Fighter Flight

The Ghost was making its way to Lothal, as the crew travelled for a bit, courtesy of a recent job they finished not too long ago.

In the kitchen, Ender sat at the table, staring at a bowl full of soup, wth Chopper watching him.

Having started training to be a Jedi, Ender was currently struggling with trying to lift things with telekinesis.

After taking a deep breath, Ender closed his eyes and held his hand out to the bowl, trying to focus the Force to lift it off the table.

The bowl soon started moving slightly, making Chopper groan. It soon lifted off the table, which was when Ender opened his eyes.

He was initially proud of himself, but soon realised that it only lifted off the table because of Chopper holding it up with a mechanical arm, which made him sigh.

"Chop, I appreciate what you're trying to do, but it still means I'm not able to even lift a bowl in mid air." He told the astromech, who grumbled reassuringly as he put the bowl back down on the table and left the kitchen.

Ender sighed through his nose and put his head in his hands, confused as to why he's even struggling with something so basic. He started wondering if Jedi padawans struggled this much when they started training.

Needing to take his mind off the matter, Ender left the kitchen and made his way through the common room and into the hallway with the cabins on either side and leading to the cockpit.

He heard spray paint and peeked into Serah's room, which was full of colourful art all over the room, with the resident Mandalorian in the middle of working on a new art piece.

"Hey, Serah, I see you're painting yet again." He made his presence known to her as she paused to consider her next move.

"Yep, nothing beats having a good hobby to spend time on." She replied with a relaxed grin.

"Where do you even get inspiration?" Ender asked curiously.

"From anywhere, anything and anyone, really. You might be one, someday." Serah told him with a wink and a sly smirk, which made Ender blush and feel like his face was burning up.

Ender would've replied, but he heard Chopper behind him, making him turn to see the astromech enter the cabin he and Zeb share.

"Chopper, if you wake him, he'll kick your ass!" Ender hissed quietly before turning to Serah, who started spray painting again. "Uh, gotta go."
He then entered the cabin after Chopper, not seeing the astromech, though he did see the large Lasat sleeping in the bottom bunk.

"Kid, you wake me, you die." Zeb warned him.

Ender would've replied, but he ended up being electrocuted, making him turn to see Chopper behind him.

Chopper then shot an electrical charge at Ender, but he dodged it by stepping aside, making the charge hit Zeb instead, electrocuting him and making him hit his head on the bunk and fall out onto the floor.

This made both Chopper and Ender laugh, as the latter, especially, couldn't help but find it funny, as Zeb's fur even smoked.

They stopped laughing, however, when Zeb growled loudly and got to his feet.

"Don't look at me, it was Chopper's fault!" Ender instantly accused Chopper since it was technically his fault.

"I don't care, I'm crushing you both!" Zeb snarled as he stood up properly, clenching a fist, ready to beat them up.

But then Chopper zoomed out of the cabin, leaving Ender behind.

"So this is Lasat gratitude after I saved your life?" He resorted to using that against Zeb, though he didn't really want to, as he can't stand people who brag and act all smug.

Zeb was about to punch Ender, but he stopped himself and sighed, slumping his arms down.

"Whatever." He then muttered as he walked back to his bunk.

"Hey, at least I don't bring it up every minute." Ender pointed out.

"Thankfully. Now leave, I need some sleep." Zeb replied, getting in his bunk and turned his back to Ender.

"Well, I have nothing to do, so I'll take a nap, but I'll try to be quiet." Ender told him quietly.

He then climbed up onto his bunk and lay down, but suddenly, the bunk fell down and squashed Zeb.

In Serah's room, as she finished her current painting, she heard Zeb roaring, making her turn to see Ender run out of their cabin with a look of fear on his face with an angry Zeb chasing after him.

"IT'S NOT MY FAULT!" Ender screamed.

"TELL IT TO MY FIST!" Zeb roared.

As they ran through the Ghost, Serah peeked out before turning to Chopper, who held out some bolts, beeping to her that he pulled the bolts out from Ender's bunk.

"You really know how to take things too far, you old rust bucket." Serah sighed in annoyance before she glanced into Ender and Zeb's cabin, seeing the fallen bunk, which ended up giving her an idea.

In the cargo hold, as Kanan put down a crate next to several others, he turned to see Ender sliding down the ladder and looked around for a place to hide with a look of worry.

This confused Kanan before he looked up and saw Zeb growling and crouching on the bannister above.

He glared down at Ender and leapt at him, tackling him before he could dodge him into the crate, which all fell down as they started fighting each other.

Zeb was about to punch Ender when they heard Hera clearing her throat.

They, and Kanan, looked up and saw her glaring down at them from the bannister.

"IT'S HIS FAULT!" Both Ender and Zeb accused each other in unison, though they shared a collective look of fear, since if there's one thing every crew member is afraid of, it's Hera's wrath.

The ship had just then landed on Lothal.

"My fault?" Zeb questioned Ender as the two got off each other and stood. "This is your fault!"

"You're the one who doesn't listen to reason, you big oaf!" Ender snapped at him right in his snarling face.

"Enough!" Hera stopped their bickering as she slid down the ladder. "This is my ship you're wrecking, and I want you off it."

She slammed the button on the panel that opened up the ramp, glaring at them, still.

The two walked up to her, nudging each other with their elbows.

"Hera, be reasonable." Zeb whined.

"Please, he's the one that needs to be reasoned with." Ender accused Zeb, earning a glare from the Lasat.

Hera then pulled out a datapad and held it out to Ender, who took it.

"What is this?" He asked her, looking to see that it had a list on it.

"A market list. The town of Kothal's two clicks to the south, and I'm sending you both on a supply run." Hera replied, shocking the two.

"With him?" The two said in unison, glaring at each other.

"With each other." Hera reaffirmed her decision. "Oh, and don't even think about coming back without at least one meiloorun fruit. Clear?"

"Clear." They said in unison under another one of Hera's glares.

They then started fighting each other on the way out, Zeb knocking Ender down, who got back up and ran after Zeb with anger.

"How do you expect them to find meiloorun on Lothal?" Kanan questioned Hera, who simply grinned, as she was messing with Ender and Zeb.


Speaking of Ender and Zeb, the pair begrudgingly agreed to stop fighting each other and made their way to Kothal, which they reached after walking for roughly an hour.

They decided to split up upon reaching the town, so that they could get everyone on the list as soon as possible.

Ender found himself walking among some stands that stood on both sides of a street, seeing people like a Rodian selling some fruit, speaking in Huttese.

"Ender?" He then heard a man's voice say his name.

Confused, he turned to his left and saw a man with white hair, a beard and moustache, copper skin and green eyes standing behind a stall.

"Is that Ender Brand?" The man questioned, making Ender recognise him right away.

"Well, hello, Mr. Sumar." Ender grinned as he walked up to him, glad to see him again, as it's been years since he last saw him, knowing him because he was a friend of his parents.

"Ender, look how you've grown." Sumar chuckled before he pulled out a jogan. "Here, have a jogan.

"Thanks." Ender said, catching it in his hands. "Say, do you know where I could find some meilooruns?"

"Meilooruns?" Sumar repeated before chuckling. "Meilooruns don't grow on Lothal."

"Oh, thanks for reminding me." Ender sighed, smacking his forehead, now realising that Hera sent him and Zeb on a wild chase to mess with them.

"I suppose you could find an off world importer, but it'd cost ya." Sumar suggested as Ender put the jogan in his backpack.

"If you say so." Ender said before waving. "It's good seeing you again."

He turned to walk down the street, but stopped when he spotted an Imperial officer, who he recognised to be Lyste, talking with three stormtroopers ahead of him.

He then hid by a stall as they walked down towards him, watching them walk past and head for Sumar's stall.

"You there. Sumar!" Lyste called for Sumar's attention. "Have you changed your mind?"

"No." Sumar frowned. "I told you, I'm not selling my farm."

"Very well." Lyste sneered before he and the stormtroopers walked away.

Ender knew what would happen to Sumar, based on what Zeb and Serah told him when they arrived at Tarkin Town.

He frowned as he turned to walk, bumping into Zeb, who he noticed had two crates carried by each arm.

"I got everything but the meilooruns, any luck?" Zeb said.

"Nope, because Hera planned on messing with us, meaning we have no luck." Ender shook his head.

"Well, someone has to be selling those things." Zeb grumbled before handing one of the crates to Ender. "Here, take this. I'll go find one."

The force of him handing the crate made Ender stumble back onto a crate on the ground, knocking the lid off. Ender then turned and looked at the contents, making his eyes widen.

"Zeb!" He called out the Lasat, making him stop and turn. "Look!"

Zeb joined his side and looked inside the crate, seeing it was full of large orange-yellow coloured fruits with small bumps on them.

"Meilooruns!" The two said in unison.

They then noticed the stand the meilooruns were next to belonged to a Rodian.

"How much for the whole crate?" Zeb asked after Ender gave him back the crate he handed him.

"I'm sorry. They're already sold." The Rodian informed them apologetically.

"To who?" Ender questioned.

His answer came when he and Zeb watched a stormtrooper close the crate up and carry it away.

Ender frowned determinedly as he and Zeb ended up following the stormtrooper.

They followed him all the way to an open area, where they hid behind some crates, seeing several more stormtroopers, who were all gathered around three K79-S80 Imperial Troop Transports, or ITTs, where one of the troopers placed some crates on top of one of them, one of which was the one with the meilooruns.

Zeb noticed that Ender had a face that showed he was thinking.

"What are you thinking about?" He asked the seventeen year old.

"The answer to our problem, that's what." Ender replied, making Zeb look back at the crate full of meilooruns, realising what he was suggesting.

He then grumbled and shoved Ender's head down behind the crate.

"No." He frowned.

"Hey, it ain't the first time we stole from the Empire, you know." Ender reminded him.

"Oh, right. So what's the plan, kid? You're gonna use the Force?" Zeb remarked, making Ender realise he could at least try.

"Well, unless we want to be seen stealing meilooruns, we have no other choice." He told Zeb.

He peeked out from behind the crates, eyeing the crate of meilooruns before he closed his eyes and held his hand out, tapping into the Force.

The lid for the crate started shaking, showing he's trying to open it, which Zeb noticed, but before it could even lift off, a stormtrooper held the lid down, stopping it from shaking.

Ender sighed in annoyance while Zeb snorted and laughed, smacking his backpack.

"Ah, we should go." Zeb then said.

"More like you go, I don't want to deal with Hera's fury again." Ender replied before he crept out from behind the crates.

"Wait, kid." Zeb said, but Ender ignored him and continued on towards the ITTs, making the Lasat groan and slam a fist on one of the crates.

Ender hid behind another crate, one that was directly behind a stormtrooper, who he distracted by throwing a pebble away, making enough noise that the trooper walked over to investigate.

This gave Ender an opening to move and sneak in between the ITTs, leaving Zeb tensed up as he watched him.

Sure enough that he won't get spotted, Ender climbed up on the ITT that had the crate of meilooruns on top, and grabbed one of them, hiding behind the crate and looking over to Zeb, giving him a thumbs up.

Ender then was about to climb down when….

"You there!" A stormtrooper yelled at him, having managed to get a glimpse of him. He and two others pointed their blasters at Ender, who dropped the meiloorun to put his arms up.

Then a crate got thrown at two of them, knocking them down, thanks to Zeb, who threw some more.

"Run!" He told Ender, who instantly jumped off the ITT and ran away as Lyste appeared.

"Stop them!" He ordered the troopers, who started to chase after Ender and Zeb, turned and ran away through the streets.

"You made me lose the rest of the supplies!" Zeb pointed out to Ender. "At least we're even."

"Oh, sure! I hardly call what you did even in comparison to what I did to save your life!" Ender snapped back, making the Lasat roll his eyes.

"Come here!" He snarled, grabbing Ender and ran down an alleyway.

The two stormtroopers chasing after them followed them, only to find they were missing, which confused them.

"Where'd they go?" One asked the other as they stopped in the middle of the alley.

Turns out, Zeb had climbed up a wall as he held onto Ender's backpack.

He then threw Ender up, making him land up on the rooftop.

However, his grunting was heard by the stormtroopers, who looked up and spotted him.

"Up there!" One of them said, making Ender and Zeb look down at them.

They then started firing at the Lasat as he started climbing up, missing him, until one stray shot hit the wall right next to his hand, knocking him off.

He yelled before he turned and slammed the two troopers onto the ground, also using them to cushion his landing.

"Zeb!" Ender called out, getting his attention.

"Just keep going! I'll catch up to you!" Zeb replied before he ran down the alley just as four stormtroopers showed up.

"Split up!" One of them ordered before he and another ran after Zeb.

The other two looked up at Ender, who turned and ran away on the rooftop.

Zeb ran out of the alleys and found himself in a plaza, where he spotted a parked TIE fighter and its pilot, who jumped inside the ship.

He then heard blaster fire from the alleys, telling him the stormtroopers were closing in, making him hide by a large and rectangular crate in front of the TIE.

Its pilot, whose name is Baron Valen Rudor, spotted Zeb hiding as the two stormtroopers after him showed up. Baron recognised him, having had an unpleasant encounter with him in the past.

Eager for some payback, Baron activated the TIE fighter and hovered in the air, aiming his guns at Zeb, who turned and noticed he was now trapped between him and the two stormtroopers, who aimed their blasters at him.

"Hey, you don't have any meilooruns, do you?" Zeb questioned.

"There is nowhere to hide." Baron sneered. "Commander, take this monster in for questioning. Let's find out why he's running."

"Hands up!" The commander ordered Zeb, who stepped out and had his arms up as his back faced him and his fellow stormtrooper.

As they approached him, Zeb grinned deviously before he jumped up and onto the crate, dodging their blaster fire.

He then roared as he leapt onto the TIE, glaring at Baron through the cockpit window, making said pilot gasp and rear back.

As the stormtroopers kept firing, and missing every time, Zeb climbed up on top of the TIE and opened the hatch, pulling and throwing Baron out and jumping into the cockpit.

"Never actually flown one of these before." Zeb admitted to himself, grabbing the controls. "WHOA!"

He grabbed the controls and lost control, the TIE swaying in mid air. He then pressed the buttons on the control levers, firing the turrets on the ship, destroying the crate and nearly hitting the stormtroopers, who started running away.

"Look out!" The commander yelped as they kept running.

Zeb then spun in the spot, firing in all directions, laughing like a madman.

Eventually, he stopped firing and shot up in the air.

"Ha ha! Too bad the kid wasn't here to see that!" Zeb cackled as he looked to his right before looking through the window, seeing he was now flying down at a roof. "WHOA!"

He pulled up on the levers, making the TIE now fly over Kothal, making it graze a rooftop.

"Heh heh. Whoo." Zeb muttered in relief. "On the other hand…."

He then lost control, making the TIE now fly on its side.

With Ender, he ran and made his way through the rooftops, being chased by the two stormtroopers that split up from the other two.

For a moment, he activated his slingshot behind some cover, and fired a couple of shots at them, though they had little effect on them.

He then jumped across a gap onto another rooftop, as did the two stormtroopers chasing him, firing shots at him that missed.

Ender, with some help from the Force, then jumped across a larger gap, one that the stormtroopers can't make. Though two other stormtroopers appeared and chased after Ender.

As he kept running, Ender heard and spotted a TIE fighter now chasing after him.

"Seriously? Isn't that overkill?" He groaned in annoyance, glancing up at it, only to see Zeb through the cockpit window as it turned to face him while flying alongside him. "Zeb?"

Zeb waved at him, but this made the TIE lower onto the street, where citizens ran and ducked to avoid being hit as Zeb lifted the TIE up to be level with Ender.

"ZEB, LET ME IN!" Ender yelled out.

"I'd be saving your life, you know." Zeb pointed out.

"I KNOW, WE'LL BE EVEN, JUST LET ME IN!" Ender replied just before he jumped across a gap.

Satisfied with that answer, Zeb lowered the TIE slightly and opened the hatch.

Ender jumped off the rooftop and through the hatch, landing behind Zeb, who closed the hatch back up.

The people on the street all ran away as the TIE was losing control. The Rodian with the fruit stand watched with horror as it came closer to him.

"Don't crowd me, kid. I'm flying here!" Zeb snapped as Ender got right up to him.

"You don't even know how to fly this thing! Let me!" Ender snapped back, trying to take the controls.

But the pair realised they were about to crash, making them scream.

"Turn this thing around!" Ender told Zeb, pulling the levers.

"Let go!" Zeb told him as he nudged.

"Just turn the ship, will you?" Ender snapped as he continued pulling the levers.

"I'm trying!" Zeb replied.

Ender ended up inadvertently pressing one of the levers' buttons, causing the turrets to fire, making the Rodian in the stand duck for cover as the shots hit his stand, making fruit pulp to splatter on the cockpit window, making the two stop for a moment to realise how screwed they were right now.

As the TIE flew away from Kothal, the Rodian got out from the stand and cursed in Huttese.

Zeb then growled as he was unable to see where he and Ender were going.

"I can't see a thing!" He spat.

"At least gain altitude." Ender suggested.

"I know." Zeb groaned.

Zeb did in fact gain altitude, unknowingly flying past the Ghost.


Inside the ship, Hera was walking down the hallway with the cabins on either side, hearing spray paint coming from Ender and Zeb's shared cabin.

Confused, she was about to see what was going on, but Serah stepped in the doorway.

"Sorry, Hera, not allowed in." She told the Twi'lek.

"You do realise this isn't your room?" Hera questioned her.

"Hey, thanks to Ender, I was inspired." Serah shrugged before she shut the door, giving her privacy.

"Could be worse. Could be my room." Hera muttered as she continued on down the hallway.


Back with Ender and Zeb, the latter continued struggling flying the TIE fighter with the fruit pulp on the cockpit window.

Ender then started feeling uneasy, recalling the rock formations and mountains all over Lothal.

"I think we might be too low." He expressed his concern to Zeb.

"How can you tell?" Zeb questioned him, unknowingly flying straight for a large rock formation, which Ender started to sense via the Force. "Why don't you go clean the window?"

Ender continued sensing the rock formation ahead of them.

"We need to turn." He told Zeb, realising they were getting too close. "TURN!"

He grabbed the controls and pulled them to the right, making the TIE fly around, avoiding the rock formation, making Zeb gasp in shock, seeing that Ender saved their lives.

"How did you know/" He asked Ender.

"I… just sensed it, if that makes any sense." Ender replied, knowing the Force helped him out.

"Good. That's… that's good." Zeb chuckled with relief. "Now get out there and clean the canopy."


Back on the Ghost, Kanan and Chopper were in the middle of playing Dejarik in the common room.

Chopper had his holographic creature beat Kanan's, even bragging through his beeping.

Kanan grinned as he soon became aware of Hera's presence, as she watched the match.

She walked up to the table as Kanan had a new holographic creature on the table, which knocked down Chopper's, making the astromech groan and roll away in defeat.

"Have to admit, it's a lot more peaceful aboard with the kids gone." Kanan admitted to Hera as she sat next to him and the table shut off.

"Yeah, but I'm feeling a bit guilty about sending them -"

"On a wild meiloorun chase?" Kanan chuckled, not seeing how Ender and Zeb could be in trouble.

Then Hera's handheld communicator buzzed to life.

"Spectre-4 to Ghost." Zeb's voice spoke through it.

"Right on cue." Hera told Kanan as she grabbed her communicator. "Go ahead, Spectre-4."

"Right. Well, we've had a bit of a problem." Zeb replied, making her and Kanan share a grin.

"I thought you might." She said as Kanan shook his head amusingly. "Look, don't worry about the meilooruns."

"About them, we actually found some." Ender revealed to her. "But we lost them, then found them again, but lost them again."

"Just cut to the chase, kid." Zeb groaned as the whoosh of the TIE they're flying in was heard, drawing Hera and Kanan's attention instantly.

"Wait, what am I hearing? It sounds like -"

"Yeah… you see, at some point… we ended up stealing a TIE fighter." Ender revealing, shocking Hera and angering Kanan.

"YOU WHAT?" Kanan raged, making Ender and Zeb cringe and wince as they continued flying, the window now being clean.

"He's taking it better than I thought." Zeb admitted to Ender.

"Get rid of it!" Kanan demanded, making the pair go wide eyed.

"Do we have to?" They asked in unison, Zeb's ears flopping.

Kanan sighed in disbelief, resting his head on one of his hands.

"At least tell me you dismantled the locator beacon." He begged.

"Of course. We're not fools." Zeb chuckled, though they were yet to do that.

Ender crouched down and opened a panel to some wires.

"Under there. The red wire." Zeb whispered to him, though Ender dealt with the blue and red wires. "No, wait, the blue!"

"I'm pretty sure it's both." Ender replied as he stood back up.

"It is both." Kanan replied, having heard them. "Stealing a TIE attracts unwanted attention. Rendezvous at Shadow Site 2. Fly straight there. Do not stop. And don't do anything."

"On our way. Spectre-4 out." Zeb replied before ending communications.

"Well, that went better than expected." Ender admitted.

"Yeah." Zeb nodded in agreement.

"Any idea which way we're supposed to go?" Ender then asked.

"No idea." Zeb admitted as he shook his head.


After a while, he decided to get the ship's system's online, especially navigation.

"Okay, navigation system's online." Zeb told Ender, setting the course for their destination. "Course set for rendezvous point."

Ender looked out through the window, seeing a column of smoke in the distance.

"What's that?" He asked, pointing at it, making Zeb look and notice it as well.

"Looks like smoke." Zeb replied as Ender frowned, realising where it was coming from.

"I think I know where that's from." He said gravely. "We need to check it out."

Zeb sighed, though he knew Ender was being serious about this, so he turned and headed straight for the smoke.

Upon arriving where it came from, they looked down at an abandoned farm that was burning, making Ender be worried, having a good idea what happened.

"Friends of yours?" Zeb asked him.

"Of my parents, mainly." Ender replied grimly as Zeb then noticed something on the radar.

"There's a convoy of troop transports heading northwest." He informed Ender, who he looked at, seeing a look that showed he wanted to save his family friends, making him sigh, as he felt like he had to help, as well. "Karabast. I know that look."

"Hey, it'll be fine. We're more than capable." Ender reassured him, making Zeb sigh again.

"Oh, boy. Here goes nothing." He said, turning the TIE to northwest.

It took them a short while, but they managed to reach the convoy of three ITTs, which they flew over.

"Attention, transports. This is Imperial Commander Meiloorun." Zeb told the Imperials in the vehicles through the comlink, making Ender smack him at using such a blatantly fake name.

"Are you kidding me?" He hissed quietly.

"There's a report of rebel activity in your sector." Zeb told the Imperials. "Reduce speed."

"Acknowledged, Commander." Lyste's voice replied.

"You sure, kid?" Zeb then asked Ender, who looked through the window, spotting Sumar, his wife and their Aqualish helper held captive on the side of one of the ITTs.

"Just get me close and I'll handle the rest." Ender replied. "And stay close to give me covering fire, if I need it."

As Zeb flew closer, Ender opened up the hatch and climbed out, hanging on as Zeb moved in.

Once close enough, Ender jumped off and landed on the ITT with the three prisoners, rolling back until he hit the turret.

"Really need to work on those landings." He muttered to himself as he watched Zeb ascend up in the sky. He then watched it fly around, nearly getting shot by one of the turrets on the ITTs, meaning they must've figured out that it was all an act.

Needing to get this done quickly, Ender looked down on the right, seeing Sumar, his wife and the Aqualish, who all looked full of despair.

"Mr. Sumar!" He called for Sumar's attention, who looked up with wide eyed shock.

"Ender?" He said, surprised to see him.

"Just hang on. I'll get you three out." Ender reassured him.

He looked and found the panel to let them out of their confinement between Sumar and his wife, but it was too far out of reach for him.

Realising this, Ender had to rely on the Force.

So, he took a deep breath, closed his eyes and tried to tune in with the Force, focusing on the panel.

He then waved his hand, making the button on the panel turn off its red light, which had the three prisoners free from confinement, their compartments opening up.

"I guess pressure helps out." Ender commented. "You're gonna have to jump and scatter!"

"We're moving too fast!" Sumar pointed out as he looked up at Ender.

"So you'd rather go to prison than to escape?" Ender argued.

The three exchanged looks, realising they'd rather take the chance, so they jumped off and rolled on the ground while the ITTs continued onward.

Ender gave them a salute, and they nodded back, grateful to him for helping them escape.

He then stood up, sensing two stormtroopers up on top of the vehicle with him, so he ducked in time as they started firing their blasters.

The turret on the ITT then started firing at Sumar, his wife and the Aqualish as they ran away, but Zeb flew in and fired a shot, barely missing the turret, which started firing at him as he flew around.

"That gun turret's gonna be a problem! This bird has no shields!" He told Ender.

"Just give me a sec!" Ender replied as he bobbed and weaved around the blaster shots from the stormtroopers.

He then jumped onto the ITT next to them and hid behind some crates, a stray shot blasting the lid off the one Ender hid behind. He glanced at the contents, finding the meilooruns.

"Well, hello." Ender grinned before he ducked back behind the crate.

Readying himself as he activated his slingshot, he popped back out and fired several shots at the stormtroopers, leaving no impact on them.

"Maintain fire." The trooper in command told the other trooper. "His shots won't penetrate your armour."

He then had a meiloorun thrown at him, hitting him in the shoulder.

"What the -?" He questioned as they turned to Ender, who threw another meiloorun.

It hit the trooper in the head, knocking him down and dropping his blaster, which fired a shot when hitting the roof of the ITT, hitting the other trooper, who fell off with a scream.

"Not bad, kid." Zeb grinned as he saw what Ender did as he continued flying around.

Ender grabbed a couple of meilooruns and put them in his backpack.

He was about to put a third one in, but the stormtrooper he knocked down got up and grabbed his blaster, firing a shot that blasted the meiloorun apart, knocking Ender onto his back.

He grabbed and closed his backpack, putting it back on and grabbed a third meiloorun, just in case.

He then jumped onto the third ITT as the stormtrooper jumped across. Ender then ran to the turret, but the stormtrooper jumped and landed in front of him.

"Gotcha!" He said, aiming his blaster at Ender, who held the meiloorun in front of him. "Wait! You did all this for fruit?"

"Partly, actually." Ender corrected him before throwing the meiloorun at the trooper, hitting him in the stomach as he fired a shot, and jumped off of his head, landing on the other side of the turret, which he ducked behind when the trooper got back up and fired shots.

"Come on, where are you." Ender muttered as he looked through his backpack, soon pulling out a wrench. "Bingo."

He grinned as he shoved it in one of the barrels of the turret before putting his backpack on and stood, facing the trooper.

Ender dodged some shots before jumping off the ITT.

Baffled, the trooper ran to the edge, finding Ender hanging on the back of the vehicle.

The turret then aimed at Zeb's TIE and fired, but it just caused an explosion, courtesy of the wrench, knocking the trooper off the ITT and crashing onto the ground, limp and still.

"All for fruit, buddy!" Ender remarked before he climbed back on top.

He grabbed the meiloorun he threw at the trooper and put it in his backpack with the other two, soon seeing he was cornered by three stormtroopers, who aimed their blasters at him.

He then heard Zeb's TIE whooshing, making him turn to see him flying for him, firing shots, which he dodged by standing in between them, making the stormtroopers jump off the ITT.

"Not bad, big guy." Ender grinned as he watched Zeb circle around.

Lyste popped his head out, watching Zeb fly towards the ITTs, dodging turret fire.

Ender readied himself as he saw Zeb turn the TIE upside down and open the hatch, which he popped out of with his arms out.

Ender raised his arms up and Zeb grabbed him once he was close enough.

"Gotcha!" Zeb grinned as he flew the TIE away.

"You're using your feet to pilot this thing?" Ender asked, very perplexed.

Zeb eventually turned the TIE back up and let Ender inside, flying past Sumar and his wife, who freed themselves of their handcuffs, and nuzzled each other, glad to be free, thanks to Ender and Zeb.

"Thanks. Looks like I owe you, now." Ender said gratefully.

"Let's just say we're eternally even." Zeb suggested.

"Okay, then." Ender nodded in agreement.

"Oh, you collect these, right?" Zeb then said, holding up a TIE fighter pilot's helmet, knowing his knack for collecting Imperial helmets.

"Well, even though I already have one of these, I'll have Serah paint it up." Ender grinned, taking the helmet in his hands. "May as well give her something to do on the side." He then nudged Zeb lightly. "Thanks. By the way, what do we do with the TIE when we reach the rendezvous point?"

Zeb simply grinned, which made Ender grin, as he knew what he was thinking. They even chuckled at the idea they had.


Later, as the sun was setting, both Hera and Kanan stood by the ramp on the Ghost, trying to see if Ender and Zeb were around.

"They should have been here by now." Kanan groaned worriedly.

Soon, Hera saw them walking towards the Ghost.

"Over there!" She pointed at them, drawing Kanan's attention.

They got off the ramp and watched as Ender, with the helmet in his arms, and Zeb, the three meilooruns in his arms, walked up to them.

"Three fresh meilooruns, as ordered." Zeb told Hera, handing the fruits to her.

"Thank you, kind sir." Hera grinned satisfactorily, as she loved meiloorun.

"Team effort." Zeb grinned, nudging Ender, who he exchanged looks with.

"Forget about the fruit. Where's the TIE fighter?" Kanan questioned them, making the pair glance at each other before Zeb sighed.

"I crashed it." He confessed.

"Purposefully, of course." Ender added. "To make sure it didn't fall back into the Empire's hands."

Kanan closed his eyes thoughtfully and nodded with a grin in approval.

"That's what I like to hear." He told the pair before he and Hera walked back into the ship.

Zeb let out a sigh of relief as he exchanged glances with Ender.

The two then cackled as they entered the Ghost, playfully exchanging blows.

They kept this up on the way to their cabin, where they were surprised to find Serah there when the door opened.

"All done." She said with satisfaction.

"What are you talking about?" Ender asked her as he and Zeb entered the cabin.

"Had to immortalise a certain moment." She replied, nodding to a mural she just finished. The mural showed both Ender and Zeb when the bunk fell on top of the latter, all done in a colourful and cartoonish manner, which made the pair cringe.

"Couldn't you have done something else? This makes me look like an idiot." Ender moped.

"Makes me look like a bigger idiot." Zeb groaned.

"Hey, blame a certain astromech." Serah defended herself, making the pair notice Chopper on the mural, holding bolts with his mechanical arms.

Then they saw him in the doorway, beeping and spinning his head, which had their blood boiling.

"Chopper!" Zeb snarled, pumping a fist.

"So you're the one who started all this!" Ender accused as he and Zeb walked up to him, Ender putting the helmet down.

Chopper then turned and wheeled away.

"Get back here, you menace!" Ender snapped.

"I'm tearing that rust bucket apart!" Zeb growled as he and Ender ran out and chased after Chopper.

Serah exited their cabin, watching on before they vanished into the cargo hold, where a loud crashing was heard, making her wince.

The crash was because Ender and Zeb fell into some crates in their attempt to get back at Chopper.

"IT'S HIS FAULT!" They accused Chopper in front of Hera and Kanan, pointing at him.

"At least they got rid of the TIE." Hera pointed out to Kanan, who took a deep sigh to keep calm.

Both Ender and Zeb sat up and shared a grin with knowing looks.

As the ship then took off and flew through the sky, Ender felt like he now reached a level of camaraderie and teamwork with Zeb that would help make life on the Ghost easier, considering how tense things were between them at the start.


As you can see, along with the previous chapters, Ender is pretty different from Ezra, and has slightly more casual and friendly conversations with Serah than Ezra did with Sabine, at this point in the show. Their interactions may give you a good idea of where things will go for them.