the kid breathed, ignoring Kanan's outstretched hand. "Isn't that the weapon of the Jedi?"

"Give it to me. And get out."

It was hard to see the kid's expression with the room's dim lighting, and impossible to see his eyes under the hat, but Kanan could feel them. They stared straight into his and he had the distinct impression of being weighed and measured. It was a feeling he'd often had when standing before a Grand Mater Jedi and having it come from a kid was unnerving.

The kid lowered the lightsaber, beam disappearing as he did so along with the feeling of being stared down by age old eyes. He walked over; hesitating just a moment before letting go of the lightsaber, and Kanan could almost swear the kid was pouting. Then he was gone, disappearing around a corner.

Letting out a slow breath, Kanan disassembled the two main parts of his lightsaber and hung them on separate hooks on his belt. He leaned against the door frame and crossed his arms as he met Hera's questioning look.

"Now we'll see."

Ezra wandered through the ship and into a room that wasn't locked. Movement to his left made him turn and he saw the girl leaning against a counter, a cup in hand.

"Not too good at following directions, are you?" She asked dryly.

Ezra rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly as he made his way over. "Not so much, You?"

"Never been my specialty."

"Who are you people?" Ezra asked suddenly. "I mean, you're not thieves exactly."

"We're not exactly anything," she answered. "We're a crew, a team, in some ways a family."

The way she said 'family' caused Ezra to look away.

"What happened to your real family?" He asked slowly.

"The Empire," she spat, then looked at him. With a sinking heart Ezra knew what she was going to ask and cursed himself for walking into it. "What happened to yours?"

The door slid open and for the first time, Ezra was happy to see the purple alien.

"Kanan wants us in the common room," Zeb told the girl. He tapped the top of the orange astromech that had rolled in after him. "If he tries anything, sound the alarm. Or shoot him."

Ezra's eyebrows twitched upward in mild surprise, but the old droid merely let loose a rather mocking sound as it looked at Zeb, who glared at it.

"Shush. Just watch him," Zeb replied dismissively as he left, followed by the girl. She paused and glanced back at him.

"Sabine. My name's Sabine."

She left, helmet tucked under her arm, and Ezra was left to stare down the droid. It warbled and clattered at him. Ezra sighed and rolled his eyes. He had only the vaguest idea what it was saying, empty threats and demands he'd heard a thousand times before, and easily tuned it out as he wandered about the room. Unless he missed his guess this was the kitchen or 'galley' he supposed it was called, which meant there had to be at least one. . . He found it, three actually, but the one tucked up next to the cabinets would be an almost direct route to the next room.

He climbed up onto the counter and pulled open the grill to the ventilation shaft.

"Oh, would you shut up?" he snapped at the droid, which had started chattering louder. "They're up to something and you and I both know it has nothing to do with taking me back to Capital City. Since whatever it is, is keeping me here I think I have a right to know what it is."

He climbed into the shaft. A turn and two short drops later he was back in the closet Zeb had thrown him into earlier.

'Hello, old friend,' he thought sarcastically as he pressed his ear to the door.

". . .got a tight window," Kanan's voice informed him. "They've been taken to an unknown slave labor camp. If we don't intercept this ship, we'll never find them. Now, I have a pl –"

Kanan cut off as the door slid open and Chopper zipped out, grumbling and waving his probe like arms.

"I ordered you to keep watch," Zeb shouted.

"What do you mean he's in here?" Hera asked, having understood what the droid was saying. She glanced at Kanan who frowned and cut his eyes to the closet. He strode over and hit the button to open the door. A faded, yellow hat bobbed up and down as the kid sighed.

"For something that doesn't have a mouth," the kid said, peering around Kanan's legs to glare at Chopper. "You talk too much."

Zeb pushed past Kanan with a silent snarl and dragged the kid out of the closet and tossed him to the ground.

"Can we please get rid of him?" he growled, cracking his knuckles as he advanced.

"No, we can't," Sabine answered as she and Kanan placed restraining hands on his shoulders. The kid took the opportunity to scramble to his feet and back away. "The kid knows too much."

"We don't have time to take him home anyway," Hera cut in, pushing past Zeb. "We need to move now. I'll keep an eye on him."

"Ya know, 'him' is standing right here and has a name," Ezra interjected testily, deftly avoiding the hand Hera had been about to place on his shoulder, and tugging his hat more firmly onto his head as he followed after her. "And my name isn't 'kid.'"

Sabine stared after them , lips twitching.

"Please tell me you don't like. . .that!" Zeb said, disgusted. Sabine blinked and threw him an annoyed look.

"Of, course not! It's just. . ." She trailed off with a frown. "He did. . .something. I don't know what, but when I was leaving Tarkintown I saw this Rodian digging in the dirt. When I asked him what he was doing, he said he was 'farming.'"

Kanan and Zeb looked at her, surprised. Everytime they had gone to help the residents of Tarkintown they had only seemed more and more lifeless. Privately, both men had thought it was only a matter of time before they gave up on living.

"Are you sure?" Kanan asked sharply. "There's no farm equipment there."

"That's what he said: 'farming.' But it wasn't like any farming I'd ever seen." She picked up her helmet and tucked it under her arm. "Kept mumbling about a place called Au'tralia?"

Once the ship entered hyperspace and Ezra was able to tear his eyes away from the brilliant tunnel of light, he glanced at the pilot. While she'd been nice enough, nicer than anyone else on the ship, going as far as to ask what his name was, he wasn't comfortable enough to relax. The silence wasn't helping either. Inhaling slowly, he cast about for something to say. Their current destination, which Hera had been kind enough to tell him about, popped into his head.

"You know, this whole mission thing is nuts. I'm not against sticking it to the Empire," Ezra explained as he idly spun himself around in the chair next to the pilot. "But there's no way I'd stick my neck out this far. Who does that?"

"We do," came the prompt reply as Hera pulled the ship out of hyperspace. An Imperial transporter sprung into view and a feeling of unease settled into Ezra's stomach as Hera opened a communication channel.

"Imperial transport 651, this is Starbird coming inbound."

"State your business," a man's voice demanded.

"Bounty," Hera answered. "We captured an additional Wookiee prisoner and have transfer orders to place him with you."

"We have no such orders." A pair of TIE fighter broke away from the transport and circled the Ghost.

"That's fine. We already got paid. . .By Governor Tarkin. If you don't want the over sized Monong, I'll jettison here. Let you explain to your superiors why the Empire has one less slave." Hera's voice had remained cold and clinical throughout the exchange and Ezra shivered slightly as he waited to see what would happen.

"Permission to dock," the man finally replied. "Bay 1."

Hera smirked at Ezra, who grimaced as the feeling of unease doubled. The ship docked and the mission began. It seemed an eternity before Kanan's voice came over the intercom.

"No troopers. Security's soft." His voice faded to static and Hera's hands flew to the controls.

"Spectre-1 come in. Spectre-4? Spectre-5?"

The crackled of static was her only answer.

"Ah, com's down," she sighed, fiddling with the controls. "No, not down – jammed?"

Ezra twitched.

"Something's coming," he muttered, snapping his gaze to the window half a second before a ship appeared.

"That's an Imperial stardestroyer," Hera gasped.

"This whole thing was a setup!" Ezra exclaimed, the uneasy feeling finally making sense.

"It's beginning to look that way," Hera agreed, already prepping the ship for escape.

"Not looks. Is," Ezra corrected. "We need to leave. Now!"

"You need to board the transport and warn them."

"What? Why don't you do it?"

"I need to be ready to take off," Hera explained. "Or none of us stands a chance."

"No. No way." Ezra shook his head frantically. "Why should I risk my life for a bunch of strangers?"

"Because Kanan risked his for you. If all you ever do is fight for your own life, then your life is worth nothing."

Ezra froze and his blood ran cold at the frighteningly familiar words. For a moment he forgot how to breath, then Hera's earlier words registered.

". . .need you Ez –"

"Don't lie to me!"

Hera froze as eyes filled with pain and anger locked onto hers.

"He didn't risk his life for me. He did it to get those nmad blasters! 'Rescuing' me? That was just an unwanted bonus! You can lie to yourself all you want, but don't ever lie to me! . . please." The last word came out as a barely audible plea.

Ezra exhaled slowly and moved his gaze back to the destroyer, and Hera let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

"I'll warn them," he said softly. "For three reason and three reasons only."

He stood up. "For one, however unintentional, you people did help me escape the Imperials. For another. . ."

He paused at the door and turned to offer Hera a small, sad smile. "They're precious to you. Enough precious people have been stolen."

The door opened and Ezra dashed through, leaving behind a surprised and slightly confused pilot.

Hera spun forward, frowning as she pre-calculated the jump to lightspeed.

"Kid's got some intense eyes," she told the empty cabin. "What was the third reason?"

Ezra dashed onto the transport.

"It's a trap! We gotta get out of here. It's a trap!" He yelled, rounding a corner and spotting Kanan and Zeb.

"Karabast!" Zeb swore. "Kid's blowing another op."

"It's not an op," Ezra snapped back, skidding to a stop in front of them. "It's a trap. Hera sent me to warn you. I'd tell you to check but they've jammed the coms, which should have been your first clue, ssabmud!"

The door behind the two men slid open before either could reply, revealing a squad of troopers.

"Run!" Kanan shouted. They dashed past Ezra who paused to fire his slingshot at the door's locking panel. The small ball of energy hit the bomb Kanan had planted just before Ezra arrived causing it to detonate.

"We need to warn Sabine and Chopper," Ezra told them once he'd caught up. "But, like I said, they've jammed the coms which, also like I said, should have told you it was a trap!"

"They'll follow the plan," Kanan replied, ignoring Ezra's other comments. "It'll be fine."

"Yeah, 'cause the plan's gone just great so far," Ezra scoffed, but followed after them anyway.

Stormtroopers rounded the corner in front of them.

"Don't stop," Kanan ordered, drawing his blaster. "Push off now!"

The floor fell away and Ezra floundered as the sudden lack of gravity threw off his balance. A large hand landed on his head and Zeb pushed himself forward and Ezra down out of the line of fire.

"Oi!" Ezra cried as the motion caused his hat to loosen and start to drift away. "Don't touch the hat!"

He tugged it back down and yelped as a shot came close enough to leave a small burn mark on his sleeve. Instinctively he grabbed onto the first secure thing he could reach, which happened to be Zeb's leg.

"Hey!" Zeb cried as Ezra scrambled up his back and latched on. He glanced back and was met with a pair wide, blue eyes. With an internal groan, Zeb turned his attention back to the troopers. Ezra held onto his hat with one hand and clung to his impromptu ride with the other as Zeb smashed his way through the troopers and pulled them around a corner.

"You doing ok, kid?" Kanan called back as he lead the way to the Ghost.

"You kidding?" Ezra answered as Zeb pried him loose. He kicked off the wall after the two men, still firmly holding onto his hat. They had just reached the corridor that lead to the air lock and the Ghost when the gravity came back on. Ezra landed on all fours with a grunt. Zeb hauled him up by his backpack and they took off after Kanan.

A few feet from the door Zeb shoved Ezra aside, his nails catching on Ezra's hat and pulling it off.

"My hat!" Ezra cried, surprise stopping him in his tracks as he ran a hand through his exposed hair. He glared after Zeb and made to charge after him when he was yanked back.

"Let go!" He cried, struggling against the arm holding him in place.

"Kid, get out of the way!" Zeb yelled, trying to get a clear shot.

"I'm. . .trying!" Ezra choked out and drove his elbow into his captor's stomach. The man retaliated by fisting his hand in Ezra's hair and tightening his chokehold. Ezra let out a strangled cry and tugged at the arm wrapped around his neck.

"Sorry, kid!" Zeb ducked behind the airlock door to avoid the trooper's fire. "You did good."

The door slid shut.

"We're out of here!" Hera's voice announced over the intercom and Zeb slumped against the door with a sigh. He shook his hand free of the kid's hat and stared at it. A pair of bright blue eyes filled with hurt and resignation swam in front of him.

"Karabast!" he swore and shoved the hat into his pocket.

"The whole thing was a setup," Kanan declared, dropping into his seat.

"You think Vizago was in on it?" Sabine asked, following Kanan into the cockpit.

"He'd sell his own mother to Jawas for a couple credits," Hera answered dryly. "But we're a source of income for him. Even odds, he didn't know. The kid did all right."

"He did ok," Kanan corrected and looked over at Zeb, who'd just arrived. "Where is he?"

"I, uh, thought he was with you."

"Zeb, what did you do to him?" Sabine asked warily.

"I didn't do anything to him," Zeb answered sharply, before continuing in a quieter mumble. "But that I.S.B. agent grabbed him."

"What?!" the others cried.

"The kid got grabbed, ok?"

"Garazeb Orrelios!" Hera scolded.

"Oh, come on! We were dumping him after the mission anyway. This saves us fuel. They'll go easy on him. He's just a kid." Even as he said it, guilt welled up inside him and the kid's hat burned a hole in his pocket.

Ezra looked up as the door to his cell opened and scowled. It was the man that grabbed him.

"I am Agent Kallus of the Imperial Security Bureau." The man informed him, walking into the cell. "And you are?"

"Jabba the Hutt," Ezra answered sarcastically. "Look, I just met those guys today. I don't know anything."

"You're not here for what you know, 'Jabba.'" Kallus stopped in front him, somehow managing to look both disgusted and indifferent at the same time. "You're here to be used as bait upon our return to Lothal."

"Bait?" Ezra choked out. "You seriously think – Wow. You're about as bright as a binary droid. They're not gonna come for me.

"People don't do that." Ezra finished quietly.

Agent Kallus took a deep breath and loomed over Ezra, eyes scanning the kid's face.

'Young,' he decided. 'Mid-teens at highest, preteen at youngest.'

Normally he was better at guessing a persons' age, but it was always hard with people like this, their lifestyle tended to age them prematurely. The eyes usually told him the most about a person, and right now they were telling him the kid believed every word he'd said. It didn't matter. A plan was a plan, and always better tried and failed, then never tried and opportunity lost.

But still, he never much liked dealing with children, they were just too. . . innocent; the way they could believe something so completely and were so full of hope always made him feel. . .Well the fact that they made him feel anything was enough of a reason to get rid of them.

He glanced away from the kid's face and brushed a bit of non-existed dirt off his shoulder, ignoring the small flinch and confused look, before straightening and walking back out of the cell.

"Search him," he ordered the sentries. "Then secure him here."

The troopers nodded and entered the cell. One grabbed Ezra's bag, throwing it and Ezra, who'd refused to let go, to the floor. The other grabbed Ezra's arm.

"Hey, get off me!" Ezra cried, straining against the vice-like grip. The trooper ignored him as he removed Ezra's energy sling shot. "Let go!"

Still silent, they left with his things, the door slamming behind them.

"You need to go warn them, Ezra," he mimicked in Hera's voice. "What was I thinking?"

He sighed and stood up, his hand brushing against a hidden pocket and he pulled out the object inside.

"And of course," he continued to himself as he sat down and fingered the strange cube. "The only thing I managed to hold onto is this. . .worthless. . .piece of –"

He struggled with it for a few minutes, trying to get it to open. It remained stubbornly the same and with an irritated grunt, Ezra threw it across the room where it hit the wall with a bang and bounced to the floor. He stared at it, then sighed and ran a hand through his hair, missing the comforting weight of his hat. He heaved another sigh as he propped his elbows up on his knees and laced his fingers together.

'Can this day get any worse?' he thought, dropping his head on his hands and closing his eyes.

'Deep breath. Deep breath and let it go.' He chanted, relaxing ever so slightly as a familiar calm settled in him.

"This is Master Obi Wan Kenobi." A voice informed him, and Ezra twitched as the sudden interruption. "I regret to report that both our Jedi order –"

Ezra's head shot up and he gaped at the holographic man hovering in front of him.

"– and the Republic have fallen, with the dark shadow of the Empire rising to take their place. This message is a warning and a reminder to any surviving Jedi: Trust in the Force."

Ezra's head dropped back into his hands as the image finished speaking.

"No, no, no, no. Please, no!" he moaned. "This isn't supposed to happen! Not to me. Please, please don't let this be happening to me."

His plea had no effect on the now silent holocron. Heart hammering in his chest, he stared at it, hands shaking as they tangled in his hair and his breath came in short, sharp gasps. Then it hit, as suddenly and forcefully as if someone had smashed a frying pan upside his head he was thrown into a memory from a time he had long since sworn never to think about.

A young, blue haired, blue eyed boy dressed in rags stood, shoulders hunched and shaking.

"P-please," he coughed, extending a hand.

It would have been a very pitiable sight if it weren't for the fact that the boy's coughs sounded all too fake.

"No, no, no!" A girl cried, shaking her head and heaving a sigh. "How many times do I have to tell you? Cough from your lungs, with your stomach. Not. Your. Throat!"

The boy straightened, scowling, and two pairs of identical blue eyes glared at each other. The two children could easily pass as siblings, though it was difficult to tell with the girl's hair tucked up under a bright yellow hat, and most of the time they acted like the best of brothers and sisters. . .except for moments like this.

"I don't like it," the boy muttered, breaking eye contact. "I hate it. I hate having to trick people, I hate having to steal. I – I just hate it!"

He turned away, body shaking as he tried to suppress his tears. The girl sighed softly, her own scowl fading to a sad, tired look of understanding as she walked over and put an arm around the boy.

"I know you hate it and I hate it too. It isn't right and it isn't fair. None of it is. If it were, well, we wouldn't be here. We wouldn't be on our own." She kept her voice soft as she spoke and slowly the boy stopped shaking.

"But we are. We have to take care of ourselves. We have to survive if we're going to make any of our dreams real. Right now, we're kids. No one's going to give us a job and that doesn't leave a whole lot of options.

"I know you don't like stealing and I know you don't like tricking people. You're just too good a person to like it," she said with a wry smile. He grumbled under his breath, but didn't bother hiding his own smile. "And I'm glad. I hope you never start liking it. I want you to stay this way, forever. But more than that, I want you to live and to do that you have to survive.

"Try to think of it this way," she continued. "If you can convince someone to give it to you of their own free will, then you won't have to steal it later. Besides, it's their choice to help or not."

She ruffled his hair and he scowled half-heartedly. "Ready to go again?"

He sighed and looked at the setting sun. "Yeah."

"Good." She moved a couple of feet away. "Now convince me to help, and remember the number one rule!"

"'The only person who will always be there for me is myself,'" he recited, rolling his eyes. He grinned at her. "And you. We'll always have each other's backs. Right?"

He wasn't quite able to keep the fear and uncertainty out of his voice as he looked at her.

"Always." She promised firmly. "As long as you need me or want me, I'll always be there."

With a gasp Ezra jerked back to the present and looked around frantically. He was still in a cell, aboard a stardestoyer, lightyears from Lothal, and. . . completely alone.

Or was he? Heart still beating wildly, he reviewed the memory.

"You're right," he whispered. "This isn't the time to be panicking or feeling sorry for myself. I need to figure a way out of this mess."

He stood and inspected the cell. No air ducts, sewers, or other crawl spaces here. The only thing there was the holocron glinting faintly on the floor. He picked it up. Light bounced off the glass, lighting it up and reminding him a lot of a certain pair of mischievous eyes.

"And I think I have the perfect plan." He smirked and tucked the holocron away, thinking back to the coughing lesson.

"No. No. No. No way! You cannot be serious!"

"It's our fault he was there," Hera shot back, frowning at Zeb.

"Come on, Hera!" Zeb argued, pacing the cockpit. "We just met this kid. We're not going back for him!"

"They'll be waiting for us," Sabine added quietly. "We can't save him."

Zeb nodded, glad to have someone on his side, and leaned against the door frame, glaring at nothing and trying not to think about the object in his pocket. Chopper shook a probe at him and Sabine and grumbled as he moved to stand next to Hera.

"What?" Zeb asked uneasily. "What did he say?"

"He voted with me," Hera smirked. "That's two against two. Kanan, you have the deciding vote."

Kanan looked at her for a moment and glanced away. She would never say it, but her eyes begged him to side with her, to save the kid. He felt torn. Logically, Zeb and Sabine were right; going back was foolish, suicidal even, especially for a kid that didn't know anything and would probably be released after a short stay. . .probably.

He forcefully silenced the voice that whispered that the Empire would never treat anyone fairly, kid or not, and hadn't he seen enough to know that?

He exhaled slowly. The memory of the kid's eyes staring him up and down flashed through his mind and with it the familiar feeling of that. He groaned internally.

". . .and you bucket heads are gonna be sorry when my uncle, the Emperor, finds out your keeping me here against my will!" Ezra shouted at the door as he had been for, what he guessed to be, the past thirty minutes. He swallowed and grimaced at the scratchy feel of his throat, but ignored it. It would only make the next part more believable.

"I guarantee he'll make a personal –" he coughed. "– example –"

He let loose a stream of haggard, gasping coughs as he tucked himself under the stairs.

'Three, two. .'

Right on cue the door slid opened and two troopers hurried inside, rushing right past him and into the cell. Ezra dashed up the stairs.

"Bye, guys." He called down to them, mock saluting with one hand and hitting the locking panel with the other.

"Alright," he whispered. "If you're still here, show me where to go."

His eyes slid to the right and he could almost feel that person pulling him along.

"Got it."

He followed the feeling into a supply room and over to a stack of crates. Sitting on top of one were his things. He hastily packed up the items and slipped on his pack, remounting his sling as he looked around. A row of trooper helmets caught his eye and he grinned. If they were going to take his things, it was only fair he return the favor.

He grabbed one and dropped it on his head. Almost immediately static filled his ears and he rolled his eyes.

'Honestly,' he thought, looking around the room. 'What kind of idiot leaves their transmitter on? Stormtroopers have to be the laziest people in the galaxy or the dumbest.'

He spotted a ventilation grill and a few seconds later he was crawling along the destroyer's inner workings.

'I've spent more time crawling through air ducts in space than I have on solid ground. Oh the irony of –' His inner cynic was silenced as a man's voice came over the helmet's built-in com.

"The delay was insignificant. The transport Agent Kallus diverted will dock on Kessel within two hours. The Wookiees will be off-loaded to work spice mine K-77."

'Wookiees?' Ezra's mind raced as he crawled along. Could the man be talking about the same Wookiees those people had been trying to rescue? If so –

"This is stormtrooper LS – 005 reporting to Agent Kallus," a second voice informed him.

"Kallus here."

"Sir, t-the prisoner's gone."

"Tihs!" Ezra hissed. "I was hoping it would take them longer. . .Oh, well."

He sighed and increased his speed, attention split between moving as silently as possible and listening in on the conversation.

"How did they get aboard?" Kallus's voice demanded.

"Sir, the rebels didn't free him. He, uh –"

"Agent Kallus," a fourth person interrupted. "There's a security breach in the lower hanger. I don't know how, but the rebel ship –" Ezra inhaled sharply. "– approached without alerting our sensors."

"They came back? I –I don't believe it" The intercom crackled and with a start Ezra realized he'd stopped moving. Giving his head a quick shake, he started forward.

"Order all troopers to converge on the lower hanger," Kallus ordered. "I'll meet them there."

'Not if I can help it. That's my ticket outta here!' He paused again and cleared his throat.

"This is stormtrooper LS – 123 reporting intruders in the upper hanger," Ezra announced in a deeper than normal voice. "Sir, I believe the lower hanger is a diversion."

"Maybe, maybe not." Kallus replied and Ezra's heart skipped a beat. "Squads 5 – 8, divert to upper hanger. The rest converge as ordered."

Ezra turned the transmitter back to one-way with a sigh of relief. "Well, every little bit helps."

Barely a minute later he was looking through a grill into the lower hanger as a familiar ship landed.

"Looks like the cavalry has arrived," he said, voice torn between sarcasm and relief.

He quickly crawled back to an unsealed grill and dropped to the floor. The air lock that opened into the hanger was shut, but it only took him a minute to override the lock and open the door. Almost immediately three figures rushed by and he blinked in surprise.

"Hold this bay till we get back," Kanan ordered, glancing over his shoulder at Zeb.

"And this time," Sabine added. "Try not to leave until everyone's back aboard."

"That was not my fault!"

"Well that's debatable," came a sarcastic voice behind them and all three whipped around, weapons raised. There was a brief pause as they processed the sight in front of them: the kid they'd come to rescue was leaning against the door frame, a trooper helmet on his head, and radiating equal amounts of amusement and irritation.

Zeb recovered first, reacting almost immediately at the sight of Imperial armor, he rushed forward swinging his fist. The kid yelped and twisted out of the way of the oncoming attack.

"Tah ssa etelpmoc uoy!" the kid snarled, raising the helmet enough for them to see his very angry face. "First you ditch me, then you hit me?!"

"How was I supposed to know it was you?" Zeb shot back. "You were wearing a bucket!"

Ezra's eyes flashed, but the sound of running feet distracted him.

"Tch! We don't have time for this." He snapped. "Unless you want to face about four squads of troopers?"

He edged around Zeb and Kanan nodded. "Spectre -1 to Ghost, we're leaving."

Half-way back to the ship the troopers arrived and opened fire.

"Timmad!" Ezra swore and dove out of the way of a shot that would have left himan arm short. The move knocked the helmet off his head and he threw it back at his attackers as he jumped back to his feet. Sabine was ahead of him, firing at the troopers as she ran and he followed. She sprinted for the ship and up the ramp, disappearing in the direction of the nose gun. Ezra followed up till the ramp where he stopped to prime his sling for a shot.

"Oh, no!" Zeb growled, grabbing a fistful of Ezra's jacket. "This time you board first!"

Ezra's eyes widened as he bodily lifted off the deck and all but thrown into the ship.

"Ghost,raise the ramp," Kanan called, still firing at the troopers.

Ezra stumbled as the ship lurched into motion and braced himself against the wall as a resounding bang rocked the ship. Grumbling under his breath, he made his way toward the only crew member that seemed willing to tolerate his presence.