Unexpected Company – Chapter 3
I finally managed to get this chapter done. This will be the last chapter for this story. I originally intended to write four chapters, but I decided to combine the last two. The reason for that is simple, I've lost quite a bit of interest in Rebels. The rumors I've heard about the upcoming season aren't really making me want to see it.
Despite that, I hope you enjoy this chapter.
;-
Ezra sat in the main lounge area of the Ghost. He was working with Sabine at the moment. The two of them were making casings for a series of new bombs that Sabine had in mind. These new bombs would really be helpful against the heavier equipment that the Empire seemed to be using against them more and more often these days.
Zeb was sitting at a different table, inspecting and cleaning his bo-staff. Earlier that day, he had been teasing Ezra a bit, that he was only helping Sabine to try and get on her good side. Fortunately for Ezra, Chopper had run over Zeb's foot at that time, so he ended up chasing the astromech around before Sabine could overhear that.
As Ezra handed Sabine another component of the casing, the two teens shared a worried look. Their worry was directed at the other end of the room, where Kanan and Hera were having another little 'discussion'.
The two of them had been arguing a quite a bit recently, ever since a mission had almost gone wrong and Hera had almost not made it out alive. Ever since that mission, Kanan had been acting somewhat different when it came to Hera and danger.
Both him and Sabine were a bit worried about that. But still, behind their backs, they had joked a bit that the reason for their bickering was just that they liked each other. They had been laughing for quite a while at that.
The door to the lounge opened, drawing the attention of both teens. Their guest, Ahsoka Tano, walked into the room. Ezra noticed that she was walking a bit easier than the day before. He was still amazed by the fact that they had an actual Clone Wars legend on board. Let alone a Jedi that fought Vader and lived to tell the tale, even with such a wound.
He had also been very intrigued by what she had said about the Empire. She was convinced that the Empire would fall one day. Ezra certainly hoped that she was right. It couldn't happen soon enough for him. Right now, however, it seemed unlikely that it would happen anytime soon.
Ahsoka sat down next to Ezra and Sabine and looked at the arguing pair with a smile on her face. Both teens could tell that she was very amused by what she was seeing. They were a bit confused by that, so they looked between her and Kanan and Hera.
The arguing duo noticed the looks and momentarily paused their arguing. It was mostly Hera sending Kanan quite the warning look, but they paused their arguing momentarily. "Is there something wrong?" Hera asked. "Ezra? Sabine? Master Tano?"
Both Ezra and Sabine shook their heads, but Ahsoka gave the duo a teasing smile. "Why don't the two of you just kiss already?" she asked them.
The question shocked everyone in the room. Both Hera and Kanan turned incredibly red, making Ezra and Sabine try to hold in laughter. They failed however, as Zeb dropped his rifle and burst out into laughter.
"W-what?" Kanan replied in shock. "That's not... We are not…" The young Jedi had no idea how to respond to her words. Hera also stood in shocked silence, something that doesn't happen to her often.
"Hmmm?" Ahsoka simply said in a playful voice. "It's obvious that you two care for each other. Care for each other a lot, I might add." She chuckled a bit. "I'm a Jedi too, remember? I can tell what you're both feeling."
Hera and Kanan turned even redder, if possible. In their stunned silence, Ahsoka decided to continue. "There's nothing wrong with that you know," she told them. "Especially now, in these dark times, love can help you stay strong no matter what happens." She looked at Kanan. "I know what the code said about attachments, but if you just give it a chance, you'll see that that belief wasn't the truth. Love is a great part of the Light Side. Allow it to fill you and you'll experience the Force in ways you've never known before."
Both Kanan and Hera remained silent, but Ahsoka could tell that there were a lot of thoughts going through their minds. "They need it, more than they'll ever dare to admit," Ahsoka thought amused.
Next to her, Ezra and Sabine were both laughing. "So, Master," Ezra said. "Should we give the two of you some privacy?" he asked teasingly. Him and Sabine laughed a bit harder as he handed her another component for the casings.
"Maybe buy them some nappies as well?" Sabine added as she moved to take the component from Ezra.
Ahsoka smirked at them. "The two of you should not be talking," she stated with a teasing smile.
Both of them froze instantly. "W-what is that supposed to mean?" Sabine asked startled.
"I think you know exactly what I mean," Ahsoka replied in a teasing tone.
"There is nothing going on between us," Sabine said quickly.
"Uh, yeah, what she said," Ezra added nervously.
"Oh, is that so?" Ahsoka replied in a playful tone. "Then why are the two of you holding hands?"
Ezra and Sabine looked at their hands and went wide-eyed with shock as they realized that they had frozen up right as Sabine was taking the component from Ezra. She instantly withdrew her hand in shock.
A loud clattering was heard at the other side of the room as Zeb fell backwards in roaring laughter. He was having the time of his life right now. At the shocked expressions of the two teens, Kanan and Hera couldn't help but laugh as well.
Ahsoka laughed a bit herself as she looked between the two would-be couples. "There is no reason for you to be embarrassed," she told them. "The comfort of a loved one can be a great source of comfort in these awful times. It's not something to fear." She slowly got up again. "I'm going to make a short call to someone. After that, I'll give you the next set of coordinates, captain Hera."
She walked out the door and left the room. As the door closed, she paused for a moment. With the Force, she could clearly sense the conflicted emotions of the two Jedi and their female friends. That, and the overwhelming amusement of Zeb. "They'll be alright," she said quietly to herself.
;-
Ahsoka looked quietly out of the viewing port of the Ghost, regret filling her as she watched the crew.
What should have been a simple stop to refuel and resupply, had now turned into a fight for survival against a horde of Imperials. It was quite a rare thing, to actually find an Imperial captain with some degree of intelligence. Unfortunately for the crew, they had done just that. He had unmasked them as the Rebel cell and was giving it his all to capture them.
Fortunately, the ship had already been refueled. They could leave the instant their astromech Chopper loaded the last crate of supplies on board.
It was an intense battle. The Imperials were really giving it their all. Ahsoka really wanted to get out of the ship and join in the fight, to help out her new friends, but she knew it was a bad idea. For one, she was still recovering from a nearly fatal wound. Apart from that, she was now believed to be dead by the Empire. If she revealed herself to be alive now, the Empire would be after her instantly. It would be bad for her, but would likely mean the death of her new friends. And so, she regretfully watched as they fought.
Truth be told, she was impressed with them. Hera, Sabine and Zeb had dug themselves in quite well, making optimal use of the cover in the area as they hammered down fire on the troopers. At the same time, Kanan and Ezra stood in the middle, lightsabers ignited and reflecting bolts left and right.
Kanan's form was good, especially for a Padawan that lost their Master in the chaos of Order 66. Ezra was doing okay. He still had a long way to go, but he obviously had potential. If he was patient enough, he could amount to be a great Jedi.
A short moment later, Chopper had loaded the last crate on board. "Everyone! Get on board, now!" Hera called to the crew. "Sabine! Give us some cover!"
"Got it!" the Mandalorian replied as she sank behind her cover. Holstering her blasters, she pulled out a number of explosives, a nice combination of a forceful shockwave and smoke. Smirking underneath her helmet, she threw them at the troopers.
The explosives went off, sending the troopers flying everywhere. At the same time, a blanket of smoke covered the area. They all quickly moved towards the ship. A few stormtroopers still fired randomly into the smoke. As he ran up the ramp, a stray bolt caught Ezra in the leg. He fell down with a grunt of pain.
"Ezra!" Kanan yelled as he went down. Thinking quickly, he used the Force to pull Ezra into the ship. When he was in, Zeb hit the controls and the ramp closed up. "Hera, get us out of here, now!" Kanan called to their pilot.
"On it!" Hera yelled back as she ran into the cockpit. As she entered, she noticed that Ahsoka had already powered up the ship for her. "Thank you," she quickly said as she took her seat.
The Ghost instantly took off. Fortunately for them, the Imperials hadn't expected them to actually be able to take off, so there weren't any Tie fighters waiting for them. Hera made for orbit as Chopper calculated the jump to Hyperspace. The moment they broke orbit and the calculation were complete, Hera flipped the switch and they blasted off into Hyperspace.
With the ship safely in Hyperspace, she activated the autopilot and went back to Kanan and the others, Ahsoka following behind her. "How is Ezra?" Hera asked as they reached them.
"It doesn't look too bad, but we'll need to treat it immediately," Kanan replied.
"Not too bad? I just got shot!" Ezra complained. He winced in pain as Kanan pulled him upwards.
"Well, you can still complain about it, so it can't be that bad," Hera replied as she moved to support him with Kanan. "Zeb, scan the ship in the meantime. Make sure that the Imperials didn't slip a tracking device on board."
"Got it, come on Chopper," Zeb said as Hera and Kanan led Ezra out of the room. He then went the other way, Chopper following behind him while uttering some complaints at the same time.
Ahsoka was left in the room with Sabine. She studied the young Mandalorian a moment. While she was good at keeping a straight face, she could sense her concern for her friend clearly. "Worried about Ezra?" she asked.
Sabine turned around a bit startled. "N-no, of course not," she replied. "He'll be fine, there's nothing to be worried about."
Ahsoka smiled at her. "Mandalorians, always so stubborn," she said as she shook her head.
Sabine looked at her in surprise. "Just what do you know about Mandalorians?" she asked with some interest.
"Quite a bit," Ahsoka replied. "I've been on Mandalore during the Clone Wars. I spend some time there teaching and helped the duchess. It was a great planet. I really got to see the good side of your people. Unfortunately, I also got to see the bad side."
The fact that she had been on Mandalore really surprised Sabine. "What do you mean by that?" she asked curiously.
Ahsoka sighed a bit. "I'm talking about Deathwatch, heard about them?" she replied. Sabine's shocked expression told her enough. "Their leader, Pre Visla, was an insane psychopath. Still, several of the others with him were quite the impressive warriors. While I can't agree with what they stood for, I can respect their skill."
"Well, I guess you do know more about Mandalorians," Sabine replied with a grin.
"I certainly do," Ahsoka said as she walked a bit closer to Sabine. "I can sense that you care for him, even if you are too stubborn to admit it, even to yourself." Sabine blushed a bit. "Ezra cares for you as well, that should be obvious. Don't be afraid to embrace your feelings, you can still be a tough warrior."
Ahsoka couldn't help but smile at the look on Sabine's face. "After I left the Order, embracing my own emotions and the feelings I had for others helped me greatly. It helped me overcome my pain and sadness, helped me to recover from that tragedy," she said. "After that, I found that focusing those feelings enabled me to reach new levels of strength. It has helped me some dark times already and it will continue to do so. It can help all of you as well."
With those words she left the room to rest, leaving Sabine to think about her words.
;-
A long flight later
The Ghost had finished touching down and Kanan and Ezra walked down the ramp. They had just landed on their final destination. It was a barren planet, uninhabited and definitely uninteresting for anyone, including the Empire, to do anything with. The perfect planet from which someone could disappear, Kanan reasoned.
It had certainly been an eventful flight, despite it having been a simple escort mission. With their guest turning out to be a former Jedi as well, one of the most famous of the Order no less, and then all of her words about feelings and attachments. It had make him quite confused and left him with a lot of thoughts, about the whole situation and about Hera.
He had spoken some more with her, about the old Code and the Force. He had been quite surprised by her wisdom. It was obvious to him that she was far stronger and wiser than he had originally thought. It was a bit of a shame that she would not stay with them. He had asked her too, and he knew that the others had as well, but she had told them that she had her own path to follow.
Kanan sighed and shook his head. "At least we didn't run into anymore Imperials during the rest of the flight," he thought with some amusement. Ezra's wound had healed nicely, so they had nothing to worry about.
"This place certainly looks deserted," Ezra commented as he looked around. "Is this really where we were supposed to go?" he asked Kanan.
"I know, it looks like an empty place Ezra," Kanan replied. "But think about it, this planet is the perfect place to disappear. Wouldn't you say?"
"I guess you're right," Ezra said as he shrugged. He looked around again. Shock filled him as he suddenly saw a hooded figure standing a short distance away from them. "Who is that?" he asked in surprise.
Kanan looked in the same direction as well. There was someone observing them from a short distance. The person was a female, that Kanan could tell. She wasn't Human, possibly a Togruta as well. When Hera, Sabine and Zeb walked off the ramp, the unknown observer reached into her robes for something. There was a hint of danger brewing in the Force.
Both Ezra and Zeb started reaching for their weapons as the stranger reached into her robe. Just as the situation was about to get ugly, Ahsoka Tano walked off the ramp and called out something to the unknown person in a language not familiar to Kanan.
As Ahsoka started walking towards the unknown person, Kanan could sense a great deal of relief coming from her. She quickly made her way towards Ahsoka and hugged her tightly. Ahsoka smiled and hugged her back.
Now that she was a bit closer, Kanan could tell that the other girl had red skin and was several years younger than Ahsoka. He figured that this person was the one that Ahsoka had contacted during the flight. They spoke in that same language, which he assumed was Togruti.
A short moment later Ahsoka pulled back from the hug. She turned to the crew with a smile on her face. "Thank you all for seeing me here safely," she told them. "I'm glad to have met all of you when I did."
"I think that we can all say the same," Hera replied. "I would have never expected to meet a Jedi like you. But what is in store for you now?"
"We have our own path to follow," she said as she looked at the younger Togruta. "We will make sure that the knowledge of the Force is passed down to others, so that when the time comes, the Jedi can return to the galaxy."
That surprised everyone. "You're going to train more Jedi?" Kanan asked.
"That's right," the younger Togruta replied. "We have quite the class already. And everyone is eagerly awaiting your return," she told Ahsoka.
"Then we shouldn't keep them waiting, right?" Ahsoka replied. She turned to the crew of the Ghost. "As I told you during the flight, this Empire will fall one day. When that day comes, the Republic will start over and a new Jedi Order will be born. That is when we will return, with all of our students, to help them bring the Force back to the Galaxy." She smiled at them. "When that day comes, I hope to see all of you again, so take care of yourselves until then."
"We will make sure to do so," Kanan replied. "We will continue to fight against the Empire, so we can hopefully bring that day here faster."
"Stay safe, all of you," Ahsoka told them. "And may the Force be with you all." She and the other Togruta gave a small bow. The crew did the same. Then the two Togruta turned around and started walking away.
The crew watch them for a moment before turning back to their own ship. "Come on, everyone. Let's get back to Lothal, there's still a lot for us to do," Hera told them. The others nodded in agreement and they boarded the Ghost once again.
;-
That's the end of this story.
For now, this story is over. Perhaps one day I might make some one shot sequel to this story, but it won't be anytime soon. It will probably depend on what Disney is going to do with Rebels. Personally, I think that they are going to make a ton a wrong decisions. Rebels will die and a lot of people will be angry or upset.
I will be working on a new update for Rebirth of Light next. Lux is still looking out for Ahsoka on Naboo and Anakin is still on Coruscant. How much longer can he handle the Council's actions?
Just to let everyone know, I'm planning three, maybe four more chapters for Rebirth of Light after this. The Hidden Truth will still have two or three chapters. When those two stories are done, I will focus more on Tale of a Togruta and A Mirialan's Story. Those two stories are far from over.
Until next time.