Ch 8

The next mission for the Ghost crew was to rescue Hera who had been captured by Thrawn using Loth-bat gliders.

Kanan saw Hera being guarded by two stormtroopers and an interrorgator droid.

He sliced the floor, making one of the troopers fall to his death.

"This is LS-261, we're under attack!" the second trooper barely finished his sentence before he was thrown out the window by Kanan's Force push.

Kanan then stabbed the interrogator droid and threw it down the hole in the floor before they flew out with their glider.

Two stormtroopers on speeder bikes zoomed after Kanan and Hera but the Ghost flew to their rescue and blasted the bikes and their troopers into smoking smithereens.

Suddenly, an AT-AT walker fired blaster bolts and pierced the glider, forcing them into a crash landing but finally reached the central fuel pod.

"Kanan, I know what to say now." Hera said. "I love you."

"Must be the truth serum talking." Kanan replied, a little suspicious.

"No, it's me." Hera said. "All me."

In that moment, Kanan knew that it was the real Hera.

The Code no longer mattered.

Because now, she really did love him.

Hera and Kanan kissed with bravery, comfort, defiance, and a fierce passion as they held each other in their arms.

The bond that was destined to happen finally did.

And nothing could break it.

Kanan and Hera would stay together until the end of time.

Meanwhile, Ezra and Sabine were fighting with the Third Brother and a new red-gold dark side assassin known as the Emperor's Hand.

Ezra blocked all of their strikes, then focused on driving back the Third Brother with his own slashes.

Sabine also helped out with her twin blasters as the dark siders were forced into retreat.

Then Ezra Force pushed the Third Brother into the fuel tower, knocking him out as Ezra used Force speed to quickly disarm Mara Jade, cutting her saber into two sparking halves.

"You don't have to do this." Ezra said. "You can walk away."

"No, the Empire strengthens me." Mara Jade replied.

Suddenly, as the Ghost flew in, an AT-AT walker approached and Governor Pryxe ordered the pilot to fire on the tower, causing it to blow up in a fiery shockwave that was about to kill Ezra, Sabine, and Mara Jade.

Kanan ran towards the ramassing inferno and used the Force to stop the flames.

The blazing fire looked as if it was frozen in time as it crackled with intense energy and heat.

Hera ran towards Kanan but he didn't want her to kill herself by trying to save him.

Kanan froze her with the Force, then Force pushed Hera onto the Ghost with the others.

"Kanan!" Hera shouted in sadness and desperation.

Kanan's eyes could suddenly see again and he took in the sight of Hera one last time.

Then the flames consumed Kanan and he was one with the Force as the Ghost flew away.

"Who was he?" Mara asked as she looked at Ezra, his head bowed in sorrow.

"He was a good mentor." Ezra said. "And a friend."

"I'm sorry." Mara said softly.

Then she hugged Ezra who was a little surprised but he eventually hugged Mara back.

Everyone had lost one of their friends.

But Kanan would never be forgotten.

The heroes would mourn him together and he would always stay in their hearts.