Breaking Ranks: Complications

After the late night conversation it was harder than it should have been to become 'Dev' again. Everything felt. . .wrong; the clothes were too tight, the helmet was suffocating, and even the air tasted sour.

'I can't – I can't do this anymore,' Ezra realized. 'Now that I know it's almost over, all I can think about is leaving.'

Ezra's hands tightened on the blaster he'd been given, his stomach rolling uncomfortably as the floor once again lowered the cadets into the Well.

"Today's assessment will be a little more challenging," Aresko informed them from above. "You will need to shoot the targets to activate the panels necessary to climb out."

"Three," Grint shouted and Ezra readied his blaster. "Two, one!"

The sound of blaster fire filled the Well and Ezra raced through the beams of red light, firing and climbing as he went. He was half way up when Jai leapt onto the platform he was riding, stumbling slightly. Ezra steadied him and glanced around for Zare, spotting him about 10 feet below.

"I'm not gonna make it!" Zare shouted up to him.

Ezra cursed under his breath as he assessed the situation. Currently, he and Jai were slated for first and second place, with Olge right behind him. Ezra glanced at Jai. The easiest solution would be to push Jai off, buying Zare the time he needed to come in third, but. . .

"The last thing you want to do is give someone a reason not to trust you. Trust, even a little, is a hard thing to get. Don't kcuf it up, especially for something stupid! If ya gotta stab someone in the back, might as well do it to someone who already hates ya."

Ezra raised his blaster; that person might not have known how to read or write or count, but they had rarely been wrong about people. Ezra fired a couple shots, causing Oleg and a couple other boys for good measure, to fall and giving Zare the chance to catch up to him and Jai.

"Morgan, Kell, and Leonis again. How," Aresko eyed the three boys coldly. "Interesting."

Ezra swallowed nervously, relieved when Aresko turned to address the other boys.

"Cadets, follow Morgan's example. The only thing that matters is victory. Victory at any cost," Aresko told them icily. "Tomorrow's final trial will push all of you to your limits. The reward for success will be a training session aboard an Imperial walked."

"Why'd you help Leonis?" Jai asked quietly as they once more followed Aresko into the Imperial headquarters.

"Would you have rather Oleg come with us?" Ezra whispered back.

"Well," Jai grimaced. "No. But!"

"I like him," Ezra said with a shrug, catching Zare's eye.

Zare rolled his eyes, but nodded his thanks.

"'Sides," Ezra continued, slinging an arm around Jai's shoulders. "I would have done the same for you."

Jai shoved him off with a laugh.

Ezra and Zare kept an eye on Kallus's office as they ran their rounds, occasionally passing each other to verify that no, Kallus was still in his office, but no chance to talk as they ran errands and delivered messages. It was getting late in the day before they had a chance to meet up.

"He's still in there," Zare muttered, annoyed.

"Then I guess we'll just have to get him out." Ezra drummed his fingers on his arm thinking. "Ok. How good's your acting?"

"I take it you have a plan?"

"Most of one," Ezra answered, still thinking.

"I really don't want to get shot," Zare said voice calm, but the way he was clenching and unclenching his fists showed how nervous he was.

"Relax. The only thing you need to do is keep Kallus busy for about two minutes," Ezra explained. "You can hold a conversation, right?"

"And what," Zare crossed his arms. "Am I supposed to talk to him about?"

The door across from Kallus's opened and a woman walked out, leaving the room empty.

"Use your imagination," Ezra whispered, striding past Zare and into the recently emptied room.

"Gee, thanks. That helps so much," Zare muttered sarcastically, following Ezra into the room and double checking the room was free of sensors.

"You're welcome," Ezra replied as climbed onto the desk.

"How are you going to reach anything from up there?" Zare asked, pulling a face as he eyed the vent. He did not envy Morgan's part if it involved go back into a filthy, smelly vent.

"I have my ways," Ezra grunted, voice muffling as he pulling himself up. "Just keep your eyes on Kallus and don't react to anything you see, 'k?"

'What does that mean?' Zare frowned at the ceiling. "Ah, sure?"

Ezra crawled his way over to Kallus's office and slowly lifted the hatch. Below him Kallus's head bobbed as the man worked. A chime sounded and Kallus glanced at the door.

"Come."

Ezra couldn't see it from where he was at but he could hear the door open.

"Sir, your pod racer parts have been delivered," Zare's voice announced. "If you'll sign here I'll bring them up."

'Pod racers parts? Really?' Ezra hung his head. While he was admittedly impressed with Zare's calm, everyday tone, the choice in topic left a lot to be desired. But it did get Kallus up and away from his desk.

Ezra took a deep breath, reaching out for the Force. It came easily, as if it had been waiting for him and Ezra filled his mind with the need to get the decoder. The Force responded, extending like a long, flexible wire and gently pulling the decoder out into the open. Ezra curled his fingers, coaxing the decoder closer, and it bobbed its way toward him in a lazy sort of way.

'I really need to practice moving things faster,' Ezra sighed, as he snatched the decoder out of the air and shut the hatch. Ezra slipped the decoder into his boot and let go of the Force, taking a moment to adjust to the sudden loss.

Though no longer directly connected to the Force, Ezra was still acutely aware of it, which is why what should have been a whisper to stop and listen came across as a panic inducing shout.

Ezra froze, heart racing as he strained his ears for a sign he'd been caught. Instead of pursuers he heard Aresko's muffled voice coming from below. Pulling off his helmet, Ezra pressed an ear to against the hatch below him.

". . .assessments have proven quite illuminating. I believe we've identified two cadets, Morgan and Kell, that meet your 'special' criteria, Inquisitor."

'Inquisitor?!'

"Excellent, Commandant." The smooth drawl sent chills down Ezra's spine. "Tomorrow, I will arrive on Lothal to test them myself. If the tests are conclusive, I will take them into custody."

'The lleh you will!' Ezra thought, jamming his helmet back on and fleeing as fast as he could. He needed to find Chopper and fast, and then he needed to talk to Jai.

Things just got a lot more complicated.

Unable to talk tell Zare what happened or talk to Jai and with the threat of the Inquisitor hanging over his head, Ezra was tense and fidgety throughout the rest of the day. It was late again when Ezra finally had a chance to give Zare a hurried explanation.

"Get Kell. I'll meet you in the storage room," Zare said and jumped off his bunk, frowning fiercely.

Ezra shook Jai awake.

"Wh–Dev? Mmp?!"

"Shh!" Ezra hissed, hastily clamping a hand over Jai's mouth. "Stay quiet and follow me. Please."

Jai looked at him, confused and curious, but followed Ezra to the storage room.

One long explanation and half a dozen questions from Zare and Jai later, and Ezra was beginning to wish he'd decided to just trick the two into leaving with him.

"Look, you need to leave with us tomorrow, ok?"

Jai hesitated, chewing a corner of his lip as he thought.

"No," he said slowly, shaking his head. "No, I'm sorry. I can't just walk away from everything like this. Look, Dev, I trust you and all, but–"

"Kell, you got a family?" Zare asked before Ezra's patience finally snapped.

"Uh," Jai stuttered, thrown by the unexpected question. "It's just me and my mother."

"And how would she feel if she never saw you again?" Zare pushed himself off the wall and stalked over to Jai. "My sister disappeared from this place, and I'm betting it was the Inquisitor that took her away. So unless you want to say bye to Mom forever. . ."

"Ok," Jai whispered hoarsely. "I'll come. What's the plan?"

"Simple," Ezra said, relieved at Jai's answer. "The three of us have to win tomorrow's challenge."

"Not so simple," Zare corrected flatly.

"How's that gonna get us out of here?"

"Because it gets us inside that walker," Ezra explained. "Now, here's the plan."

The three boys put their heads together, ironing out the final details.

Zeb glared at the large building looming over them, ears twitched at every little sound. Across from him Sabine sighed, fingers twitching impatiently.

"Finally," Zeb muttered as the distinctive clanking and whirring noise that was Chopper reached his ears. A few minutes later Chopper rolled around the corner. "Did you get the divice?"

Chopper grumbled softly and spat out the decoder.

"Good. Where's Ezra?" Zeb asked, looking around for the runt. Chopper grunted a reply.

"What?" Sabine exclaimed. "What do you mean he went back to the Academy?"

Zeb groaned, frustration and worry gnawing at him. 'What could possibly drive the kid back to Academy?'

His answer came in the form of a mini, holographic Ezra.

"Guys, I know you're expecting me, but I have to stay at the Academy." The explanation came in a hurried whisper, with holographic Ezra spending more time looking around than at the camera. "It's Jai Kell, a fellow cadet, he'll get scooped up by the Inquisitor if I don't help him."

"Wait. The Inquisitor?" Zeb repeated, frowning. 'Pale face, bald, lightsaber wielding? That Inquisitor?' "Is Ezra out of his–"

"You probably think I've lost my mind." Holo-Ezra sniffed, nose crinkling in annoyance, before giving them a lazy smile. "If I have, well, clearly I've spent way too long with you 'heroes.' Anyway, get to decoding, and if you're not too busy, attack the Academy tomorrow at noon. I could use the diversion. Spectre-6 out."

"Karabast," Zeb swore, scratching the back of his head.

"Kanan's gonna love this," Sabine agreed. "Play you, loser has to tell him?"

"Done."

Author's Notes:

Again, the changes should be pretty straight forward. I personally thought Ezra pushing Jai off was not only stupid, but a d*** move. He had a gun, why didn't he just shoot the competition? Ok, drama I get it, still stupid.

Zare's pod racer excuse was either brilliant or stupid, jury's still out on that one which is why I left it in but made a few comments about it.

The rest is pretty much the same, and I tried to lighten the mood a bit with Zeb and Sabine, who I imagine are bored out of their minds at this point.