Chapter 11: Vision of hope
The last three months had never been dull. The Ghost group kept raiding the Empire in the entire Lothal sector, attacks where Ezra and Jaral played an important role as the main fighters. By now, the bounty on their head had skyrocketed, particularly after they alone raided a small outpost full of TIE fighters landed on the surface, but it was still guarded by 50 men, regulars and stormtroopers. The siblings had destroyed 20 fighters that day, killing 7 guards and injuring 30 during their fiery escape. In all of this, their shields were taken down a few times, but they managed to get back with only some scratches on their body.
Ezra had insisted on intensify the training with the lightsaber. By now he was able to keep up with Kanan in sparring matches, where they both set their sabers at the lowest energy so that they wouldn't risk losing limbs, but it could still leave a light burn.
Jaral had in turn increased her proficiency at the commands of the Phantom. Now she had fully mastered it and Hera had even started training her into piloting the Ghost itself. So far the girl had only piloted during simple trips, those that didn't include fights.
She would've never forget the first time she brought the ship into hyperspace, in a voyage from Lothal to Garel.
What had also been growing was the relationship between Ezra and Sabine. At this point, even Zeb had noticed that the two were having a soft spot for each other and was helping Jaral in the easy task of messing with them.
Nonetheless, the two teens had come to a mutual respect and they indeed discovered an affinity. The two would increasingly train and hang out together, just the two of them. Ezra was rapidly learning all forms of fighting, to the point that Sabine was only winning their competitions in hand-to-hand or marksmanship to a small degree.
Ezra was also growing physically. Now he was as tall as Sabine and thanks to having regular meals and constant exercise, his muscles had become defined. They didn't make him strapping, but his orange attire, which in the beginning was actually a size bigger than him, now fit him perfectly.
Good thing the armor was adaptive by nature.
The physical maturity certainly didn't help Sabine, as she found herself glance at him for entire seconds, especially during the morning workout, when the siblings tended to wear only a shirt and their military pants, before going on to make exercises with the armor on. On the other hand, Ezra was doing the same with her from time to time.
Still, none of the two seemed capable of taking the relationship forward. Both of them had made multiple banters, to the point that Jaral couldn't resist but facepalm when she noticed.
Now it was an afternoon. Ezra had asked Kanan to organize a lesson about deflection, the ability to send back blaster bolts with the lightsaber.
Two days before, during a mission, Ezra, Jaral and Zeb found themselves cornered by a platoon of stormtroopers while Chopper was hacking a blast door that would allow them to retreat safely.
The firefight was intense, to the point that Ezra's repeater overheated and he had to put it back on the magnetic seals on the back of his armor and use the lightsaber. Ezra didn't have the pretense to deflect the bolts back at the troopers, but at least he would draw some fire away from his companions. Something went wrong, however, and one of the bolts Ezra deflected had bounced in the wrong direction, hitting the side of the barricade where Jaral was taking cover and almost hitting her.
In the end, they all got away safely and without a scratch, but needless to say, Ezra had spiraled down into guilt and paranoia after the mission. Jaral tried to tell him in every way that it was an accident and that he didn't hit her in the end, but Ezra wouldn't accept any excuse, especially not a ridiculous one like that.
He had to learn as quickly as possible. He would never allow an episode like that to repeat itself, he would never, ever again risk to harm his sister or his friends by accident.
And so, there they were. Kanan had positioned a stolen stormtrooper helmet at the top of a small rock and Ezra, with his armor on, was supposed to deflect the stunning bolts shot at him from different directions against it.
Disposed in a semi-circle, shooting at him were Sabine, Jaral, Zeb and even Chopper with his arc-welder.
"You got the blocking part pretty good already." Kanan told Ezra after a minute from the start of the exercise. "But you shouldn't send them back randomly. You still have to take out the target."
Ezra didn't answer, instead, he took the position of one of the forms he had been taught, then he swung the sword in a horizontal movement in front of his stern and sending the next bolt directed at him against the helmet. Everyone stopped firing and looked at him with approval.
"I stand corrected." Kanan commented amused. "Though you won't always have the time to strike a fancy pose."
To deflect that bolt, Ezra made a movement that brought him to have the legs partially bent, the upper body bent forward as well, the lightsaber high in his right hand and the left hand was on the polar opposite to keep balance.
The boy simply straightened up and cracked his neck.
"No, I won't. Let's do this again." and took the ready position again.
The others started firing again. Ezra blocked or dodged until he managed to deflect a bolt against the helmet once again in under 30 seconds.
"Let's go again." Ezra said immediately, while Kanan brought back the helmet on the rock using telekinesis. "This time, don't stop until I tell you. Or I get stunned." he said with a stern voice.
Everybody looked at each other for a second, impressed at the eagerness of the Padawan, then they pointed the weapons again and started firing, trying to increase the fire ratio to give Ezra a harder challenge.
The boy initially struggled as always, but then he started to deflect every single bolt back at the helmet, even hitting it when it rolled away from the impact of the previous bolts.
It was going all well, until Jaral felt in their bond that Ezra consciousness was fading. The boy started to wobble even though he was still deflecting bolts.
"Stop! Cease fire!" Jaral commanded loudly, and everyone complied, although surprised.
A couple of seconds later, Ezra fell to the ground, face pointed at the sky.
Jaral sprinted immediately to see what was happening, followed by everyone else. But when she removed her helmet and touched his shoulder, everything became white.
...
Stormtroopers pointing guns.
"You want me to go down there?"
…
Jaral gasped in surprise and fell on her bottom, letting Ezra go. Everyone else was stunned for a second.
"Jaral, what happened?" Kanan asked while he crouched next to Ezra's head.
The girl was reached out by Sabine with an arm.
"I...saw something." Jaral said while massaging her head.
Kanan looked at Jaral, quizzed. Then looked back at Ezra, then a realization came to his mind.
"Amazing…" he murmured.
Jaral regained composure.
"Mind to explain?" she asked.
"Ezra is experiencing a vision right now. However, your bond with him seems to allow you to know what he's seeing."
Jaral took a moment to process the information.
"And is that good?"
"I don't know." Kanan lightly shook his head. "You remember what you saw?"
"Uhm...I saw stormtroopers pointing guns at me, which isn't anything new…" the others chuckled. "And then...there was a man...I think it was that Senator, Gall Trayvis." she said with a bit of surprise.
Right then, Ezra groaned and started to wake up, gaining everybody's attention.
The boy slowly raised his upper body, prodding himself with his elbows, and removed his helmet to breathe better.
"All right, who got the lucky shot?" he asked.
"Actually, you deflected all the bolts at the target." Kanan said him, pointing his hand in the direction of the charred helmet.
"I...saw something." Ezra said, making the others chuckled at the deja vu. "What?" he asked, seeing the others laughing.
"I was just telling that to them." Jaral said with a comprehensive tone. "When I touched your shoulder, I saw a piece of that vision too."
Ezra was amazed at first, but at this point he just didn't care. He couldn't hide anything from his sister, why should a vision into his mind be any different?
"Did you see Gall Trayvis as well?"
Jaral nodded in affirmative.
"Jaral...he said something about Mum and Dad." he said with a point of trepidation in his tone.
Jaral's eyes widened.
"Are you sure?"
Ezra took the effort to stand back on his feet and nodded.
"The last part of the vision was him saying 'Your parents were very brave.'"
Kanan stood next to him. "Do you remember anything else."
Ezra shrugged. "Seemed like our average day of sticking it to the Empire, except that Trayvis was there, fighting on our side." Ezra's face clearly showed that he was trying hard to understand the meaning of what he just saw.
"Could it be that he's coming to Lothal?" he asked to nobody in particular.
"If we want to know that, we should wait his next transmission." Jaral reasoned.
Since they discovered Trayvis, the crew had started gradually to listen more to his clandestine transmissions. They also knew that Trayvis visited various planets under Imperial occupation, avoiding capture every time. Hera was particularly interested, although the siblings as well showed a certain interest in the idea that there was someone else fighting the Empire.
Right on cue, Hera appeared from the ramp and called the siblings.
"Guys, it's starting."
The Bridgers chuckled at the coincidence, then put their helmets underarm and went to the common room. The table was transmitting the HoloNet, a hologram of Minister Tua making a public statement paused.
"I started recording before he came on." Hera said to the rest of the crew. "I'll play back the entire message."
She pushed some buttons under the table and the registration kept going. After Tua spent a few words about the "insurgents terrorizing Lothal", came the image of Trayvis.
"Citizens, Senator-in-Exile Gall Trayvis here.
Coming to you with a reminder that the Empire applies
the term "insurgent" to anyone who dares defy
their tyranny such as some very courageous souls
on Lothal.
The siblings now looked at each other. This was the proof they were waiting for.
"To those rebels, I have a message:
the sun may have set on the Old Republic
but a new freedom can be won
if we are brave enough to fight for it today.
See you soon, my friends."
"He's coming here to meet us." Hera said with a bit of excitement.
"Uh, how do you know that?" Zeb asked confused.
"My contact, Fulcrum, says the senator hides coded messages in his transmissions. When Trayvis mentions a world is always the next one he visits."
"How come the Empire hasn't caught him yet?" Kanan asked skeptically.
"Because he hacks the Empire's own signal." Ezra explained. "Just like my...folks used to know." he suddenly turned pensive.
"What are you thinking, Ez?" Jaral asked.
"It's just…" Ezra paced a little away from the table, then turned to Jaral.
"Jaral, you are the oldest of us. Do you have any memory about our parents talking about Trayvis?"
The girl thought about it, but shook her head in the end. "Not that I can recall." then she had a eureka moment. "Jinx." she said.
The blue construct showed himself between Ezra and Jaral midway.
"Do you know anything about a possible connection between dad and Trayvis?"
"I have no recorded data about a meeting between Jordan and Senator Trayvis." the AI answered.
"Then how comes that he knew them?" Ezra asked, stroking his chin.
"During their times as broadcasters, Jordan and Mira Bridger reached a modest level of notoriety both on Lothal and in the Outer Rim." the AI explained. "My theory is that Senator Trayvis knows them by fame. Perhaps he even heard their transmissions, but I have no data to either confirm or invalidate the theory."
The siblings looked at each other with a thoughtful expression.
"So, what do you guys want to do?" Kanan asked.
Ezra hummed a bit. "I don't like the idea to expose ourselves. But I don't think my vision was a coincidence." he decided. "I think we should meet Trayvis. See how he fits into all of this."
Jaral nodded. Hera looked at Kanan, puzzled, as she still hadn't heard about the vision.
"That's great, but we don't know where to find him." Sabine noted.
"Not quite…" Jaral said. "Hera, tell me if I'm wrong, but I think that Trayvis hides clues in his messages on where to meet him."
Hera smiled. "Exactly. The hints are clear for the locals but go right over the Empire's head."
Jaral kept going. "He said 'Old Republic' and 'New Freedom'…" she thought.
Ezra walked back toward the table. "Well, everybody on Lothal knows about the New Freedom mural. It's painted…" the illumination came.
"Inside the Old Senate building!" the siblings exclaimed excitedly in unison.
Sabine smirked at them then brought up the hologram of the building with the tall tower at its center.
"Hmm. Been abandoned since the Empire built the Imperial complex." she said. "Good place for a friendly get-together."
"Yeah, but when's this meeting?" Zeb asked, still not convinced.
Ezra recalled the message for a moment in his head. "...he worked the words 'sunset' and 'today'. Seems pretty obvious." he mumbled loud enough to be heard.
"Yeah, too obvious." Kanan interjected. "We should have some insurance in case the Empire is smarter than we think."
"I still have my contact inside the Academy." Ezra said. "I can reach him and see what he knows."
"Sounds like a plan." Hera approved.
"Right." Ezra stepped up and putted his helmet on. "Jaral, come with me." the girl complied. "We'll meet you guys at our parents' house at 0500."
The two left the room and headed to the cargo bay, where they took one of the speeder bikes.
The message of Trayvis did meant 'today',since the message was transmitted when in the capital was just midnight, while the Ghost was four time zones back on the planet.
The Ghost flew nearer to the capital and the siblings took the bike to get into the capital. They went into with their civilian clothes and managed to slip near the Academy, in an alley not far from the main gate.
There, while Jaral stood guard to warn Ezra if any patrol came, the boy met with Zare Leonis, who had risen through the ranks in the Academy, getting level three clearance codes that allowed him to stay out at night.
Zare informed that Kallus and the section commanders were indeed preparing for a massive operation, and also informed Ezra that he was about to be transferred to the officer's academy on the planet of Arkanis. Ezra then tried to reveal his real name to Zare, who still knew him as 'Dev Morgan', but Jaral warned that a patrol was coming his way and Ezra was forced to flee before he could do that.
The siblings then carefully moved toward their old house, reaching even earlier than established.
Ezra opened the door with the remote that he had kept since last time, and the two found Chopper standing guard.
"Where is everybody?" Jaral asked.
Chopper took out a handler and pointed the ladder to the basement, form where a faint light was coming.
"It's pretty old." the siblings heard Sabine's voice as they approached the ladder and started descending it.
"Ezra told me that their parents used it to broadcast their transmissions against the Empire." the mandalorian girl kept going.
"I don't get it." Zeb commented in confusion. "They weren't soldiers, just citizens. Why would they risk it all?"
"They had hope." Hera replied firmly, while working on the old radio. She didn't notice the sibling coming down as she finished her statement. "Hope that they could make the galaxy a better place for their children."
Sabine loudly cleared her throat to signal Hera to stop as the siblings now turned their full attention to the group.
"Cutting it a little close." Sabine commented trying to lift her friends' spirit. "I know you guys don't want to miss Trayvis' meeting."
"Yeah, and neither does the Empire." Jaral commented.
"And you were right, Kanan." Ezra added. "The Empire knows where the meeting is. Kallus is planning a massive operation, probably to capture Trayvis. Or worse."
"The Imperials will have numbers." Zeb reasoned.
"We'll have surprise." Kanan said confidently.
"What makes you think that?" Sabine asked.
"I'm being optimistic."
The crew spent the rest of the night hiding in the old house until noon. Ezra and Jaral took their time to tour it once again.
Everything reminded them of the night when their parents where taken away. Yet, none of them shed a tear, only a sentiment of nostalgia. They saw their old bedroom from when they were children. The beds were still there, the sheets worn out by time and still in disorder as they were rushed out of them the last time.
The kitchen even had some food in the drawers. Rotten, of course, but it seemed like the imperial warning sign made its work perfectly against looters.
It was a painful experience, sure, but somehow calming. In a way, they were given the time to come to terms with their past. Ezra in particular, felt at peace with the memory of his parents now more than ever.
The siblings knew that they were taking on a legacy. Jordan and Mira Bridger had a dream: to set the galaxy free from the tyranny of the Empire, so that their children would grow up in peace, and they paid the ultimate price.
Now it was up to their children to take up the torch. They would finish what their parents had started. Not out of revenge, but out of justice.
Finally, the daylight came, and at noon the crew moved out.
They positioned themselves on a balcony in the Mid-city, where they had a good view of both the Senate building and the lower city.
Sabine, Jaral and Ezra were scanning the area with the scopes in their helmets.
It was the mandalorian who first spotted their intended target.
"There's a dignitary shuttle and two protocol droids on the platform. Trayvis must already be inside. I'm not seeing any Imperial forces."
"Just wait for it." Jaral commented.
Ezra then took a peek below. "And...there they are." he said wittily. "Looks like they are locking down the entire downtown."
"Wait. Why haven't they moved in yet?" Hera asked.
"Because they want us too." Kanan realized. "It's a trap."
"So maybe we don't walk into it, for once." Zeb said. "We don't even know if your precious senator is in there." he added, talking to the siblings.
"I'm sure he is." Ezra replied sternly. "And there is a way in. Nobody will see us coming."
"Don't tell me…" Jaral sounded worried.
"Do you have any other idea?"
The girl shook her head in defeat.
"Can you guys just explain it to us?" Sabine asked a bit frustrated.
"Just follow me." Ezra said, motioning the others as he led them down the turbolift.
The crew arrived in front of a door in the ground of the lower city, patrolled by an imperial astromech. Once Chopper got near it and electrocuted it, he got the panel and opened the door.
"The sewers." Ezra explained.
As Chopper pushed the other astromech down the tunnel, Zeb take a sniff and made a disgusted face.
"Are you serious?"
"Yup. I can pretty much guarantee that we won't run into imperial soldiers down there." Ezra said with a smirk, then decided to give the example and went down first.
"Terrific." Sabine commented as her turn came.
Kanan was the last to get down. While he was telling Chopper to stay on guard, the astromech closed the door earlier on purpose, almost decapitating the Jedi, even laughing behind his back.
The pipes were pretty much empty.
"It used to be impossible to walk down here because of the water." Jaral commented. "But since the Empire introduced rationing two years ago, pretty dry."
"It didn't help the smell." Zeb commented nauseated as he waved a hand in front of his face.
"Speaking of which, it does smell like you." Sabine said.
Zeb hummed in annoyance, thinking she was talking to him.
"I was talking to Ezra" the girl explained.
"And how do you know what I smell like?" Ezra simply asked, not even turning his head.
"Can we focus, please?" Kanan interrupted.
They kept walking for a couple of minutes. The sibling chuckled at the fact that their armor could isolate the smell while the rest of the crew was struggling against it. Then the siblings stopped in front of a ladder and looked up.
"This should be it." Jaral stated.
"Should?" Zeb asked.
"We haven't been here in a while, but I think we got this." Ezra explained.
Jaral went up first, followed by Ezra and Kanan.
It turned out that the siblings had guessed right, as the door they opened had brought them on one of the balconies of the building, right next to the landing pad, where two dignitary droids were guarding the shuttle.
"What do you guys think?" Jaral asked how to get past those two.
Kanan reached out to the Force and made a noise come from the shuttle. The droids went back into it to investigate with their slow pacing.
The crew stepped out and moved to enter in the main hall, where Trayvis was certainly waiting for them. Kanan ordered Zeb and Sabine to climb up the wall and reach the service gangplanks on the roof, to provide cover just in case.
The siblings went in first. Ezra was keeping his lightsaber on. Jaral was using her E-11, preferring to use a more precise and less destructive weapon in a rescue mission.
As them, Kanan and Hera stepped in, hidden by the pretty dark room, they saw the New Freedom mural on the wall at the end of the large conference room. And beneath it, on the pedestal, stood Trayvis, escorted by other two dignitary droids.
"Hello. Is anyone there?" Trayvis asked.
"Senator Trayvis." Ezra called back. "We're friends."
"Welcome!" the Senator announced happily. "I was beginning to think that nobody on Lothal got my…"
Trayvis was stunned when he saw the Bridgers in their brightly colored armors.
"My goodness, you are those famed warriors…" he said in awe.
Jaral, however, cut it short. "Senator, you're in grave danger. The Empire knows you're here."
"That's impossible." the Senator said with a hint of fear.
They didn't have time to keep talking, as from behind them came two blaster bolts that immediately took down the droids next to Trayvis.
The Specters turned around and pointed guns. Kanan and Ezra turned on their lightsabers.
Both from the main door and the secondary hallways from beside and behind the mural came out a platoon of stormtroopers led by Agent Kallus.
Trayvis moved into the rebels' formation to find safety.
"Kanan Jarrus, Jedi Knight." Kallus said while he walked toward the rebels. "Ezra and Jaral Bridger." he stressed their names, letting the siblings know that the Empire was now fully aware of their identities even with those armors on.
"And what do we have here?" he now looked at Hera with a grin. "A Twi'lek I've yet to meet. From your regalia I suppose you are our talented pilot."
From the main door, standing in the background, entered Minister Tua.
"Where are the Lasat and the Mandalorian girl?" the Minister asked in annoyance.
"If you don't talk, my troopers will become a firing squad." Kallus threatened.
"You should do as he says." Trayvis murmured from behind them.
"Don't worry, Senator." Jaral simply added.
"Is that all you got, Kallus?" Ezra asked with a smug tone.
"What?" the agent raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"Come on. Me and my sister had defeated your minions time and time again even when they were more numerous than this little welcoming party." he slightly tilted his hand. "So what makes you think that this meager force will be enough to even intimidate us?"
Kallus hummed while frowning. "You have guts, kid. I'll concede it. And you're right. You and your sister may survive the volley...But can you say the same about your friends?" his grin was now triumphant.
"Oh, we are not too worried." Jaral added with a controlled tone. "Because you already lost too much time."
Before Kallus had even started to figure out what she meant, a handful of grenades dropped around the rebels, exploding a second later and creating a thick smoke screen.
From above, Sabine started shooting with her pistols, using the thermal scanner on her helmet; Zeb jumped down and engaged some of the troopers in a melee with its Bo-rifle, opening the path to one of the hallways. Ezra and Jaral had thermal vision too, so they used it to guide their group toward Zeb and escape. Sabine left behind a real thermal detonator that exploded, wounding several stormtroopers and causing even more confusion inside the hall, which the rebels exploited in order to escape.
The rebels ran toward the landing platform, but noticed the Trayvis' shuttle was gone. Instead, a Lambda-class transport showed up. Good thing that ship was unarmed and only served as a lookout.
As Sabine reopened the hatch to the sewers, Trayvis made a disgusted look.
"You want me to go down there?"
"It's not so bad once you get used to the smell." Sabine tried to encourage him.
"You never get used to the smell." Zeb commented with a grimace.
"Just get in the damn tunnel." Jaral told them.
The girl was standing behind Kanan and Ezra according to the 'sword and shield' tactic, something Kanan had taught them. While the Jedi protected her from incoming bolts, she would shot back.
Kallus and two stormtroopers came in range, opening fire. Jaral immediately took down a trooper with a precise shot, forcing the other two to run and shoot for cover.
Zeb pushed Trayvis down the ladder, and when everybody was gone, Jaral was the next to jump down. The fall was short enough for her to land without injuries thanks to her muscles and the servos of the armor. Ezra did the same, then Kanan did it with the help of the Force.
Sabine closed the hatch in time before Kallus was over them.
The agent gave order to the remaining trooper to alert command and to deploy troops at every exit from the sewers in the lower city, while he called for reinforcements in order to chase the rebels.
The rebels ran for around five minutes. When they came there it took around ten minutes to get where they were.
Then Trayvis stopped and leaned on the wall, gasping for air.
"Ezra, wait." Hera said when she saw the Senator.
The group stopped as Ezra and Jaral approached Trayvis.
"I'm sorry Senator, but we really need to go."
"No...I should be sorry. I've never escaped like this."
Jaral raised an eyebrow under her helmet. "I thought you would be used to run away from the Empire."
"Well…" Trayvis stammered. "I-I've never been so close to capture."
Two seconds later, a squad of stormtroopers caught up with them, firing in their direction.
Ezra took out his own E-11 and, together with Jaral, fired back, using their shields to cover the escape of the group.
At a crossroad, the two pushed Trayvis aside, but the rest of the group was on the other side, and now they were separated by a rain of fire unleashed by at least five stormtroopers.
"Specter-6 and 7." Kanan said loudly. "Get Trayvis back to the hatch. We'll draw away the imperials."
"How will you find the way back?" Ezra asked.
"I can smell you, remember?" Sabine joked.
"Stop saying that." Ezra said worried. "It's unsettling!"
A bolt flew very close to his face and Ezra answered in kind by raising the blaster with one hand and shooting a trooper right on the helmet before getting back behind his angle.
"We'll find a way. Now go." Kanan ordered.
The siblings obliged and dragged Trayvis in the only direction they could take, while the rest of the group did the same with their own direction.
They could hear the sound of blaster bolts fading in the distance. 'Good' they thought. As long as the guns kept firing, it meant that their friends were still fighting.
Jinx led them into the shortest route back to the hatch where Chopper was waiting for them.
"Your cell is really impressive." Trayvis commented. Ezra was in front of him, Jaral in the back. "I really wonder where you found your armor. No one has ever seen anything like that."
"Let's say it's a gift." Ezra kept it vague. "But we hoped that we could learn something about you, Senator. Your transmissions has been an inspiration for us."
"Just knowing that there is someone out there fighting is morale booster in itself." Jaral added.
The three arrived at the end of the pipe, which led to a big section cut in half by a big fan blocking their way to the hatch.
Ezra and Jaral jumped down easily, the Senator made a very ungraceful landing.
"How do we get past it?" Jaral asked while she helped Trayvis to stand up.
"Maybe we can cut the power. Give me a minute." said Ezra as he got near the control panel of the fan.
Before reaching him, Jaral summoned her Suppressor pistol and handed it to Trayvis.
"Cover our backs, will ya?"
A few seconds later, the siblings heard Trayvis.
"That's enough. We're not going anywhere." and he pointed the pistol at the two.
Ezra just sighed in frustration. "I hate when we are both right."
"I know." Jaral simply added.
The two dropped their weapons, but didn't remove their armors. Apparently, Trayvis thought that this was enough to render them defenseless.
"You pick up quickly, I see. No wonder you managed to escape so long." Trayvis gloated, still pointing the pistol.
"How comes that you visited all those planets and nobody ever noticed?" Jaral asked.
"Because no one ever knew, not even my droids." Trayvis explained. "Insurgents are not arrested, they are simply identified and watched. The most troublesome have...accidents once I'm gone."
"You are nothing but a traitor." Ezra growled. "You mock everyone who gives voice to freedom, all those who try to bring light in the darkness. Your very existence insults our parents!"
"Parents? No one has spoken against the Empire on Lothal since…" Trayvis realized. "The Bridgers, of course. How could I not see this, you guys are their children. The original voices of freedom. Your parents were very brave...and very foolish.
"Where are they now? I'll tell you, boys. They're gone!" Trayvis said loudly.
"They're not gone, Trayvis!" Jaral spat back.
The siblings started to walk menacingly toward Trayvis.
"Stay back." the Senator said with hesitation.
"As long as we live, as long as we fight for the dream that they envisioned, their memory will live on."
"Stand back I said!"
"And a vermin like you won't certainly stop us." Jaral was now at point-blank from the weapon in Trayvis' hand.
Trayvis trembled, then pulled the trigger, but nothing came out of it.
"What? No!" he screamed in terror.
Jaral tore the pistol away from Trayvis, and Ezra immediately struck him in the face, sending him fly for a meter before passing out on the floor.
"Fucking Loth-rat." Ezra whispered in disgust.
"A true rebel would know if he's holding a charged blaster." Jaral commented as he removed the safe from the pistol and the battery powered up again.
Right after that, the rest of the crew ran out from the pipeline right next to the one the siblings had come from.
"What happened to Trayvis?!" Hera exclaimed.
"He was working for the Empire." Jaral said in a spiteful tone.
"What?"
"Well, he tried to get us to surrender, he stopped waiting for Kallus to catch up and he wanted our secrets." Ezra reported.
Sabine sighed. "Is there anybody on our side?"
"So guess he stays here. What's the plan?" asked Kanan.
"We need to stop the fan if we want to get out of here." Ezra said.
"Ok, but will keep our friends from following?" asked Sabine.
"We only stop it long enough for us to get past it. Cover me."
Kanan stepped in front of the fan and reached out to the Force. Ezra and Jaral took out their TL-50 and aimed a pipe each, while Hera, Zeb and Sabine would fire wherever they deemed necessary.
It wasn't long until Kallus and the stormtroopers came in sight, and they were greeted by a rain of fire. One of them was hit, but his armor prevented him from dying. The Specters kept firing wildly for a few seconds until Kanan managed to stop the fan. Hera, Zeb and Sabine went first. Jaral and Ezra followed and lastly Kanan. The fan started to whirl again, blocking the path to the Imperials.
It was night when the crew finally got back to the Ghost, tired and demoralized.
"You know." Ezra commented to Jaral, Kanan and Hera. "I told that my vision was suspicious, but I didn't see it was that bad."
"You already did much better than I thought." Kanan tried to encourage him with a hand on his shoulder. "I know how much you want to know what happened to your parents, so I feared that you might just go in there full of hope only to see it shatter."
"Well, you weren't so far with that." Ezra murmured.
"Don't be so hard on yourself. Visions are...difficult, almost impossible to interpret. It takes…"
"Training and discipline?" Ezra mocked him.
"To see things clearly, yes."
"What was the last vision you had?"
Kanan chuckled. "I saw this bratty kid that constantly caused me trouble." everybody around smiled.
"Guess you got that one wrong." Jaral said, interpreting his brother's thought.
"Yeah. I guess so." Kanan climbed up on the ladder.
Hera went to sit on the open ramp of the Ghost. Ezra followed her, while Jaral decided that she wanted to rest and headed for her cabin.
"You know, I really wanted to believe in Trayvis as much as you did." Hera said to Ezra.
"Yeah. What's wrong with us?" Ezra joked.
"We have hope." Hera said with a smile. "Hope that things can get better. And they will."
Those words may have sound a bit scant after the day's events. However, Ezra smiled at that. He believed in that. After all, they represented the dream of his parents. A dream to which he had just vowed his life.