A small note:

For those who had reviewed my story, I thank you very much. It's encouraging to know you like this. My writing is scratchy right now, but I am trying to improve in writing. I will try my best to update as soon as possible, but school might get in the way. Now I hope you enjoy Chapter 1.

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars Rebels or any of its characters. That goes to Lucasfilm/Disney. There might be an OC in here, but that is pretty much it.

It felt good to finally be free of the Imperial Academy. Those long, restless days training to be a Stormtrooper had barely been any fun. It had been day after day going through rigorous training and being watched by his two 'supervisors', Commandant Aresko and Taskmaster Grint. Not only that, he had to compete with other cadets, especially one named Oleg, a cadet he didn't like.

If it hadn't been for Jai Kell, a friend he made at there, he wasn't sure how he could survive without getting interesting.

Sitting there in the hovering vehicle with his friends from both the crew and the academy, Ezra Bridger smiled as the wind brushed his hair across his face. He was leaning back in the seat, with Jai next to him, staring out at the window as they drove through the city. He was taking in the scenes of the city, wanting to see a different sight from the dull gray halls and endless troopers of the academy. With the very little time he had before they got to The Ghost, he wanted to have some time to relax after a difficult, restless mission.

The mission to infiltrate the Imperial Academy here on Lothal had been a success, or at least their part had been. After spending several weeks in the academy as an undercover cadet, he managed to obtain the data disk and give it to his friends, who later passed it on to the others waiting at the ship. The mission would've been over sooner if he hadn't heard the news about The Inquisitor coming to the academy to test two cadets. With the help of his friends, and another cadet, Zare Leonis, who chose two remain behind, they managed to escape the academy before that Pau'an could get his hands on him and Jai.

Now all they had to worry about now was getting Jai Kell and his mother off Lothal so they could go into hiding. He felt bad for bringing Jai into this, but he had no choice. If this was the way to keep his new friend safe, he would do just that.

Finally coming to his senses, Ezra turned to see Jai was upset. Frowning, he touched boy's shoulder, startling him. "Is everything okay, Jai?" he asked quietly. Through the Force, he could emotions coming from him, emotions he couldn't tell yet. If there was anything he could do to calm his friend's worries, he'd want to do that.

Jai looked at him, his brown eyes flashing with confusion. "I'm fine." He could hear the lie in his tone. "I'm just ready to get out of here."

"Are you sure?" He knew Jai better than anyone at the Academy. Even without the Force, he could see the worry and doubt all over his friend's face. "You don't look alright to me…"

He was surprised his other friends hadn't caught on to their argument. From the corner of his eye, he could see Zeb driving and Sabine, who was still wearing her helmet, pointing out directions. Chopper, who was sitting next to Jai, was grunting, possibly disagreeing with the girl. There was no doubt they were busy trying to leave the city; besides, this was something only he and Jai had to talk about.

Jai sat up, sighing. His eyes lit up, realizing Jai might say something.

"I guess I am just not sure how I will be able to explain this to my mother," Jai explained. This time, he only sounded doubtful. "All my life, I wanted to make her proud by becoming a Stormtrooper." He turned to him, his brown hair covering his right eye. "Now that I can't do that because that Inquisitor, I am worried about what to tell her."

Ezra felt a twinge of guilt. He understood how it felt to make someone proud. Before his parents had been taken by the Empire almost eight years ago, he wanted to make his parents proud. Now that he was with the crew, his new family, he wanted to live up to their example, make them proud even though he didn't know their fate. This was something he was still trying to do, even if he did not know whether they were alive or not.

And now that he was listening to his friend, he realized that Jai was in a slightly similar situation.

"What will I tell her when we get there?" Jai went on. "Can I tell her 'Mom, we need to get out of here'?" He leaned back in his seat, folding his arms. "She is not an easy person to persuade…"

He smiled as he put his hand on Jai's shoulder. "Do not worry about it," he said reassuringly. If there was anything he knew how to do, it was to cheer up a friend. "We'll know what to say. We aren't rebels if we don't help out others for the best."

Jai said nothing. He could sense his friend's worries lessen a bit and that satisfied him. Leaning back in his seat, Ezra decided to enjoy the rest of the ride in peace.

Watching what was going on around him, he realized they had finally come to the outskirts of Capital City. There were very few people here, buildings were smaller here and it was quiet; not even Sabine and Zeb were talking. Up ahead he could see the long bridge that led into the grassy plains of Lothal. And just behind him, he could hear the howling sound of two TIEs flying at-

Two TIEs were following them?

Looking back, he could see two TIEs rapidly flying above the buildings in their direction. Below them, there were at least ten Stormtroopers riding on Speeders riding towards them as well. He couldn't tell how far they were, but at the pace they were driving, it would only be a matter of time before they caught up. If they did not faster right now, they might have to fight their way.

"Specter 4, step on it," Sabine said to Zeb. With her helmet on, her voice sounded slightly deeper, yet it still sounded pleasant. "We have Bucketheads inbound and TIEs coming our way."

"I'm on it," Zeb replied back. Looking at Zeb, he could see the Lasat grinning. "Those Bucketheads will not reach us."

Buckethead was a term used by many people in the galaxy to describe the Stormtroopers of the Empire, or others wearing similar armor. Known to be enforcers, Stormtroopers wore helmets that looked like buckets for some strange reason. He wasn't sure how the term came to be, but it was always amusing to describe them.

As Zeb pushed his foot down on the pedal, Ezra was forced back against the dashboard. Falling in his seat, he griped the side. The vehicle was in full speed now, racing across the grassy plains. Loth cats were suddenly alerted to the sound and scattered out of the path. He turned to see Sabine firing back at the Stormtroopers.

"What do we do?" Ezra wasn't sure what to do, but he wanted to be useful.

"Just stay down," Sabine replied sharply. She aimed a few times, managing to take down one speeder. Fires were returned back and she ducked. "Whatever you do, you two need to be safe. Let us handle us."

Both the boys groaned, but understood and looked forward.

Ezra wasn't sure how to feel about this. Being chased wasn't exactly new to them, they did it all the time, but this time it felt different. He wasn't trained well in the force, but it felt as if it was trying to tell him something. It felt as if it was telling him that something cold was coming and it could possibly be the end of them.

But he couldn't worry about that now. He had to focus on staying safe and getting away from this chase.

Thank you so much for reading this. I hope you enjoyed it and please review.