"Hello again friends and fellow profiteers! Another entry of the True Account of Ezra Bridger! This account surprised Hondo. He did not think he'd become so invested in certain characters. He wonders if you will feel the same? Now! Forward March! Left! Left! Left! Left! Left! Oh, right! And Right! Right! Right! Left! Right! Hahah! Now I have it! Right! Right!"
Breaking Ranks
"The mission is what matters."
A week had gone by since the thing on Stygeon and since then things have been going pretty well. Kanan has stepped up and we've been training a lot. He keeps reminding me it's been only one week but already I've gotten to the point where I can float bowls and other kitchen utensils around with ease. It's made breakfasts more interesting.
The others have mostly left me and Kanan to it on those days. There were two smuggling jobs we had set up with Vizago, but those both went off without a hitch. We stuck it to the Empire and made a few credits. Everyone was satisfied, except for Hera.
She's been acting off, like she knows something we don't. Sabine doesn't like it, and she'd rant to me about it whenever she could get a chance alone with me. She was curious if Kanan was acting off but other than being a responsible Jedi Master invested in his student's training, no he seems like Kanan. Not that Kanan embracing his decision to be my teacher was a bad thing.
Just taking some time getting used to Spectre-1 as Master.
Unhappy that I didn't have any ideas, I try to cheer her up but Sabine isn't having it and tells me I should focus on meditations and other important Jedi osik. She believes with a clearer mind I'll make better progress with Form One. Which was strange. I don't recall ever telling her about Kanan's criticisms of my lightsaber forms.
Zeb meanwhile would keep himself busy by keeping an ear to the ground at Old Jho's. That and I think he's taking a shine to what Jho keeps on tap. It's actually how we found that second smuggling job. More than once he's clambered back to the ship late at night after one too many drinks.
And Chopper, well, Chopper is Chopper. A few days ago I walked into my cabin seeing him making use of his arc welder and buzz saw on my bed. I chased him out and inspected the damage but it looked like I'd caught him before he could do anything damaging. Or at least I think I did.
We'd just finished up dinner when Hera joined us in the common room and cleared her throat. "My contact came through. We got a mission, a mission that would really put the hurt on the Empire."
"What's it pay?"
"What contact?"
"I've been meaning to clobber some bucketheads!"
"I said a mission, not a job," Hera said, making certain to spell it out. "The pay is we put the hurt on the Empire. The contact is confidential and no buckethead clobbering."
I get that Kanan was always looking for some extra credits, he's like that. And Hera had all but confirmed Sabine's suspicions that she was hiding things and maybe after this we could find Zeb a job to beat up some stormtroopers. The Purple Furball gets antsy the longer he goes without a good clobbering.
Crossing her arms Sabine slumped back in her chair and gave Hera the old stink eye. "Fine. Keep your secrets. Tell us about this mission."
"In four weeks time somewhere there is going to be a major Imperial shipment. Kyber crystals, we don't know what for but the Empire can do a lot of hurt with those."
"Okay that's bad," Kanan said.
"If the intelligence is accurate," Sabine said, unable to help herself. Hera gave her a look and Sabine rolled her eyes. "Hey! I'm not eager for another crazy plan sneaking around a heavily defended Imperial prison with outdated schematics."
"Well nothing you need to be worried about. We'll have plenty of time for prep and getting our hands on reliable schematics. We already know the information that will tell us exactly where this shipment will be can be found in the office of our favorite ISB Agent Kallus. And."
"Oh!" Zeb gleaned. "Been meaning to even the score with him. You sure we can't smash our way in? Plenty of bucketheads to clobber that way!"
"No, Hera's right," Kanan spoke up. "This needs to be pulled off discreetly. But his office is at Imperial HQ. It'll be hard to get in and out unnoticed. Sabine's right, we'll have to take our time with the prep."
I'm fighting back a yawn. All I heard was four weeks until our next big mission. And that was four weeks I could spend working on my Jedi training. Had I been more observant I might've noticed the sour look Kanan shot my way.
"Which is why we'll be sending in someone who won't be noticed. Our very own Cadet Ezra Bridger!" Kanan announced with a knowing look on his face.
I blink and look around and notice all eyes are on me.
"Cadet?" I ask and frown. I think I might've missed something important.
"He'll need a name and cover story," Hera said thoughtfully, warming up to the idea.
I clear my throat. "Cadet who?"
"Forget it," Sabine said, rejecting the idea outright. "Ezra's talented but he's not up for this. He doesn't know Imperial protocols. He has no formal education. He isn't competent enough with blaster weaponry and he just isn't ruthless enough. He'll get creamed!"
"Plus I'm pretty certain Kallus knows the Kid's face by now," Zeb added.
"It's not Kallus' job to train cadets, besides all the cadets wear helmets," Kanan said.
"Umm do I get a say?" Ezra asked and raised his hand to help garner some attention from the others.
"Just a little undercover mission. You not up for it, Kid?" Kanan teased. But it didn't work. He couldn't get under my skin.
Sabine on the other hand…
"He's not up for it," Sabine reiterated.
"Am too!" I suddenly say.
She blinks, not expecting such a visceral response from me of all people. Neither did I but just something about her not having faith in me feels wrong. And does she really not think I can do it, or is she trying to protect me from something dangerous? I can't tell.
"What's Code 94364?" Sabine asks and sets her hands on her hips.
"Umm. It's the code for… Well it's not a widely known code obviously, which is why I never heard-"
"It's the Code the Empire uses whenever it seizes a family's land and throws them into a labor camp. Happens everyday on Lothal." Having proved her point Sabine dismisses me altogether and then turns to face Kanan and Hera. "He can't do this."
"Yes he can," Hera proclaimed and looked pointedly at Sabine. "This isn't Coruscant or Mandalore. This is Lothal, not exactly the best and the brightest. And besides. You're going to make sure he makes it."
"Me?" Sabine balks.
"Can you think of someone better?" Hera responded.
"No. No way." Sabine refused. But Hera wasn't wrong. I don't know a lot about Sabine's past but every now and then I catch tidbits. Her ability with languages. Category Five exams, whatever those were. She had to be in an Imperial Academy of some kind, and must've been impressive. Hera's refute that Sabine was the best choice for the task pushed out any lingering doubts.
At the same time, her being a Cadet didn't tell me much. If anything it only left me with more questions. Not that I would be getting any answers.
There were more protests and arguments and Hera and Kanan heard each of them out. Even Chopper threw out a few reasons why. And the more I listened the more it was getting to me. In retrospect I think that was Hera's plan all along.
"I can do it," I say, speaking up at last.
Silence filled the common room. My decision to go along with it had sealed the deal and everybody knew it. Sabine stood and glared not just at Hera and Kanan but me as well! It was late and she was tired but before she left for bed she strode up to me and jabbed my chest with her finger.
"Until this mission is over you are out of there with the decoder, you are not Ezra Bridger. You are Dev Morgan. At dawn you will meet me outside the Ghost." She looked back at Hera one last time, her amber brown eyes filled with resentment. "You better have a backup plan ready."
After Sabine's departure there were a few things to go over but nothing mission critical. And as expected of me, and not wanting to give Sabine any more excuses to be annoyed, I met her outside the Ghost at dawn. Uncertain of what we'd be doing.
"Get a good night's sleep?" Sabine asked and I noticed that I had caught her in the middle of a series of stretches.
"Uh, yeah," I answered.
Sabine's small but powerful fist shot out and caught me unawares, landing a punch in my gut. I gasp out and nearly double over. All I can think of was what the actual kriff?
"The words 'uh, yeah' are not part of your vocabulary anymore, Cadet Dev Morgan. From now on I expect sharp and attentive responses! You will talk only when granted permission. Now stand at attention!"
The next thirty minutes was spent on what Sabine called "military bearing." She also quizzed me. Some questions were easy. Who is in command of the military? Emperor Palpatine. What is Code 94364? I wasn't about to get that answer wrong again and answered correctly.
After thirty minutes of getting half right and half wrong, and every time I got one wrong she had me do a number of pushups, Sabine moved onto the next portion of the day's training. Running. Running with weighted packs on our shoulders specifically.
Wasn't so bad, I had thought at first. But then Sabine kept at it with the questions and whenever I failed one she would make me turn around and run back a hundred meters at a full sprint and then return just as quickly. If I wasn't fast enough (and Sabine knows how fast I can run) she'd make me repeat it.
The whole day went like that. One long gruelling run over the plains of Lothal filled with questions and a variety of punishments if I got one wrong. If I got anything wrong at all! When the sun was high in the sky, around noon, Sabine halted the run and asked me where we were and how far we had run.
But for the moment I was too caught up in catching my breath, and for a moment I saw Sabine's mask falter. She slipped off her pack and from inside retrieved a water skin and handed it to me. Nodding gratefully I greedily drank from it, Sabine though showed no inclination she was all that affected by the run.
She sighed and then reached for the water before I was finished. "You've already had too much," she said.
"Seriously?" I say.
"Basic biology," Sabine shrugged and placed the water back in the pack where she had it sorted. "Dehydration and heat exhaustion caused from lack of H2O and electrolyte imbalance that can present-" She paused and glanced at Ezra.
"H2O?" he asked.
"Water," Sabine sighed. "Two elements of hydrogen and one element of oxygen."
"I thought we breathed oxygen?" Ezra said and frowned.
"Oxygen in its gas state, or O2, is two elements of oxygen bonded together. That's what humans primarily breathe." Sabine shook her head. "I can teach you chemistry someday if you want. The Imps won't care about your knowledge of how the body works. They'll only care about how much punishment your body can take and how devious your mind is at hurting others. That's the Imperial Academy."
"Which you know so much about," Ezra said and perked an eyebrow. Sabine shook her head and pulled out a small aerosol spray from her bag.
"Place this in your mouth, then hold down on this button and breathe in." Sabine demonstrated and then handed it to Ezra. It took him a few tries but once he figured it out and took his first inhale it was as if his entire world was reset and turned back to normal.
He looked down at the device in marvel. "What is this?"
"Something you won't have access to at the Academy, Cadet Dev Morgan," Sabine said and took it back from him. "It's every kid for themselves there. And if you can't keep up no one will call for a break, you'll be left behind."
"And the Empire walks off with a really valuable crystal," Ezra muttered.
"It's a power source for some secret project," Sabine said. "Otherwise there'd be no need for a decoder and all this espionage we're doing."
"What kind of project would take that much energy?" Ezra asked, not really expecting an answer.
Sabine let out a breath. "Mandalorians wear the armor we do to counter the lightsaber of a Jedi. So much power concentrated in one tiny gem that can cut through nearly any material in the galaxy."
Memories of the red lightsaber that Inquisitor had cutting through blast doors flickered into Ezra's mind. So much power in just the hilt of a saber blade.
Ezra snorted and shook his head. "Doesn't make sense." Sabine tilted her head, looking at him inquisitively. "The Empire has thousands of warships capable of leveling entire planets. It has that Delta Gamma Zero code for destroying all life and everything. Proton bombs that just level everything they touch."
"Base Delta Zero," Sabine corrected automatically, but her eyes narrowed in thought. "And it's not like they make a secret of hiding that policy, they brag about it in their Holonet transmissions."
"So what? The Empire is secretly trying to build lightsabers?"
"Intel said it's not many small crystals but one big one," Sabine reminded. "At least ten times the size of that thing in Kanan's lightsaber. Whatever that crystal is being used for, it's a lot bigger than a lightsaber. And all the more reason to get back to training, Cadet Dev Morgan."
Ezra groaned. "Can you at least leave out the 'cadet' part?"
"The sooner you get used to it the easier it will be for you to focus on your mission's main objective, Cadet. Now come on. It's a long run back and you'll need your sleep for tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?"
"You'll see," Sabine said and packed up the supplies and returned to their run. "Now! What's Code 35065 Sigma, Cadet?"
Ezra groaned.
Two weeks later, Ezra was standing at attention in his white cadet uniform in front of the Academy's Commandant, holding his helmet in his hands.
And hoping his hair didn't give him away. He didn't think Aresko ever caught a good look at him before, or Grint whom he'd spotted earlier shoving his boot down on a cadet that was trying to do pushups. But he knew Kallus or even Lyste would recognize him.
He really wanted to put his helmet back on.
"Cadet Dev… Morgan?" Commander Aresko asked
"Yes, Commandant." Ezra replied sharply and promptly, just how Sabine had taught him.
"At ease, Cadet," Aresko said with a diminutive hand wave. Ezra widened his legs and rested his hands behind his back. "High marks on your physical and mental acuity examinations." Aresko continued. "Unexpected from a transfer from the Pretor Flats Academy."
Ezra didn't know what to say to that, so he followed Zeb's advice. 'If a recruit doesn't know what to say, best not say anything.'
"Had it not been Grint who performed your evaluations I might not believe it."
"The Cadent can assure you Sergeant Major was very thorough, Commandant."
Aresko chuckled and closed Dev Morgan's file. "I'm certain he was. Small wonder you already achieved your helmet. Very well. Unit Aurek has an opening. I think you're just the type Squad LRC077 needs. Dismissed."
Ezra came back to Attention. "Yes, Sir," he said loudly and then did a sharp ninety degree angle Left-Face and walked out of the office. The first thing he did was pull his helmet back on over his head, hiding his distinct midnight blue hair. He then picked up the Imperial bag containing his uniforms and other materials, but adjusted it in such a way he'd be able to drop it quickly in the event he needed to defend himself.
"I'll be fighting other cadets? When?"
"Whenever," Sabine shrugged. "That's the thing about Imperial Academies, Cadet Dev Morgan. Palpatine and Tarkin are only interested in the strongest and most loyal. Teamwork and friendships don't have a place in the Empire. And the other cadets aren't going to just roll over and let you walk away when you keep coming in number one and making them look bad."
Ezra found his assigned barracks and took out his cadet-sized code cylinder that gave him the most minimal access. Hardly better than a visitor's badge. He swiped it and entered the door as it opened. Inside he found eight bunks and seven boys staring at him. One of whom had nothing but contempt.
"Look who it is, it's the replacement." The boy said with a sneer and got up out of bed. Walking over and putting himself in front of Ezra, blocking his way forward. "Probably more kriff from the Flats. Just what we need."
"You'll be alone. The outsider. They'll have allies. Temporary agreements to work together to get ahead. You won't. You're new. An unknown. A potential threat. You need to strike first."
Just as Sabine had shown him, Ezra slammed his helmeted head into the other boy's nose and heard the crunch that came with a nose breaking. The boy swore as blood sputtered but Ezra had already dropped his bag and turned to face the next opponent.
This boy didn't fare any better and once Ezra had him in a headlock he used the boy as a shield between him and any other attackers. But it seemed like no one else wanted to step up and try the new kid.
"And remember - ruthless. Once you have the advantage, keep it. Otherwise they'll overwhelm you and you won't be able to use the Force for help."
"You had enough?" Ezra asked the boy he still had his arm around, he tightened it for good measure. The kid coughed, his skin turning bright red as Ezra's hold choked off his blood supply. "Tap out," Ezra commanded, his voice hard but steady.
He felt a slight tap of the boy's hand against his leg and Ezra let go and shoved the kid to the ground, where he held at his neck and coughed. Ezra eyed each of them warily but none made a move. A few moments later they had returned to their bunks or resumed conversations as if nothing had happened.
Ezra picked his bag back up and made for the only empty bunk. He sat down and removed his helmet - and the smear of blood covering it. He looked back at the boy with the broken nose, the one who first challenged him. He glared at Ezra a moment before looking away.
"Remember this is just temporary. Chopper will be watching you and we'll be right outside the whole time. The sooner you get in and grab that decoder, the sooner you get back home and we put this crap assignment behind."
Ezra got out of his bed and headed to the communal refresher to clean the blood off the helmet. Those past two weeks had been tougher than any of his Jedi training - or any physical training he'd ever been through - and Sabine was relentless in preparing him.
Sabine made Grint look like a saint in comparison! And while he hated it at the time, right now he couldn't have been more grateful for all the time and patience she invested into him.
The next two days passed but no other attempts were made at him. And Ezra let himself be pulled into the monotony of life in the Imperial Academy, or Junior Academy as Sabine had put it. No one was going to be trained to be a stormtrooper there. It was designed for assessment.
Does this kid have what it takes to be a stormtrooper? Is he that fanatical and ruthless? The boy, Oleg, who first challenged Ezra seemed to fit that type. Aggressive. Uncaring. Out for themselves. Definitely Oleg.
Ezra never really gave much thought about the faces behind the Imperial helmets he collected. And he decided that that was the point. If eventually all they became was a number and a helmet, it'd be all the more easy to lose your identity and for others to see you the same as any other Imperial. Any other buckethead.
But so far only Oleg and the other kid who tried to attack me seemed to fit that stormtrooper type. The others weren't nearly as aggressive and ruthless and there was even some comradery. Jai especially who shared Ezra's own sense of humor. While he never forgot Sabine's training and that he was there undercover, Ezra couldn't help but eventually become friends with the other boy.
As days became weeks Ezra found the others were growing on him, all except for Oleg and his friend. And there was also that Leonis cadet - their unit leader - he seemed a bit too intense. But Ezra didn't see the others as all different from him. But there was one difference, and it trumped all else.
Everyone was there to earn a place in the Empire. Stormtrooper, TIE pilot, an officer, or kriff even a cook. They all saw the Empire as the power to serve and in all likelihood they would shoot him if they ever learned that "Dev" was there not to serve the Empire but to stop it.
And as Squad LRC077 stood at attention in the hangar and watched as Aresko activated the Well for the first time, Ezra knew at long last he would get his chance to stop whatever it was the Empire was up to. This exercise and its rewards for coming in first was what Ezra had long waited for.
"The what?"
"The Well," Sabine stressed. "It's a high-tech squared off pit built into the deck of the hangar or something. It opens up and lowers your whole squad ten to fifteen meters below the hangar floor. And the only way out of it is up."
Ezra frowned. "So what then are there ladders or ropes?"
Sabine rolled her eyes and laughed.
"I said high-tech! There are dozens of moving repulsor platforms, hidden from inside the walls. They will slide out and hover around for a bit, maybe move up or down, and then eventually return to the wall only for a new platform to take its place."
"And we're supposed to do what? Jump our way to the top and hope we don't fall and break our necks?"
Sabine gave him that look she'd been giving him whenever he'd miss something obvious. Or something he should've known but had clearly forgotten. And it hit him.
"Right," Ezra said. "Everyone is out for themselves."
"Have you ever seen a stormtrooper stop to help a wounded comrade in the middle of a fight? I sure haven't. The Empire is a machine and they're cogs in a machine, Cadet Morgan. And the kids in your squad are all jockeying to be the best cog. You're there to get Kanan and Hera the intel they need to blast the machine to pieces."
"And Zeb said he found a safehouse?" Ezra asked.
"A small apartment a block away from the hangar. We'll be outside the whole time, Ezra"
Ezra smiled at her slip of calling him by his actual name. It was the first time he had heard it in weeks. "Be sure to get something to cover up Zeb's aroma, Paintbomb."
Sabine rolled her eyes. "Please. That Furball is taking one shower a day minimum the whole time we're there. I am not living in that stench for the next two weeks!"
They shared a laugh and then grew serious, minds refocusing on the mission.
"So tell me about these platforms? I bet you figured out how and placed first."
She never talked about it, but Sabine had long given up the pretense around Ezra of not having been an Imperial Cadet in her past. Given she was also Mandalorian and Ezra could put two and two together and figure out where and probably when she was a cadet. Yet he did his best not to bring it up, and when he did it was in cases like this.
To gain an edge.
"I did place somewhere in the top, yes," Sabine said coyly. "But it won't matter. Not in your case at least. Although you should know that the crates can be electrified at any moment and eventually in your training your class will be handed E-11s."
"Blaster rifles? What are we supposed to do with those - hit the moving crates?"
Sabine was smiling but her eyebrows dipped and she had that look again in her eyes that told him he had missed something obvious once again.
"Oh," Ezra said.
Blaster rifles. Every cadet for themselves.
Great. But Sabine was right. It shouldn't really be that much of a problem for someone like him.
"Come on, Kid," Sabine said and gave Ezra a playful shove. "Time for you and Chopper to work on your hand signals again."
"You know only one of us actually has hands. He's a flashlight on wheels."
Sabine chuckled.
"You know I think that might be a new one for Chopper."
Aresko was at the top of "the Well" lecturing and Oleg was down there trying to prove how tough he was and how he was going to get to the top first. His current target was Jai, though his targeting Jai was less about Jai and more about trying to get under Ezra's skin.
Ezra just grabbed Oleg by the arm, twisted it, and shoved him away from Jai. It's nothing he hadn't already done the past couple weeks, except this time Oleg didn't look intimidated in the least. But he was rather expecting it and was hoping for an excuse.
"Better watch yourself, Morgan," Oleg chided. "It's a long fall from the top. Same for you, Kell."
Ezra winced inwardly and watched as the Well activated and the platforms began moving. Sabine was right, this wouldn't be a challenge for him. But Jai didn't have it in him. It'd been mistake after mistake and Sergeant Grint was already eyeing Jai and marking him for whatever punishment his brute-mind could come up with.
So far it'd been withholding rations but as Sabine put it, on Mandalore at least, the punishments could be far more severe. But that was Mandalore. So far the horror stories he heard weren't manifesting themselves here on Lothal.
"Assessment begins!" Grint announced and as Ezra expected, out came the platforms.
The other cadets weren't as prepared and Jai commented that this was impossible. So Ezra did the only thing he knew that could motivate him. He gave Jai a teasing shove and then led the way. Making it look so effortless that Jai was following right in his footsteps and so were many of the other cadets.
Not that it helped. The platforms were moving too fast for Ezra to help all of them. And besides this was supposed to be about separating the weak from the strong. If Ezra's meddling interfered with the Empire's test scores, then that made it all the better.
"You make it look so effortless!" Jai shouted as Ezra all but wallran up a side of the Well. Instinctively knowing which crate was going to pop out next and where to place his hand for the best hold.
"What can I say?" Ezra said. "I'm a natural!"
And a bit of an inside edge, Ezra thought as a platform below jumped with electricity and shocked the cadet standing on it. It was just as Sabine described, and then Ezra felt it. His instincts scream at him to move.
And so he did, jumping to the next platform and missing being shocked by less than a second. And then his instincts screamed at him again. Ezra made another jump to a passing platform. Again they screamed and so he jumped down to a lower one and kept jumping until finally he felt the danger had passed.
That wasn't random at all, Ezra realized as he glanced around and found himself looking up at Grint and Aresko looking down at them from their own hovering platforms. Aresko held what Ezra thought was some fancy looking datapad but only from this angle it didn't look quite right. It must be a control device of some sort, with control of the Well and its platforms.
They're trying to get me to fall. There's no way anyone should've been to avoid that many electro-shocks.
"Morgan!" Jai yelled and his voice snapped Ezra back into the moment. Focused again, Ezra made a few jumps and placed himself on the same platform as Jai. He would come in first, he had no doubt. But Jai could use a break from the punishments.
Besides, Ezra thought as he sensed Oleg's crate approaching them. Oleg was really excited about seeing one of them fall from this high.
"Jump!" Ezra shouted and guided Jai to another platform just in time to avoid being shoved from the crate by a passing Oleg. Instead it was Oleg who plummeted to a crate far below.
Ezra winced and then pointed to another passing crate. Together he and Jai made quick work of the final few crates and as Ezra climbed out of the Well it was with Jai right beside him.
"First again," Ezra exclaimed and took his helmet off, breathing with ease unlike Jai who was bent at the waist gasping for air.
"Yeah. Well, I'll get you tomorrow," Jai verbally jabbed back at him.
"You said that yesterday too," Ezra replied.
There was another boy too, and Jai helped him out as soon as he neared the ledge. It was hard to keep track of who with all the helmets but Ezra was pretty certain that the yellow helmet was Leonis.' He didn't have it out for Ezra, or anyone really.
Jai would be easy enough to steer away, aside from liking the guy and it was the other reason Ezra chose to befriend him. It was a little manipulative, true, but then that was the point of this whole undercover mission.
Besides, Jai wouldn't complain about getting an easy assignment and full meal today. And so long as Ezra picked a moment when Leonis wasn't around he'd be in and out of Kallus' office with the decoder in no time.
"Quite a finish, cadets," Commandant Aresko complimented and clapped his hands in congratulations. "Morgan, Kell, you both set course records." Aresko said and stepped off his platform to approach the cadets. "And, um, is it Leonis?" He asked and the third boy with the yellow helmet removed it to show his black skin and cropped haircut.
"Sir, yes, Sir!" Leonis said proudly but respectfully.
"You three are today's winners. But rest assured, your next trial will be a great challenge."
Ezra held his breath. Could it be? Was it finally time?
Come on. Please…
"Follow," Aresko commanded and led the three away in the opposite direction of the Academy.
The more they walked the further they went from the Academy and the closer to the Imperial Headquarters. And Agent Kallus' office.
Inside his head Ezra heard Sabine's lecturing of maintaining a military bearing, and he was! Walking in a single line with the others behind the Commandant as they went through the labyrinth of hallways that made up the Headquarters.
But Ezra's inner child was bouncing off the walls in excitement.
The turned at a corner and out of the corner of his eye Ezra spotted Chopper in an Imperial droid paint schematic. How the old C1 was fooling anyone Ezra couldn't imagine, but he bet the grumpy old droid was as eager as him to be done with this mission and back in space flying.
"Whump, whump," Chopper intoned as he passed Ezra.
First finger and last finger, Ezra thought and motioned the signal to Chopper. Everything was all good. He'd make his move today and they'd be out of here.
Looking back he should've known it'd be too good to be true.
Aresko gave the three their assignments and Ezra hurried through his, not knowing he had picked up a shadow. When he bumped into Kallus he made certain he was wearing his helmet so he wasn't identified. Gaining access to the Agent's office, also a breeze, and so was getting the decoder.
He opened the door to leave and make his escape, where standing in front of him was the last person he expected to see.
A cadet with yellow insignia, Leonis?
"What do you think you're doing?" he asked, his voice coming across the helmet's vocabulator.
A moment passed and Ezra squared up, his body bracing itself for a fight. He wasn't wearing his helmet, carrying it in the crook of his arm instead to hide the decoder. And Leonis knew him by sight. His cover was compromised and now he had to fix this before word got out.
More movement outside and before Ezra could rush to a defense the other cadet quickly shoved Ezra back inside the office, missing an Imperial patrol by seconds. Stunned, Ezra watched as Leonis took off his own helmet, revealing his identity and then reached into Ezra's helmet and lifted the decoder!
"Hey!" Ezra said and reached for it, but Leonis kept it back.
Leonis studied it for a moment and shook his head. "Figured it would be something like this."
"It's not what you think," Ezra said, trying to explain.
Leonis turned away and looked around the office. "I think this device has a built-in sensor, which would trigger that." He pointed to a security sensor above the door that Ezra had missed. "You try walking out with this thing, the whole facility goes on lockdown."
Haar'chak, Ezra thought and realized he had been inches away from getting caught. And then it hit him.
"Wait," Ezra said and looked at Leonis in question. "Are you trying to help me?"
Leonis held the decoder back to Ezra. "You really want to discuss this here and now?"
"Mmm, not so much," Ezra replied and took the decoder. Briskly he returned it to Kallus' desk where had swept it and then considered his options.
No one on the team had predicted this, and there was no way that Ezra would make his pickup with the team. Which would freak the others. But there was nothing for it. He'd try to sneak another message to Chopper later, hopefully he'd also have a backup plan figured out.
For now he'd have to improvise, but as things stood now he doubted he could pull this off alone. But then maybe he wouldn't have to.
Neither said another word and went through the rest of their assigned duties. Once it was lights out and they were certain the others were asleep, Ezra and Leonis got out of bed and snuck out for a quiet chat.
"You're slipping," Leonis said once he and Ezra had found an out of the way storage room for some privacy. "Two weeks you come in all big and tough, putting Oleg in his place. Say 'Yes, Sir' and 'No, Sir.' But now you're strutting around like you own the place. And was that your droid? Could you have been more obvious? Sloppy. If Aresko didn't have his back turned-"
"You're undercover too," Ezra said. It was the only explanation and judging by the look on Leonis' face Ezra wasn't wrong.
"My sister, Dhara, was a star cadet. Wrote to us all about this place. Excited to be here. Then she up and disappears and Aresko feeds us this crooked story about her running off. I came here for answers and memorized everything I needed to know, including the alarm systems, and what triggers them."
Ezra was impressed. He thought they'd covered every detail of the place. That he knew the ins and outs. But they had missed something crucial. What else had they missed?
Leonis stopped to take a breath, Ezra held his tongue and gave the other boy his moment. The boy's shield of determination and competence returned and then he looked to Ezra.
"Sneaking into Kallus' office is a good way to get shot."
"Long story," Ezra replied. "But I need that decoder. And I could use a partner who knows his way around."
"What's in it for me?" Leonis asked.
It triggered a familiar memory to Ezra. One not so long ago when Hera presented him with a similar choice. Stick it to the Empire but risk his neck to help people he hardly knew, or just continue looking out for number one.
But it wasn't just about sticking it to the Empire, not for Leonis. He still had hope he'd find his sister. Be reunited with his family. All Ezra had was contempt for what the Empire had done to him.
Ezra looked down at the floor. He had no choice, he needed help. "I was seven when the Empire took my parents from me. There was nothing I could do."
Leonis let out a breath and sighed. He knew what that meant.
"This decoder," he said. "It'll hurt the Empire?"
"My friends and I have been targeting the Empire for a while," Ezra explained. "There's a shipment the Empire is trying to keep secret about. All we need is its location."
Leonis nodded and held out his hand. Ezra took it and shook his hand.
"We'll have to finish in the top three tomorrow," Ezra said. "If we're going to get into Imperial HQ."
Leonis nodded, not showing the slightest doubt that they could do that again. "Then let's do it. I'm Zare, by the way, Zare Leonis. And you're Dev, right?"
Ezra winced and rubbed the back of his head. The ever observant Leonis closed his eyes and nodded. A cover name. Especially since Dev just admitted that he was part of a group targeting the Empire. Throwing around his real name would be a great way to get anyone who knew him hurt.
"Sorry," Ezra said.
But Leonis, or Zare, shook his head and held up his hand. "It's fine. I get it, do what you have to do. Besides if this shipment is as secret as you make it out to be and the Empire finds out you had a hand in it. Well, the less I know the better. But after you and your friends are finished with the decoder. I want you to promise me you'll hand it off to an associate of mine."
Ezra considered this and nodded. "Got a name?"
"Spanjaf. And I think he can help us get back in here tomorrow."
"Okay," Ezra said. "Tell me more."
The first sign that today wasn't going to be as easy at the Well, was the addition of four more cadets. Which meant four more kids he (and now Zare Leonis) would have to beat to the top.
Even better, every cadet had an E-11. After a quick inspection Ezra saw that it was set for non-lethal, but not that that helped much. One lucky shot and he could fall from first to last in the race to the top.
"Sort of feel like we're at rock bottom," Zare said as he came over to stand by Ezra and glance at the newcomers. "Aresko was watching you earlier."
Ezra frowned. "He was watching all of us."
Zare rolled his eyes and shook his head. "I like you Dev but you really need to work on your observation skills. They tried shocking you a bunch yesterday but got nothing but air. I don't know what your deal is, but you're on their radar now."
Osik, Ezra thought and looked up the well. Commandant Aresko and Sergeant Grint were both staring down but as he looked he saw that both kept eyeing Ezra in particular. Ezra had briefly brought up hiding his Force powers but Sabine dismissed it. If all went to plan he'd only have to do the Well once.
Kriff.
"One thing at a time, Zare," Ezra said. "I'll watch your back, you watch mine."
"Right," Zare said and then gave a sidelong glance at Jai. "The two of us getting to the top will be hard enough. But three?"
"Yeah," Ezra said. "He's a good guy."
"Whose training to join the Empire," Zare said, barely containing the resentment in his voice.
Ezra scowled and narrowed his eyes at Zare. "I'll keep my end, Leonis. Count on it."
Zare studied Ezra and searched him for something. Ezra had no idea what, but a moment later the boy nodded. Satisfied with what he saw. He checked his rifle and nodded. "Okay, Dev. Let's do this."
Ezra nodded but found himself glancing back up at Aresko. Zare couldn't have known it but his words rattled Ezra more than he could've known. His story about Dhara being a star student and then going missing? And now Aresko is taking an interest in himself? All he needed was Aresko or Grint to start running their mouths about the blue haired cadet and it'd only be a matter of time.
"Do you really think you can save the boy?" the Inquisitor asked, his lips wide and showing off his devil smile.
Ezra suppressed the shudder and focused back on the moment. Thinking like this would do no good. He had a mission and if he didn't get this wrapped up soon they'd miss their window and the Imperial convoy too.
Zare was right. No matter what they had to reach the top.
Aresko's nasally voice reached them, bringing focus to him in his perch beside Grint high above them. The sick bastard loved lording his power over us kids. Setting us against each other. This time they had to use their weapons to shoot the targets on the crates in order to activate a crate. But no one was fooled.
He wanted to be entertained, and those around him would waste no time in turning the weapons on each other.
"Hey Dev," Jai Kell greeted Ezra, happy to see his friend. "You seeing this?" Jai nodded his head to his left and Ezra turned. Sure enough there was Oleg staring at him and then pointing his blaster rifle at him, a silent promise that no matter the outcome Oleg was going to make Ezra pay.
Great.
"Three! Two! One!" Grint yelled. "Begin!"
Cadets dropped left and right as they opened fire on each other. Ezra got tagged by Oleg and the stun setting was painful but it wore off quickly. If it happened near the top, however. Oleg didn't enjoy his victory long as both Dev and Zare directed all of their shots at him.
"Come on, Dev!" Jai yelled above the loud circus of blaster fire.
Ezra got to his feet and glanced around. "I'll hit the crates and lead the way! You guys keep them off me!"
It wasn't much of a plan but by working together, the three made progress and soon had taken the lead. With Ezra making use of his Jedi precog and successfully navigating them higher and higher out of the Well and the other two picking off any cader who tried pointed their rifle at him, it wasn't long before they neared the top.
But Oleg wasn't to be deterred. He couldn't get his gun on Ezra, but in Oleg's eyes Ezra wasn't the only one who had wronged him. Ezra and Jai jumped to the next higher crate and were just so close to the top. But just as Zare was to follow, Oleg squeezed the trigger causing Ezra's partner to fall.
"I'm not going to make it!" Zare yelled. His conclusion was clear as Oleg was climbing higher and higher, nearing the top himself. And he would, which only meant one thing.
"Sorry Jai," Ezra said and slammed his shoulder into his friend's back, causing him to lose his balance and fall several meters. His fall was broken, hitting a passing crate rather than falling all the way to the ground but the damage was done. Jai opened his helmet's visor and stared at Ezra with a look of betrayal.
Ezra held the look, feeling guilt inside, but then flipped his visor back down to help Zare. Working together Ezra and Zare reached the top just as Oleg did.
And Aresko was clapping and lauding Ezra, pointing his betrayal out for all to see.
"Cadets, follow Morgan's example. There is no friendship in war."
It was all Ezra could do to keep from turning his rifle on the Commandant and making him stuff his words with a shot to the chest. Aresko droned on talking about how tomorrow's test would be even harder, but the reward would be a ride in an Imperial walker.
Absently Ezra noted it. If needed it could be a potential escape vehicle.
As the assembled cadets moved to disperse Zare stopped by Ezra and saw the despondent look on his partner's face, he also saw Jai headed right for them. His face a torrent of confusion and anger.
"Don't try explaining or apologizing," Zare whispered. "It'll only make the betrayal worse."
With that Zare left to make his way to the Headquarters and Ezra was left facing Jai alone.
"What was that, Dev? You sabotaged me!" Jai said, his voice seething and on the verge of exploding.
"I did what I had to do," Ezra said. He then flipped down his helmet's own visor and turned his back on Jai.
"Good to know," Jai said, his words chasing after Ezra's retreating back.
Ezra gritted his teeth. The quicker he wrapped this mission up the better.
He found Zare waiting for him halfway between the Academy and the HQ. The look on Ezra's face said it all. The other boy stood and placed a hand on Ezra's shoulder.
"The mission is what matters," he said.
"Try telling Jai that," Ezra responded.
Ditching Oleg proved to be no problem and Aresko had up and disappeared. Now if only Kallus wasn't sitting at his desk with the decoder sitting right next to him. But that proved not to be too much of a problem as Zare was two steps ahead and revealed a list of…
"Pod racing parts?"
"Thought we might need some dumbied up datapads. And Spanjaf came through for me." Zare explained. "Should be enough to distract Kallus long enough for you to sneak in and grab the decoder? You said you had a way in."
Ezra set his shoulders straight. There was no way Zare would believe him outright. "Seeing is believing, just keep a straight face okay? You need to keep Kallus' eyes on you."
With that the pair found a nearby empty office with access to the headquarter's ventilation system. Zare wasn't the only one who had memorized the layout of this place and right now that preparation was going to make all the difference.
Ezra silently crawled his way forward until he was at last in the vent overlooking Kallus. He frowned as he watched the Agent type away at his desk, undoubtedly chasing down lead after lead of Ezra's adopted family.
He wanted to use the Force and throw Kallus through his office windows. End that threat to his family for good. Instead he pushed aside such non-Jedi thoughts and settled in. Five minutes later Zare rang the call button outside Kallus' office.
"Come," Kallus said.
The door opened revealing Zare with a datapad filled with a long list of parts. "Sir," Zare said. "Your Podracer parts have been delivered."
Kallus leaned his head back in confusion and Ezra smirked from his spot in the ceiling.
"If you'll just sign off here, I'll bring them up." Zare said, playing his part perfectly.
The outrageousness of the notion was enough for Kallus to stop all work and get to his feet. With his focus on Zare and his list he walked over to the door to address the issue. So far so good, Ezra thought as he reached out with the Force.
Now Zare just had to keep up his performance, which wouldn't exactly be easy. Still Ezra placed his trust in the other boy and through the Force felt the decoder. Closing eyes and reaching with his hand he pulled the card loose and then began to draw it to him.
Zare fought to keep his eyes on Kallus but it was a little difficult, what if the decoder floating mid air in the room!
And yet in the face of the Empire's best, he kept up his appearance and Kallus remained focused on Zare and the ridiculous list of Podracer parts. Ezra sighed in relief once he felt the decoder in his hand. He then quietly closed the vent and began to head back the way he came.
A good thing too as Kallus had dismissed Zare and his bogus list and was studying his office. Except there was nothing out of place or missing. Kallus shook his head and returned to his work.
Hunting Rebels.
"As usual, the assessments have proven quite illuminating," Aresko's voice filtered up from a nearby air vent.
As usual? Ezra frowned and changed direction. He paused beside the vent leading to what he could only figure was Aresko's office. And then listened.
"I believe we've identified two cadets, Morgan and Kell," the Commandant continued. Hearing the mention of his name and his friend, Ezra cautiously slid the vent open a few inches and looked down to see Aresko addressing the blue glow of a holoprojector. "Yes. I believe they meet your special criteria, Inquisitor."
Ezra's blood froze.
No.
"Excellent, Commandant." The Inquisitor replied over the transmission and there was no denying it. It was the same voice Ezra heard in his nightmares. "Tomorrow, I will arrive on Lothal to test them myself."
No, no, no!
"If the tests are conclusive, I will take them into custody."
Moving at what felt like glacial speed, Ezra gently closed the vent and gasped.
This was supposed to be it. His last day here. In a few hours he was supposed to meet with Sabine and Zeb with the decoder and get the hell out of here!
And then what? Leave Jai to face the Inquisitor? He's only been succeeding because I've been helping him.
Ezra's mind raced in turmoil and he tried to get a reign on his thoughts. It took some time but eventually he boiled it all down. Ironically it was what Zare said earlier to him about the mission that mattered.
He wasn't wrong, and Zare was certainly focused on his own mission and this decoder will hopefully help him find his sister. Though with this realization of Aresko sending star pupils who meet certain criteria to the Inquisitor felt like a lead balloon to Ezra.
Depending on how long Dhara had been missing, Ezra was certain she must be in the Inquisitor's clutches at this point. And who knows what's happened since then.
Ezra couldn't recall how he found his way back to his exit point in the vents but when he hopped out it was clear Zare had been waiting for a substantial amount of time. "There you are," the Cadet spouted. "Decide to take the scenic route? And what was that floating thing with the decoder? You do have the decoder, don't you?"
Ezra patted his pants pocket where he had slid it. However Zare, ever perceptive, noticed that something had spooked Ezra.
"It's because I'm a Jedi," Ezra said. Zare's mouth opened in surprise, that wasn't something he had been expecting to hear. "And we need to talk."
"Pacing won't make this go any faster," Zeb said ever so casually.
Night had fallen and Ezra was overdue for his pickup, and Sabine was trying very-very hard not to grab the grenade off her belt and chuck it at a cluster of stormtroopers and storm the Academy with blasters out and shooting anyone who gets in her way. But she couldn't do that. She knew she couldn't do that. So she did the only thing she could do.
Sabine kept up her pacing and Zeb sighed. "Trust the Kid. He knows what he's doing."
"I know that," Sabine said. "And I do trust the Kid. But he's never been this deep before. Not for so long and without someone watching his back."
"Look," Zeb said, deciding on another tact. "Things never go according to plan. But the Kid has kept his cover up this long. He's not about to blow things now when he's this close."
"I just… I just wish I could see him. To be sure," Sabine admitted.
"And you will. As soon as - oh there he is." Zeb said.
Sabine stopped her pacing and turned to see Chopper had snuck out again and had made his way to the predetermined meetup point. It's about time, Sabine thought as Chopper rolled up to her.
"The decoder?" Zeb asked. While Ezra was risking his life in there, they were running out of time to stop that Imperial shipment.
Thankfully Chopper had the answer to that. Out of one of his disc drives popped the decoder. The sight of it brought a smile to Zeb's face. He took the decoder and examined it, it was exactly the spec they were looking for.
"Thataboy, Kid."
Chopper gave out a low grumble that Zeb couldn't understand, but Sabine did. She huffed. "Yeah, yeah, you helped too. Now where's Ezra?"
Again Chopper let out a low grumble but a series of warbles, and by the end it had Sabine in near state of panic. "What? What do you mean he went back to the Academy?"
"Karabast," Zeb muttered. He\d spent the past two days assuring the girl the Kid was handling things just fine. And here he goes and misses the pickup and for what? Why in the blazes would he stick behind. Every moment he's in there he's risking life and limb!
This time Chopper didn't bother answering, he just played the holorecording. Sure enough it was Ezra, and Sabine was seeing him. Just not at all how she wanted.
"Guys, I know you're expecting me, but I have to stay at the Academy." Ezra said hurriedly, making it apparent he didn't have the luxury of time with this recording. "There's this kid there, Jai Kell. And he'll get scooped up by the Inquisitor if I don't help him."
Holo-Ezra threw up his arms in a helpless gesture.
"Wait. The Inquisitor?" Zeb said slowly. "Is Ezra out of his…"
"You probably think I've lost my mind. And you're probably right. But it's your fault. The old me never stuck his neck out for a stranger."
Holo-Ezra sighed and rolled his eyes.
"Clearly, I've spent way too long with you heroes. Decode the hyperspace coordinates and get them to Spectre-1."
Zeb sighed but a smile began to grow on his face. The Kid wasn't being irresponsible, he'd completed his part of the mission. Now he was doing what he felt he had to. To let an innocent be taken by the Inquisitor? Zeb imagined if the roles reversed and he was in Ezra's shoes.
And realized Ezra was right. He would do the same thing. And when Sabine removed her helmet and Zeb saw the forlorn look on her face, he could tell the troubled girl felt similarly.
"I do have a plan though. If you're not too busy, attack the Academy tomorrow at noon. I could use the diversion so I can get out of here. Spectre-6, out."
Holo-Ezra gave a little salute and with that the holorecording flickered out.
"Get us those coordinates," Zeb said immediately to Chopper and handed the decoder back to the astromech, and Chopper got right to work. It wouldn't take long.
"I can't believe this," Sabine said and Zeb noticed she had resumed her pacing. She then paused and whirled on Zeb. "This is your fault!"
"What in the Stars, Girl? Are you hearing yourself now?"
But Sabine wasn't about to be deterred.
"Always taunting and trying to get under the Kid's skin! Making him feel like he's useless or not needed!"
Zeb flinched. Okay so she had him there, but he felt like he'd been easing up on that since the Kid saved his life and the two had their TIE fighter journey together. Still if there was anyone the Kid was trying to impress on the ship - it wasn't him!
"Sabine, I think the Kid was sincere in his holo-recording. Not trying to impress a soul. He's changed since we first met him. And he's going to keep changing as he grows."
He could tell that while Sabine was listening and possibly even agreeing, she still wasn't happy about it. Not at all.
"We'll get him out of there. And he'll be pleased as a Loth-kitten with a ball of yarn when he sees what you've cooked up for him."
Chopper gave a beep and Sabine closed her eyes, smiling at the imagery Zeb painted. She was really looking forward to Ezra's reaction when he first laid eyes on it. She'd worked so long on it. Getting it just right.
It was certain to be a show.
"Begin the transmission, Chopper. Kanan's going to flip when he hears this." Sabine said.
"Yeah," Zeb said with a chuckle. "Glad it's you who'll be telling him."
"What?" Sabine said and snapped her amber brown eyes to fix Zeb with The Look. "Nuh uh Big and Smelly. You're telling Spectre-1!"
"Smelly? Smelly! I smell like daisies!" Zeb objected.
"Only because I've made you take a shower twice a day on this assignment! Ezra wasn't lying. You need to change your diet or something."
Chopper warbled that time was ticking and added that he had to get back to the Academy soon.
Sabine rolled her eyes and braced herself, figuring out how to word it. Maybe if she emphasized the need for them to leave ASAP she could skirt telling them about this altogether?
"Go ahead, Chop. Begin the transmission."
"This'll be good," Zeb said.
Kidnapping Jai and forcing him to the same storage area Zare and Ezra had used earlier wasn't too difficult. Sure Jai came in second all those times because of Ezra's help, but it was because of Ezra. How Aresko missed that key detail Ezra would never know.
So kidnapping him wasn't too hard, and since it wasn't that hard Ezra was half tempted to make a run for it now. But Zare had kindly reminded Ezra that while his astromech droid coming and going was one thing, three cadets making a run for it was certain to draw attention.
Also there was the small matter of convincing Jai to make a run for it to begin with. The boy still wasn't happy with Ezra. And why would he? To him his friend "Dev" backstabbed him for Zare.
No, Zare was right. While making a run for it was tempting. It was better to be patient and have Zeb and Sabine on standby. They just had to be sure to be gone before the Inquisitor showed up.
Ezra sighed. Unfortunately there was no predicting when that would be.
Meanwhile here was him and Zare in this kriffing supply closet trying to convince Jai to make a run for it while he still could. But he just wasn't buying it. With arms folded and leaning against the wall, Zare looked like he'd given up on Jai entirely. But Ezra still felt he had a couple cards left to play.
Maybe.
"No. No way." Jai said, his tone filled with resolve and convinced that both boys had it out for him. "This is just another dirty trick. You're trying to get me busted out of the Academy."
Ugh.
"Uh, yeah." Ezra admitted. "But not the way you think The Inquisitor…"
"Please." Jai scoffed and got into Ezra's face. "I don't believe this Inquisitor exists. And even if he does? Then maybe it's a good thing. The Inquisitor trains me and I get a top rank in the Empire."
"Kell, you got a family?" Zare asked suddenly. Leaning against the wall with arms crossed, it was the first thing he'd said in five minutes.
But it worked and Jai rubbed his hands nervously. "Uh, it's just me and my mother."
"And how would she feel if she never saw you again?" Zare pressed and stood tall, narrowing his gaze on Jai. He walked forward until he was eye level and an arm's length away from him. "My sister disappeared from this place. And I'm betting it was the Inquisitor who took her away," Zare said and shoved Jai back a step.
Ezra winced. He had hoped to get a chance to talk with Zare afterward about what had likely happened to his sister. He should've known the boy and his perception would've already figured it out.
"So unless you're ready to say bye to Mom forever…" Zare said and pressed on the hard sell.
Ezra watched as Jai thought it over, piecing things he'd seen together and calculating the odds.
"Okay." Jai said at last. "What's the plan?"
Ezra gave a quick sigh of relief before pulling them together into a huddle. "Simple," Ezra began. "The three of us have to win tomorrow's challenge."
"Not so simple," Zare said.
"And how's that supposed to get us out of here?" Jai asked.
Ezra smiled.
"Because it gets us inside that walker."
As it turned out, for once, Ezra's optimism was in the first time in the Well it was six cadets. The second day it was ten. But today? For some reason Aresko only had four. Ezra and his group, and Oleg.
Knowing what was on the line the three boys knew what they had to do. Just as the previous day as soon as the test began all three formed up and began working together. Ezra led the way and made sure each boy made the jump. While the other two took turns covering Oleg, who was once more alternating between playing catch up and trying to take a shot at one of the three.
He may still hold his biggest grudge against Ezra, or rather Dev Morgan, but he was just as happy to take shots at any of the three so long as it meant he would finish in the top three.
Unfortunately for Oleg he was outgunned three to one and never could get a clean shot. He almost got one on Jai but Zare had his sights on the boy and hit him with a stun bolt.
"Thanks," Jai said.
"We're a team," Zare reminded him and followed Ezra up to the next platform.
When Ezra reached the final platform he turned and covered Oleg so that the other two could make the final push. Far below, nearly at the bottom, all Oleg could do was stare up at the three in frustration.
This time it was Jai who reached the top first followed shortly by Zare and lastly Ezra. The three boys exchanged smiles. The plan worked, but they were also lucky. Had it not just been Oleg it was doubtful all three would've reached the top first.
The three stood in a line before Aresko and Grint. The two Imperials waited until Oleg had climbed out of the Well and took his place at the end of the line, making a small effort to keep his distance as much as what was acceptable by Imperial close order drill standards.
Grint didn't look pleased, not surprising since he had spent a lot of time one on one with Oleg and had come to favor the boy above all others. It figured given their shared bully mentalities. Aresko on the other hand looked very happy, and it was that response of Arekso the led to Ezra figuring out why it was only the four of them.
The Inquisitor.
Ezra, Zare, and Jai worked together the previous day against the other cadets and while Ezra "betrayed" Jai at the end it was pretty evident that he didn't like it. And Aresko had noticed, so this time he made certain that the Well was clear of all other competitors but one.
It was rigged from the start. With the three of them working together and taking shot after shot at Oleg, they were guaranteed to reach the top. And the two cadets Aresko had promised to show off to the Inquisitor had finished in the top three on the very day of the Inquisitor's inspection.
"Cadets Kell, Leonis, and Morgan win the day and the prize." Aresko announced, a pleased tone in his voice and then gestured with grandiosity at a nearby walker in the Academy's hangar.
In an angry huff, Oleg dismissed himself and left the hangar. Ezra smiled, happy to finally be rid of the selfish brute. And as they boarded the three Ezra's happiness grew when he saw out in the training grounds a certain astromech throw what looked like one of Sabine's miracles at the leg joint of a walker that was guarding the entrance to and from the Academy.
Things never went exactly to plan but maybe today would be the exception, Ezra thought as he closed the hatch and joined the others inside the walker. Its pilot was already seated and ready to go, and Zare had begun asking him questions on how to drive the thing.
With the pilot's attention diverted, Zare picked up the pilot's E-11 blaster rifle and passed it to Ezra. Behind his helmet Ezra smiled and checked the setting. He decided to set it to stun. With Zare standing next to the pilot and Jai in the co-pilot chair just behind, Ezra positioned himself on the other side of the pilot so he could look through the view ports.
Sure enough there was Chopper ready and waiting, just as eager to be done with this assignment as Ezra. The droid activated his signal light and Ezra counted the blinks.
They were ready. Ezra glanced back at Jai and nodded to him, then readied himself.
The explosion caught everyone off guard, everyone except the three boys in the walker.
"What was that?" The pilot asked as he looked on, stunned as the other walker collapsed on its damaged knee joint and fell to the ground outside the hangar doors.
The only response was the blast from Ezra's E-11 and the pilot slumped forward, unconscious. "Jai, help," Ezra said and together the two boys pushed the pilot out of the chair and Zare took his place.
"You know what you're doing, right?" Ezra asked.
Zare put the walker into gear and after the first few steps Ezra had his answer. Zare did not know what he was doing!
"It's the gyro-stabilizers," he explained as the walker lumbered forward. Alarms from the hangar began to ring out and the hangar door began its slow descent. They didn't have long before it closed and sealed them in.
Another walker had powered up that was closer to the doors and was already exiting the hangar, but it looked like their walker wouldn't reach the doors in time.
"Do something!" Jai shouted and tried to get his hands on the trigger of the walker's heavy cannon.
"No!" Ezra yelled and batted Jai away.
"What the kriff, Dev?" Jai demanded.
"The last thing we need is to draw attention to ourselves," Ezra said. "The longer Aresko thinks we're three innocent cadets the better."
"But the door!" Zare said and pointed.
The walker's comm flared to life. It was Aresko. "Pilot! Stand down! You cannot risk the lives of those boys!"
Jai frowned. "Why is the Commandant so concerned about us?"
"The Inquisitor," Zare reminded him. "We're no good to him dead."
Ezra grabbed control off the walker's comm and cleared his throat. Adapting a deeper, more gruff tone he spoke.
"This is the pilot reporting a 34029, someone sabotaged the controls. I don't have control!"
"34029?" Jai asked.
"A remote slice," Ezra quietly answered.
"Blast! Stop the hangar doors! Pilot, do what you can to keep those cadets safe! We'll handle the damned slicers! Do they have control of the weapons?"
"Negative, Sir," Ezra responded in the same gruff tone. "I shut them down before they could get to them."
"Excellent! Keep up the good work, Pilot!" Aresko said and the comm went silent.
"Are you sure your friends can handle this?" Zare asked as an armored troop transport now joined the other walker. "That's a lot of firepower." Ezra leaned back from the comm and smirked as the hangar door began to retract, opening the way once more.
Before Ezra could answer they watched as from somewhere outside the Academy perimeter a flash a white smoke streaked across the grounds and a guided rocket slammed into the troop transport. The rocket must've been for anti-armor as it cut through the transport like butter and the ground shuddered from its explosion and Imperials went running for cover to avoid its shrapnel.
There was no way anyone inside survived that.
"What's that astromech doing?" Jai asked and pointed out the left view port.
"He's on our side," Ezra answered as Chopper crisscrossed between the walker and threw more of Sabine's miracle detonators on its leg joints. The little guy then zoomed himself clear just as the detonators were triggered. The explosives had the same effect on this walker as they had on the one before and it too collapsed forward as its legs gave way.
"The bigger they are, the harder they fall," Zare commented. Stormtroopers poured out of the hangar only to be met by aimed blaster shots from just outside the perimeter.
"Okay we need to get out of here," Ezra announced.
"No kidding," Zare said. He had managed to get the walker under control and was doing better with driving. "But you didn't plan this far ahead, did you?"
That was true. Ezra had half expected the Imps not to buy his line about the walker being sliced and under enemy control. But he gave the correct Imperial code and the last thing Aresko wanted was for Cadets "Dev Morgan" and Jai Kell to be hurt.
"Time to blow our covers," Ezra said. "We're far enough from the academy now, we can outrun any troopers. We stop the walker and climb down-"
"I'm staying"
"What?" Ezra asked and looked at Zare in astonishment.
"My sister, she's still out there. The best place for me right now is back there. And your friends need to get that decoder to Spanjaf. I have a feeling it'll help."
Zare then stopped the walker and turned his head. He gave his two friends a smile. "Stun me and make a run for it," Zare said.
"They'll question you," Ezra warned.
"And think what?" Zare countered. "Instead of making a break for it when I had the chance I decided to remain undercover?
"Dev," Jai said, his voice tense. "We have to go."
Ezra nodded and raised the blaster rifle. "I'll see you again," he said to Zare. "And we'll find your sister."
Zare only nodded and waited. Letting out a breath, Ezra stared down the sights of the blaster at his smiling friend. He squeezed the trigger and the circular stun bolt struck Zare and left him unconscious.
"Come on!" Jai said, his hand already on the hatch.
"Right," Ezra grumbled, still not comfortable with leaving Zare behind but knowing there was nothing he could say to change the boy's mind. If their places were reversed, Ezra would have chosen to stay behind as well.
This time Jai led the way, climbing out of the walker and then down its side followed shortly by Ezra. Only when they reached the ground they quickly found that they weren't out of the woods yet as a trio of stormtroopers arrived at their side.
"Morgan and Kell? We're here to get you out of here!"
"Doubtful," a familiar voice called out and a flash of colorful art struck out, kicking one stormtrooper in the neck and then blasting the other two with her twin WESTAR blasters. The downed stormtrooper reached for his rifle but Sabine's blasters roared again, finishing him off.
"Who is that!?" Jai said, looking at the quick work the girl made of the three stormtroopers.
"She's with me," Ezra said and smiled brightly at Sabine. "Come on!"
As the three ran for the gate two more stormtroopers charged in, trying to cut them off. But two blaster bolts from a sniper perch handled them.
Zeb, Ezra realized.
"Get in!" Sabine commanded when they turned a corner and found a landspeeder idling. Idling with a very irate Chopper sitting in the back, just as eager as Ezra to leave this place behind.
As the teens climbed in they heard more shots as Zeb continued to cover their escape.
With Sabine at the controls, the landspeeder peeled out of there. Ezra gave a backward glance and hoped that Zare would be alright. He was in for a hell of an interrogation later. But if he stuck to his story, he'd be okay.
"How'd you get them not to shoot on your walker?" Sabine asked once they had cleared the immediate area.
Jai grinned and slapped Ezra on the shoulder. "Dev called in a 30249! I can't believe they bought it!"
Sabine glanced at Ezra and somehow he knew she was smiling. "I can," she said.
"What can I say?" Ezra said and fought back a blush of embarrassment. "I had a good teacher."
Sabine let out a laugh and shook her head. She then returned her attention to the road ahead, increasing speed to hurry them along before the city locked down. But it wasn't long until the familiar sound of blaster cannons filled the air.
"Oh, kriff!" Jai said as he looked back. "We got bikers!"
"Cool it. Ezra, in your pack!"
"Ezra?" Jai said and looked at Ezra in confusion.
Ezra just pressed the blaster rifle into Jai's hands. "Shoot back," he said and then searched the landspeeder's floorboards until he saw his familiar pack. What did Sabine have in there for him?
"It's not working!" Jai yelled, his voice barely audible over the heavy blaster fire.
"Oh for kriff's sake! You need to change the selector from stun!" Sabine shouted back.
"You mean lethal? I never fired lethal before!"
"Haar'chak!" Sabine swore. "Anytime, Ezra!"
There it was, Ezra saw and gripped his palm around his blaster pistol. Only something was different about it. A lot was different about it.
For one it had been repainted an almost onyx black but highlighted a certain shade of blue, blue like his hair. And there were decorations that looked a bit like diamonds etched into the grip, as well as something in a language that Ezra didn't recognize. But the biggest addition was the extended barrel, a cylinder hanging off the end of the barrel.
"What is this?" Ezra asked and held up his pistol.
"You use it to shoot the badguys!"
"It's beautiful, Sabine!" Ezra said excitedly.
"Thanks!" Sabine swerved the landspeeder down a different road. "Now shoot, Kid!"
Ezra looked up and saw that Jai's efforts had amounted next to nothing. The boy was still fumbling with the E-11's fire mode selector and the bikers had chased them down this new road and closed into well within thirty meters. Sabine was doing a phenomenal job of cutting corners and dodging their blaster fire, but Ezra knew they had seconds at most.
With zero time Ezra lifted his pistol, drew a bead on the nearest bike trooper, and held down on the trigger letting off two three round bursts. All six blaster bolts hit the target dead on, killing the bike's rider.
But that wasn't the amazing part. The amazing part was there was virtually no noise from the pistol. And then it clicked for Ezra, the conversation they had over a month ago about how the SE-14 model could be modified, including a silencer. And it looked like Sabine (because who else?) had made a couple more adjustments. There was hardly any kick, even when shooting three blaster bolts at a time.
It was perfect.
Ezra peered down the sights as another biker drew closer. He steadied his hand as best he could and waited and waited until the biker himself came across Ezra's crosshairs. Then Ezra squeezed the trigger. Another trooper fell off his bike.
"Whoa!" Jai exclaimed at the blaster and Ezra's accuracy. "How did you do that?"
"I'm hearing talking but no shooting!" Sabine called as she spun the controls to take a sharp right, the landspeeder narrowly dodging blaster fire from the third and last bike.
"I can't get this gun to work!" Jai yelled.
"For kriff's sake! This is the guy the Empire wants?"
Close enough, Ezra thought and squeezed the trigger. Six more shots went downrange and all six hit the trooper center mass. A moment later he dropped from the bike, and at last they were free of pursuers.
"Are we clear?" Sabine asked over the engine and the wind lashing across them as she floored the speeder.
"Clear," Ezra reported. "Time to get out of here."
"Roger that, Spectre-6."
"Spectre-6?" Jai asked.
"Later," Ezra told him and took another admiring look at the extensive work Sabine had done to his blaster. She must've had a lot of free time on her hands.
As they exited the Capital Ezra leaned back in his seat and felt the adrenaline leave his body. He'd done it. Now all he could do was hope that Hera and Kanan had reached the coordinates in time.
He glanced back down at the pistol in his hand, and the strange writing. He'd have to ask Paintball about it later. But for now Ezra just closed his eyes and let the steady thrum of the landspeeder's engine lull him to sleep.
The sun was rising just above the horizon when the Ghost touched down at the designated rendezvous site. After picking up, the Spectres had to tap into Imperial comms in order to avoid TIE fighter patrols that were out there searching for them. It wasn't that difficult.
It wasn't just Sabine but Chopper too that had been trying to find things to do to stay busy the past couple weeks. When he wasn't passing messages between Ezra and the others the droid apparently decided to do some spying of his own by jacking into the Imperial Headquarters computer and learning all sorts of interesting things.
The encrypted information Chopper had gathered would help keep the Spectres a step ahead, at least for a while.
It was a good outcome for all, especially when they heard back from Hera and Kanan that the Imperial convoy and its kyber shipment were taken care of. Albeit only barely and with a much larger explosive than any had predicted.
They'd expected a large explosion, but what Kanan described was something else entirely. It was also something that could wait for later. For now Ezra contented himself with watching the sunrise while Hera did her best to comfort Jai.
"You'll have to go into hiding," Hera explained to the boy. "Your mother too."
"From the Empire," Jai grumbled. "Yeah I know. No problem."
"We'll help with that too. Now come on," Hera said and guided Jai aboard the Ghost. "Ezra should have some clothes your size. Hope you're okay with orange."
"Orange?" Jai asked as the pair disappeared inside with Chopper following after.
"I've never been so happy to see the Ghost," Sabine said once it was just her and Ezra.
Ezra smirked. "I did warn you about Zeb."
"It's the Furball's diet," Sabine remarked. "No matter how many showers he took and how many air fresheners I used, nothing helped. Me and Hera are so going to have a serious talk about the ship's food stocks for the foreseeable future."
Sabine glanced at her fellow co-conspirator and found Ezra smiling, but only a little. "So you're gonna spill or what?"
"About?" Ezra asked.
Sabine playfulled punched his arm. "Kid, you just pulled off one of the toughest solo assignments I can think of. So why so moody?"
"Just… Just thinking about Zare. I just left him there, Sabine."
"From what I heard he didn't leave you much choice," a voice said from behind the two.
Kanan.
"I'm going to take a much needed shower, in my own room. And with my own bed! Oh how I've missed this place!" Sabine said excitedly.
"Can I see it?" Kanan asked. Wordlessly Ezra unholstered his freshly upgraded pistol and handed it to Kanan. "Whoa. A silencer, and very pretty."
"It's something special." Ezra intoned.
"What's this writing?" Kanan asked.
"Mishuk Gotal'u Diasa'yr," Ezra said with a very broken but passable Mandalorian. "It means: Pressure Makes Diamonds."
"Well you had a lot to deal with these past four weeks," Kanan said as he continued to examine the colorful but extremely powerful blaster. It didn't have the heavy hitting power of a heavierblaster. But if it's accurate enough and if Ezra's aim is true, hitting power would hardly matter.
"So how was being on the inside?" Kanan asked.
"Like the view a lot better on the outside," Ezra replied easily. "I forgot what it was like to be on my own."
"You miss it?"
"No grumpy robots, no smelly Lasats." Ezra said and then smiled. "I did make some friends, but it was pretty clear that the last thing the Empire wants is its people being friendly. Just cogs in a machine. I don't know. I'll never be able to look at a buckethead the same way again. Under all that armor and all that… indoctrination. They're still people, Kanan. And some of them really believe they are doing the right thing. Zare's sister certainly thought she was."
"I see," Kanan said and looked back at Ezra's upgraded pistol. "And you're okay with that?"
"Kanan. They were transporting a kyber crystal, one so powerful it destroyed three cruisers and anything else caught in its planet-sized explosion. And the Empire didn't just find it by chance."
Ezra sighed and got to his feet. "The mission is what matters."
Kanan nodded and handed Ezra back the pistol.
"But yeah. It's good to be back," Ezra said and smiled.
Kanan chuckled and, since couldn't help himself, replied. "At ease, Cadet."
"Sir, yes, Sir!" Ezra laughed and made his way into the Ghost.
It was good to be home.
Hmm… So how about it, droid? Did you catch all of Hondo's mistakes? You better have! Hondo did not spend hard earned credits for slipshod work!
Uncle Hondo had a lot of fun with this chapter! So much happened, and much that the show had left out! Hondo was surprised to find how much training Ezra had underwent and how much Hondo had come to care for Zare and his plight with his sister! Hondo did not expect to become so invested in this story, but the more he researched the more he knew he had to do it justice!
Okay, that's it for now! Hondo needs a nap! His brain feels like moosh right now. Maybe because he just broke 100,000 words! Haha! A happy day of feastings for all of Hondo's friends!