It had been over a month since he last saw them.
Hera was a bundle of energy. Excitement and apprehension flowed through here like water through a gorge. Such stress wasn't good for their baby, he had argued to her, but she would hear none of it. Her adopted children were coming home, and that was all that mattered right now.
Well… everyone except Zeb, he mused sadly.
The burly Lasat had been the first crew-member they picked up on the Ghost, and he had been an inseparable part of the crew since. When the news came of his death on Valaryos, they were all stuck to the hilt. Hera had wept for hours, and he had found it hard to even meditate for weeks after that. They had eventually moved past their grief, but the scar would always be there in the background, flaring up on occasion when someone would comment on how nice the Ghost smelled.
He let out a sigh. He needed to focus on the here and now, not the past.
Sabine and Ezra were alive and well, though the latter was now sporting two cybernetic limbs in place of organic ones, and from what Robb had told them, the two had finally confessed their feelings for one another, entering a romantic relationship.
Kanan smiled for a moment. He had known for quite some time now that the two had feelings for one another, though neither would admit it to the other. It was only after their harrowing experience on Valaryros that they finally admitted it.
His smile then faltered. Robb told him exactly what had happened on Valaryros...about the creatures that had killed Zeb and maimed his Padawan. Demons of ice and cold...monsters from Robb and Theon's past that had come back for some unknown reason to terrorize mortals once more. As if the Empire wasn't bad enough… now there was a potentially apocalyptic threat out there.
He looked out through the Force, using it to see where he had once previously used his physical sight, and spotted his partner on the landing area outside the Hera, feeling her anxiety radiate off her.
He walked towards her, putting a hand on her shoulder to comfort her while safely ignoring the stifling humidity that Yavin was infamous for.
They said nothing for a long time. There was no need for words between them in these private moments. A simple nod here, a touch there. Their relationship had grown so much in these past decades to the point where they could communicate just with simple expressions.
Kanan felt Hera's anxiety subside somewhat, being replaced by comfort and reassurance.
"Been a long while since I've felt you this nervous," he joked, breaking the long silence at last.
Hera chuckled at that, "Can't blame me for that, can you now, love?" she asked, half-rhetorically.
Kanan shook his head. "Not one bit. I've often been wondering just how much the kids have changed since we've last seen them. At least once they get back we'll get back to some semblance of normalcy."
Hera laughed. "Kanan, darling, since when have any of our lives been really 'normal'? As far as I'm concerned, it's like we're thrust from one bizarre adventure into the next."
Kanan smirked and put his hands up in the air. "Alright, alright," he conceded, "you have me there. Hopefully, when this war is over there will be normal for us, though."
Hera nodded, sighing, "For all of us," she said, putting a hand on her swelling womb.
Kanan smiled. Although he did not know whether their child would be a boy or a girl, he loved them already. A part of him worried about if the child was born Force-sensitive, as he was. The Empire was still hunting them down, of course, either forcibly inducting them into their Inqusitorius program or outright murdering them. It did not take a scientist to figure out that Palpatine and Vader didn't want the competition.
He would cross that bridge when it came to it, however. Right now, he needed to keep his mind in the present, and judging by the communications officer running up to them, he guessed the present was now.
"General Syndulla, Commander Jarrus," he said, ignoring Kanan's wincing at being referred to by military rank, "we picked up two ships exiting hyperspace. One identified asa Komr'k-class vessel, callsign Starbird, the other is a Latero Spaceworks S-161 XL yacht, callsign Stinger Mantis."
Kanan quirked an eyebrow behind his mask. The Starbird he knew belonged to Sabine, but what was the Mantis? Was it someone they picked up on Arcadia? He was going to have to question them after they landed, he decided.
Soon, he felt familiar presences enter Yavin's atmosphere. Ezra, Sabine, Robb, Theon, Rau. They were all there. He also felt some new presences….including a couple of very powerful ones.
This was getting more interesting by the minute, he thought.
Through the Force, he "saw" the Starbird and the Mantis make their descent onto the landing platform, escorted by two A-Wings. The Starbird touched down first, folding up its wings and extending its landing gear, making a graceful landing like its namesake. The Mantis followed suit, switching the position of its own "wings" to allow it to touchdown.
Hera tightly held his hand, and he 'saw' why. The first to exit out of the Starbird was Ezra and Sabine, who were holding each other's hands, followed first by their two wolves- Runi and Storm, then by Rau and another Mandalorian none of them had seen before, and finally Robb and Theon.
Hera let go of his hand, running up to wrap the kids in a tight hug, with tears running down her face.
"Stars above," she whispered to them, "don't you kids frighten me like that ever again. You here me?"
"We'll try not to, Hera," Sabine said back, returning the hug.
"Can't make any guarantees, though," Ezra joked, then his tone softened. "We really missed you guys out there."
Kanan walked up to them after they got done hugging Hera, and found Ezra brightening at his presence.
"Thought you could skip out on training, huh?" Kanan joked, smirking at his apprentice.
"Wouldn't miss it for anything, master," Ezra joked back. Before long, the two were embracing one another, father to son. "I'm so glad to be home," Ezra said.
"I am too, Ezra," was Kanan's reply. He could tell something was troubling the lad, and he didn't want to talk about it right now. He knew he'd bring it up when he was ready, however. He just needed time right now to rest and relax.
Ezra and Sabine moved on to go into the base along with their wolves- who were happily panting- ostentatiously to greet the droids who, contrary to their own words, were just as excited to have them back…especially Chopper, who was saddened upon hearing of Zeb's passing and was missing Ezra especially terribly...if only to find another person to prank.
The next people he greeted were Rau and the other Mandalorian who had come with them. Looking through the Force, Kanan found that this man had a similar signature to Sabine's...yet also distinct from hers.
"Jarrus," Rau greeted, "it's been too long since we've last seen each other."
"Likewise, Rau," Kanan greeted back, shaking his hand. "Mind if you introduce your friend here?"
"Certainly," Rau said, "this is Johannes Cato. He is Sabine's paternal uncle, and he's here to help her, and by extension the rest of us."
"That I am," Johannes answered, in a voice that was unusually high-pitched for an older man. "I've fled from my duty before, but by whatever gods are out there, I am done with running. It's high time I helped Sabine and the rest of my family, and time I helped bring down Palpatine and the rest of his rotten Empire."
Kanan nodded. "Well, it's good we have you on our side, then. Go ahead on into the base. Some of the others will show you around."
"Sounds good," Rau nodded. The two Mandalorians left, leaving Robb, Theon, and these new visitors to greet.
"Heard you defeated the great Admiral Thrawn," Kanan joked upon walking up to the Westerosi duo. "The legend of Robb Stark is already starting to spread among the ranks in the Alliance."
"Probably exaggerating it just a bit don't they think?" Robb replied.
"Probably," Theon confirmed. "They're most likely leaving out a bunch of things...like that dragon that saved us."
Kanan shot his eyebrows up. "I'm sorry, but did you say….a dragon saved you?"
Robb waved it off. "I'll explain it later. Right now, our friends on the other ship would like to talk to you. One in particular wants to meet you." The former Lord of Winterfell said, then pulled him into an embrace. "It's good to see you again, brother."
"Likewise, Robb," Kanan said back, patting him on the back. "I'll see you in the debriefing later."
Robb nodded, and left, with Theon in tow. With all his friends and family greeted, Kanan walked over to the Mantis, where he spotted several people through the Force...with at least three of them leaving powerful signatures.
The first was a short Latero man, who looked to be heading into his elder years if the grey hair was any indication. The second was a human man, of a similar age to Kanan, with fiery red hair and a scar across his lip. His Force-signature was powerful, radiating like a star.
Standing next to him was a woman of Dathomirian origin. Judging by her red garb and tattoos, she was a Nightsister and a more subdued one at that.
Kanan suppressed the urge to frown. None of his crew had a good experience with Nightsisters, but for the sake of civility, he chose to keep his face neutral.
The fourth person to come out of the Mantis was a middle-aged woman leaning on a cane. Dark-skinned and gray-haired, she radiated wisdom and knowledge- the kind you get after much hardship and pain.
"Ah, hey, look, another Jedi!" the Latero joked. "And he's blind at that!"
"Not by choice, I can tell you that much," Kanan informed him. "Kanan Jarrus. Jedi Knight." he greeted the same.
"Cal Kestis, also a knight," the red-haired man greeted. "The Latero man is Greeze, the Nightsister's name is Merrin, and the captain of this ship is Cere Junda,"
Kanan's eyebrows shot up at that. "Cere Junda? As in 'Knight Cere Junda'?"
Cere nodded. "Yes, though I don't like using that title these days. Simply 'Cere' is fine," she spoke. There was a phantom pain behind her voice...one that reminded him of Ahsoka whenever she had spoken about Anakin Skywalker. Kanan knew all too well what pain that was.
"Cere, if you don't mind, I'd like to speak to Kanan alone," Cal said to his companions.
Cere nodded. "Not at all, Cal. We'll see you later."
As the rest of the Mantis crew made their way into the base, Cal turned and indicated to Kanan. "Mind if we take a walk?" he asked the slightly older knight.
Kanan shrugged. "It won't bother me one bit."
With that, the two knights began to walk off into the jungle, following a trail that leads to the ruins of a shrine a kilometer away, dedicated to some long-forgotten Massassi god.
"Who was your master, Kanan?" Cal asked after a few minutes of silence, stepping over an overgrown root.
"Depa Bilaba," was Kanan's answer. "Yours?"
"Jaro Tapal," was Cal's answer. "I think I recall our masters meet. It was at that…"
"...security briefing Master Kenobi provided," Kanan finished for him.
Cal nodded. "Yeah. As I recall, you were the one who gave Master Kenobi an idea to reverse the security protocols in case the Temple was compromised."
"Something that ultimately saved you and me from the Purge," Kanan replied. "I remember after that briefing you and your master went to Bracca. My master and I went to Kaller with our legion…" he trailed off from there.
"...and then Order 66 came down," Cal sighed. "I still don't for the life of me understand entirely what happened. One moment I was chatting amicably with the clones and laughing with them at their jokes, the next minute I'm running for my life clutching my late master's lightsaber on a junkyard planet."
"I know what happened," Kanan answered. "It was a chip that Palpatine had planted in their heads that enabled him to control them whenever he gave the code phrase."
"How do you know this?" Cal asked.
"A former clone captain. His name is Rex. He works here at the base. You can see the scar on his head where he removed his chip,"
Cal nodded at Kanan, "I see. That would explain a lot of things then," he sighed. "There are too few of us now, Kanan. Asides from us, the only other ones I think who survived are Kenobi and Yoda. Six Jedi when there used to be ten thousand. A far cry from the old days."
"But at least now we have allies. The Rebellion, Arcadia, and others to name a few. Wasn't like the last few decades where he had to go on the run constantly,"
Cal chuckled at that. "True," he said, "though we aren't out of the woods yet, not by a long shot. Speaking of Arcadia, though…"
"I heard you saved my Padawan's life from an Inquisitor," Kanan said. "For that, you have my gratitude."
"Aye, I did, but I don't know if you heard about what he did before that."
Kanan shook his head. Other than what was told to them over the hologram by Robb, who left the details sparse, he didn't hear a word about what happened during the battle.
Cal saw this as they came to the shrine, which overlooked the Rebel base located in the Great Temple. He looked out towards the pyramidal structures that dotted this landscape, before turning back to Kanan. "From what I've heard, your Padawan managed to rally the defenses of the city by himself and held off the Imperial forces for two hours until we arrived. He even beat back their assault at the gate using the most powerful Force Freeze I've heard of. He had even engaged two Inquisitors, one of them being the head of their order."
Kanan was shocked by this. He didn't realize until now just how much his Padawan had grown. A part of him didn't want to admit it, but lately, he was realizing that he was running out of things to teach him and that Ezra- the boy he had practically raised into a young man, now- was increasingly taking on more and more challenges on his own. He had even managed to hold his own against the new Grand Inquisitor and held off the Ninth Sister until Cal had arrived.
He was silent for a long time, thinking things over, before finally speaking.
"I'm honestly at a loss for words right now," he admitted at last, "I've taught him everything I know, and he's picked up things along the way from other people and events."
Cal nodded. "From what I've seen and heard of the lad, he's passed his trials of skill and courage, and his mechanical appendages are proof enough that he endured the trial of flesh. Which means there's only one trial remaining…"
"The Trial of the Spirit," was Kanan's wary reply. It was the most difficult and dangerous trial any Jedi had to face in order to prove themselves worthy of knighthood. When he went through it only a year ago, he was harrowed by his fears of Ezra turning into a Sith. Though he had passed his trial and confirmed a knight by Yoda. Facing the mirror, as many in the old order had called it.
"The final lesson any Jedi must learn, and the one that's the most difficult for all of us, even after we've been knighted- learning to let go. Of our anger, our fears, our regrets. It's still admittedly one I have to relearn time and time again."
"As do I," Kanan agreed. He drew out a long breath. "His birthday is less than six months away."
Cal nodded. "Then on that day should be his trial. There must be a place suitable for it on this planet."
"There is," Kanan confirmed. An uncomfortable pit grew in his stomach. "It's infested by the Dark Side of the Force, though. If I'm remembering my history lessons right, it's the burial tomb for the Sith Lord Exar Kun. But even if he passed his trial, there's no master around that can knight him."
Cal shook his head. "Kanan, any knight can make another knight. I was knighted by Cere in the absence of the council or any master. You were knighted by Yoda, or a vision presented by him, in the absence of the council. The time of the old order is over. If we are to survive, we have to begin again anew." he said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "C'mon. We must get to the briefing."
"Right," Kanan agreed. As they walked back, the thoughts churned in his head.
There was a change coming, and it was inevitable.
He had to be ready for it when the time came.
A/N: Short chapter, but an important one.
The Mantis and Ghost crews have come together, and now we are transitioning to the final arcs of our first arc- the Mandalorian Civil War plot, the confrontation against Darth Vader, and Malleus' plot, to name a few.
Stay tuned.