Chapter Text
Kuria. The only city within a hundred miles of where they had landed. Or crashed. Even though they’d been lucky enough to end up near what was supposedly one of the only large civilizations on the planet, it had still taken them ages to trek along the seemingly endless fields of grass. Finally though, after what felt like hours, they stood at the entrance of the city, staring at the odd sight before them. The massive buildings jutted up from behind the wall the surrounded the land, blanketed with tapestries, banners and flags of all different colors of the rainbow. The sweeping archway in front of them was painted with vibrant reds, rich blues, and earthy greens to match. Despite all of his travels, Kanan had never seen a city that felt so… alive. No, that didn’t explain it. Everything in the city, from the skyscrapers in the distance reaching up into the heavens to the squat little stands in the farmers market just looked so vibrant, so festive… so homey. The entire city had the air of a tight knit community, where everyone knew and welcomed each other. It was… nice.
He glanced at Ahsoka, who seemed just as entranced with the view as he was. A small smile appeared on her lips as she gazed at the people bustling around the city, cheerfully chatting as they went about their day.
“It’s beautiful,” he heard her mutter.
He nodded. “And huge… we’re bound to find something here, right?”
That seemed to bri ng her back to the present. She blinked before responding,
“Yes… I wouldn’t know where to go though. We should start by talking to locals about a ship dealer somewhere, and figure it out from there.”
He shrugged. It’s not like they had a better option, now that they no longer had the tools to find a good ship market. Or get there, for that matter. They had absolutely no idea how to navigate this city. So, without another word, they stepped through the gate into the bustling square.
Kanan wanted to enjoy the view. He wanted to wander around, strolling through all the different shops and talking to the locals. He wanted to relax, to breathe , to have a moment to stop and take a break. But he had to keep reminding himself that they couldn’t. The people who were chasing them, the one who’d done all that damage to their ship, could be arriving at any moment. Terra and his gang were ruthless hunters, and Kanan doubted they’d just assume he and Ahsoka were dead and go along their merry way. And there was something else making him feel uneasy, too. Some nervous feeling in the pit of his stomach, growing stronger every step they took. He scanned the streets, the buildings, the people, looking for something that could be the cause, but saw nothing. Everything seemed normal…
The ground beneath him shook as a deafening bang echoed through the streets. The buildings around him swayed as the air filled with the sound of panicked screaming and the smell of burning. Citizens scattered in every direction and Kanan whipped his head around, frantically searching for the source of the disturbance. His eyes locked onto a patch of sky behind a small set of buildings not three blocks from where they were standing, where a large column of black smoke billowed up into the sky. He and Ahsoka looked at each other in shock, and without a word both began sprinting towards the commotion.
When they arrived at the scene there was chaos everywhere. A couple stragglers in the streets were still running, climbing over debris scattered across the streets to escape. A vendor's cart stood burning, the owner long gone, and a crater sat in the spot where Kanan assumed a crossroads had once stood. The air was thick with smoke, making it difficult to see. The sound of blasterfire and shouting echoed off the buildings, and flashes of multicolored light streaked through the haze. He could see silhouettes, shadows of people moving before disappearing back into the fog. A hand rested on his shoulder, and he looked to see Ahsoka standing besides him.
“We have to go help them,” he said, feeling slightly dizzy. He shouldn't allow his nerves to control him, he knew he shouldn’t, but for some reason right now the adrenaline decided to catch up with him. It could be a terrorist attack, it could be bounty hunters, it could be-
“We don’t even know who they are,” Ahsoka said calmly. “We can’t go charging into a fight knowing nothing. For all we know it’s some sort of clan war, and we can’t afford to get involved in that. Not right now.”
Kanan tried to protest, but Ahsoka silenced him with a look.
“We have to leave,” she said. “Before things get worse, we have to go.”
Kanan shook his head. “We have to at least check. Isn’t that what you always taught me? Scout out the situation, get as much information as you can, and go from there.” He was pleading with her. He didn’t know why, this wasn’t the first time a situation like this had arisen. But somehow he knew this was too important to leave.
Ahsoka hesitated, noting the desperation in his voice. Her eyes flickering back to the alley where they could still hear shouting, though now the blasterfire had reduced significantly. Kanan could practically see the gears turning in her head, analyzing the situation and trying to find the best option.
After a moment, she sighed.
“Fine. Fine, but we have to be careful. We don't know who these people are or what they’re capable of.”
It took Kanan everything he had not to argue. He knew Ahsoka was right, knew she knew what she was doing, but this was urgent. He didn’t know why he thought so, just knew in his gut that it was. Kanan had learned long ago that trusting his instincts was the best thing he could do: they always brought him to the right places, always made the right decisions. The Force helped guide him where he needed to go, and for some reason right now this was that place.
------
Hera ducked behind one of the large crates just as a bolt struck the wall where her head had just been. Cursing, she peeked around the corner, but retracted her head quickly as another shot just barely missed her.
“Spectre 3, Spectre 4, where are you?” She shouted into her wrist communicator, holding her blaster close as she crouched behind the large metal box.
“ A little busy at the moment !” Sabine grunted. The loud sound of a blaster going off filled her ears, and then Sabine's cry of joy. “ Yes! Got one! I’m near the entrance of the alley, one of the broken speeders is right in front of me. How are you doing, three ?”
“ Currently- ” Zeb’s voice cut out for a moment. “ Currently trying not to die. Hera, I thought you said these were just transportation workers ?”
“I know what I said,” Hera growled. She aimed her blaster around the corner of the crate and fired, managing to hit one of her pursuers in the shoulder before ducking for cover once again. “Someone gave us the wrong info.”
She heard Zeb groan over the comm. “ There's gotta be at least eight of them left. What’s the plan ?”
Hera pressed her back to the crate, scanning the area around her. She seemed to be near the front of the alley, and could see a brighter light shining through the haze in front of her. She squinted, just barely able to make out the forms of an armored Mandalorian maybe ten feet in front of her, shooting into the fog. She could only assume Sabine had her thermal gaze settings on, probably making her the only one out of the three of them who could see what she was doing. Hera had to think. They couldn’t run, they’d be shot down in an instant. And this cargo was important, they couldn’t leave it behind. They needed a way to get their attackers off their backs. They needed a distraction.
“Spectre four!” she shouted into her wrist. “Do you have any more of those explosives?”
A pause, where she saw the figure duck back behind the archway she’d been hiding behind.
“ Uh… yeah, I’ve got a couple more, ” came the reply. “ What’s your idea exactly? ”
“Just a moment. Chop, I need you to fly the Ghost over to our location, and get ready for a pickup.” She waited for the bleep of confirmation from the droid, then turned her attention back to the kids. “Spectre’s three and four, how many of them have you still got on your tails?”
“ Only one more, ” Sabine replied, her voice low as she focused her concentration on her final target.
“ Wait, what? C’mon, I’ve got, like, five more of them over here. ” Zeb complained, and a moment later Hera heard the sound of a scream, loud thumping, and a groan. “ Okay, correction: four. ”
“Okay,” Hera said, her mind racing. “Four, I’m going to need you to distract them. Cause an explosion, do as much damage to them as possible. But, please, try not to kill us.”
“ Alright, alright, I’ll try ,” Sabine said. Hera could hear her smiling. “ Ze- Three, I need you to stay clear. Find somewhere to hide, now.”
A grunt of confirmation, then Hera saw Sabine’s figure stand up, grab something off her belt, and throw it as far as she could. The explosive flew over Hera’s head, landing what she assumed was a couple of feet behind the crate she was taking cover by, and went off. The stack of crates rattled and swayed precariously, but didn’t collapse. But the noise was deafening, and Hera could barely hear the sound of shouting in the distance over the ringing in her ears. Without a moment to waste, Hera threw herself from her hiding spot, found the nearest enemy, took aim, and fired. She hit them right in the forehead, the body collapsing to the ground to reveal someone else behind them, their back turned to her. She fired again, taking them down too. From the noises coming through her comm, she assumed Sabine and Zeb were doing the same thing.
A moment later, she heard footsteps running up to her. She whipped her body around, aiming her blaster, but it was just Sabine.
“I got the last one that was near me,” Sabine said, looking around. “Where’s Zeb?”
As if on cue, a body flew out of the smoke and hit a stack of wooden boxes stacked on the wall. It crumpled to the ground, motionless. A couple of the boxes fell onto its head, covering the body in broken splinters. A moment later Zeb’s large form emerged, panting and sporting a nasty looking cut on his right arm.
“I think that’s all of them.” He said, his voice strained.
Hera gave him a concerned look. “Are you alright? We’ll need to get you medical attention as soon as we get on board…”
He waved her off, looking unconcerned. “It’s fine. Nothing important hit, just hurts like a bitch.” He grimaced as he flexed his arm.
“I hate to tell you guys, but we have to get going. Reinforcements could be arriving any moment,” Sabine reminded them, holstering her blasters.
Hera nodded. “Gather the crates, we won’t have time to clean up the mess.” She raised her wrist to her mouth. “Chopper, what's your ETA?”
A sequence of beeps sounded through the speaker, and Hera looked up to the sky. Sure enough, she could hear the sound of a ship approaching as the massive shape of the Ghost appeared hovering above the buildings, its large figure blocking out the sun. Hera smiled.
“Good. Land in the main street, get ready for us to board.”
Within a couple minutes, the three of them had rounded up the crates. There were four of them in total, each one equipped with anti-gravity boosters on the bottom to make it easier to move them. Because these things were heavy . One of them had gotten turned on its side during the fight, and it had taken Hera’s and Zeb’s combined strength to get it upright again. The smoke had finally begun to clear, though it was still a bit difficult to see.
And Hera couldn’t help smiling.
Sure, this hadn’t been the smoothest mission. It definitely hadn’t been their worst, but it was nowhere near their best work. And yeah, she felt bad about the destruction upon the city, no matter how minor. But she couldn’t help the feeling of elation she got from successfully completing a mission. The adrenaline, the rush of excitement. This was how they helped people.
Hera patted the top of one of the crates.
“Let’s get these on board.” She said, and the others nodded. Right as they started pushing the cargo, however, they were interrupted by the sound of footsteps. Before any of them could react, they were surrounded by stormtroopers, all aiming their blasters at the group.
“Don’t move!” someone shouted. “Hands up, step away from the weapons!”
------
Kanan and Ahsoka had been ready to leave. The fight had ended. The people, they figured they were vigilantes of some kind, coming out victorious. They hadn’t had to get involved, and they were just getting ready to sneak away from their hiding spot when the stormtroopers had arrived. They’d surrounded the group, which Kanan could see now consisted of a Twi-lek woman, a Lasat, and a short Mandalorian in oddly painted armor.
“I said freeze!” The same voice, an older man by the sound of it, called out. Kanan watched as they were forced away from whatever cargo they had stolen, and turned to Ahsoka with a look of bewilderment.
Empire? He mouthed to her. She responded with a shrug, looking just as confused as he was. He’d assumed they were just some locals stealing food or clothing from local vendors. Maybe smugglers stealing money or valuables. But then the Empire had gotten involved. And weapons? Were these people actually stupid enough to try to steal weapons from the Empire?
Kanan turned back to the scene as he watched the Twi-lek woman slowly step away from the crates, raising her hands to her shoulders. A moment later, the other two reluctantly followed. Kanan didn’t know why he stayed to watch. He and Ahsoka should have been trying to find another way out. If they were spotted there, they would be in a lot more trouble. Maybe they wouldn’t be recognized as force sensitive, not right away, but they’d be grouped in with the vigilantes and arrested. They had definitely broken laws in the past, and probably had more than one bounty over their heads. It would only be a matter of time before they realized who they were. They wouldn’t be able to fight their way out of it, either. Ahsoka had taught him for years to only call upon the Force when absolutely necessary, and never to bring out his lightsaber. This definitely wasn’t a dire enough situation to break those rules.
But if these people were fighting against the Empire…
They’d be stupid. Simple as that. A group of three couldn't take down an intergalactic superpower.
But the thought intrigued him. Maybe that was why, as the three vigilantes were stripped of their weapons and forcefully grabbed as the stormtroopers made to cuff their hands behind their backs, Kanan moved. He wasn’t thinking about it, he just threw himself into action.
He grabbed his blaster from his belt and shot. He hit the trooper closest to him, the armored figure dropping to the ground with a burning hole tunneling through their head. Before the army even realized what was happening he’d taken down two more and was sprinting down the alley towards the group.
What the hell are you doing, Kanan?
He couldn’t start thinking about it now. Behind him, he heard Ahsoka shout his name, but ignored her. He couldn’t stop even if he wanted to. He grabbed the blaster from the nearest fallen soldier and tossed it to the Twi-lek woman before ducking behind a large stone pillar for cover, pressing his blaster to his chest. Peeking his head back around the corner, Kanan saw that the street had erupted into chaos. He heard shouts and screams and the sounds of a dozen blasters firing at once. The rest of the vigilantes had thrown themselves into battle and two of them had already managed to get their guns back. The third, the Lasat, was doing pretty well for himself, tackling two troopers at the same time, breaking the circle or bodies around them.
Kanan glanced back down the street at Ahsoka, who had also pulled out her blaster and was firing at the stormtroopers from her alcove in the wall. She noticed him looking, and returned with a glare that said “ Oh, I am so going to kill you for this later ”. He shrugged, grinning, and turned his gaze back towards the fight.
He shot once, twice more, downing two more troopers that had been trying to escape the battle by running further into the alleyway. Looking around at everyone fighting, Kanan noted that the Mandalorian was fending for herself particularly well, dual wielding stolen guns from where she was perched on top of a pile of wooden crates.
Kanan threw himself out from behind the pillar where he had been hiding, taking one of the troopers by surprise and downing him before he could even raise his gun. It was exhilarating. He knew it shouldn’t be. A battle was supposed to be scary, he was supposed to be afraid. Fear kept you alive. But he couldn’t help himself from being at least a little excited.
He glanced around the field, noticing the Twi-lek attempting to push one of the crates towards their ship, which still stood on the main street with its ramp down. In a second he was there, grabbing the other side and helping her heave it onto the ship. Once it was safely aboard she looked at him, opening her mouth as if to ask a question but before she could a shot hit the wall directly above her head. The two of them immediately ducked for cover, pressing their backs to the slivers of wall on either side of the loading bay doors.
“Who the hell are you?” The woman shouted from her side of the doors, her blaster held tight to her chest as she peered around the corner.
“Uh-” Kanan winced as another shot nearly hit her head and she pulled herself back behind the wall. “Friends? Aid?”
“Well, as long as you keep your blaster aimed towards the troopers, your help is welcome.” The Twi-lek glanced out at the fight again. “My people can keep them distracted for a bit. I need your help getting the rest of these crates aboard the ship.”
Kanan joined her in peering around the edge of the wall at the sight outside. There were four more crates lying on the ground. It took two of them to push one of them onto the ship, and there was no way in hell he would risk using the Force in the middle of a crowded battlefield next to people he barely knew. The troopers were distracted for the moment, but there was no way to know how long it would be before the two of them were spotted. All this while stray shots were crisscrossing all along the path from the ship to the crates. Kanan smiled. He always liked a good challenge.
“Closest one first?” He asked.
The woman shook her head. “Furthest. We make our way inwards. You ready?”
Kanan nodded.
“Go!”
Together they ran towards the furthest crate, ducking as stray bolts of red-hot energy flew over their heads. They reached the thing and without a moment's hesitation began to push, sliding the large box across the smooth pavement.
“Hey!” A voice called, and one of the stormtroopers turned to them, his pistol raised, but a moment later he fell to the ground, a large smoking hole burning all the way through his helmet. The Mandalorian stood behind him, her blaster smoking. She nodded to them before launching herself back into the fray.
They made quick work of the crates. It was a matter of minutes before they’d managed to bring three of the four crates onto the ship. They finally reached the fourth one, only two feet away from the foot of the ramp, but found it wouldn’t budge. It had lodged one of its ends into a long rivet in the ground, likely created by one of the bombs that had gone off earlier. The crate now sat on a noticeable angle, one of its edges jammed firmly into the ground. They tried pushing it out but to no avail; the thing simply refused to move. Kanan sighed. Just a small bit of help , he told himself as he reached out to the force, sneakily pulling up the edge of the crate just slightly, just enough to unlodge it from the rivet in the ground.
“Come on. One more try,” he encouraged, making a big show of bracing his back against the side of the box. The woman huffed, doing the same.
“Now!” Kanan shouted, and together they heaved, sending the box sliding across the pavement and right onto the ramp. The woman frowned, but she had no time to question what had just happened. Together they loaded the final crate into the belly of the ship, just as the sounds of another aircraft sounded from above.
Well, shit.
They ran outside to see another troop transport landing just behind their ship, the large doors opening to reveal another dozen-and-a-half troopers.
“Kids?” The woman called into her wristband. “Onto the Ghost now. We’re leaving.” She ran back onto the ship. A moment later the Mandalorian joined her, flying into the hull with her jetpack, still shooting at the new round of troopers that now crowded the area. Not too far off he saw Ahsoka and the Lasat standing back to back, Ahsoka with her blasters out and the Lasat with a long, electric spear-looking device, fighting off the new hoard. The Lasat said something to Ahsoka, nodding towards the ship, the Ghost , and together they ran, Ahsoka still shooting behind them as they sprinted up the ramp.
“Fly, Chop!” The woman yelled into her communicator, and a moment later, the ship took flight. The Mandalorian leaned out of the hole in the hull of the ship, still shooting back at the stormtroopers as the ramp slowly closed, finally locking them all safely into the belly of the ship.
They all let out a sigh of relief. The Lasat climbed a ladder leading into some upper part of the ship, muttering something about “checking on the stupid droid”. The Mandalorian leaned onto one of the crates, eyeing Kanan and Ahsoka suspiciously as she held her blasters. The woman did the same.
“What was that?” the woman asked.
Kanan tried to feign ignorance. “What was what?”
“The crate. It wasn’t going to budge, and then you convince us to try one more shove and it just goes flying?”
“Oh yeah,” Kanan laughed nonchalantly. “Must have just finally gotten it past that crack, I suppose. Didn’t want to leave it behind.”
The Mandalorian didn’t put away her blasters. Neither did the woman.
“Yeah, sure.” She looked at them suspiciously. “Who are you two? Who sent you?
“No one sent us,” Ahsoka replied. “We were in the market for a ship. We heard the commotion, thought you looked like you needed help, and decided to jump in.” A half-truth, but Kanan supposed it was better than the full one.
“Not to be that person, but people don’t just jump into fights they have no stake in. And they definitely don’t simply neglect to ask for a reward after their ‘heroism’.” The Mandalorian said, her arms crossed. “You know what I think? I think you two are full of shit.”
“We noticed the empire got involved,” Kanan tried. “Why is it that a group of three vigilantes decided to rob five crates of incredibly dangerous weapons and gear, so important that they had two ships full of Stormtroopers sent after them?”
“Do not try to redirect the question,” the Twi-lek woman said, raising her blaster and pointing it at Kanan’s chest. He raised his hands and arched an eyebrow. “We’re grateful for the help, but if you can’t give us a straight answer as to who you are or what you’re trying to do here, you’re going to find yourselves with a couple of burning holes in your chests.”
She definitely didn’t look like she was kidding. After seeing what these three were capable of just a couple minutes ago, Kanan did not want to test their patience. But he also didn’t want to reveal their actual reasons for being on Kuria. And as little as he cared for the Empire, he knew next to nothing about rebellion. Hell, he’d only heard whispers about it until recently. Tiny disorganized bands of people who set off a bomb here, stole some food there.
But looking at these people, it was pretty obvious what they were. A casual, starving family wouldn’t steal crates of heavily protected weaponry, kill about a dozen and a half troopers, then fly out of there like it was something they did every day.
“Okay. Look.” Kanan’s eyes darted to Ahsoka before he looked back at the Twi-lek woman. “We’re not spies. We’re not here to turn you in. We didn’t even know you guys were on this planet until we heard the explosion, and once we ran over there, we saw you needed help. It was an opportunity to aid the rebellion, and we took it, knowing the risks.” He knew perfectly well that getting any information wrong about whatever rebellion these people were a part of could get him shot, so he tried to keep it as vague as possible. “My friend and I, we’re on the run, too. Fighting in any way we can.”
“Have any way you can prove you’re not some spy for the Emperor?” The Mandalorian asked, the suspicion still clear in her voice.
“Our names,” Ahsoka said. “I’m Ashla Carvel. This is Kanan Jarrus. You can find bounties, arrest warrants, that have been there for years.”
“An agent working for the empire would be able to fake bounties.”
“But I’m sure you have access to other forums. Other… under-the-radar programs, ones the Empire has no idea exist. You can find our names there as well. We keep in touch, you’ll find us one way or another.”
Through all this, Ahsoka’s demeanor was calm, earnest. The Twi-lek woman glanced at the Mandalorian. She nodded, walking to a panel on one of the walls that opened to reveal a built-in holo-monitor. She spent a couple of minutes typing, tapping, and scrolling, all while the three of them stood there, eyeing each other. Eventually she returned to the group.
“They’re telling the truth,” she said, her voice resigned. “Kanan Jarrus, Ashla Carvel. Wanted for numerous accounts of theft, breaking and entering, fraud, and even a couple murders. Unless the Empire suddenly became competent overnight, they’re the real deal.” She crossed her arms again, and Kanan suspected that under the helmet she was glaring at them.
Satisfied, the Twi-lek woman holstered her gun. “Well, in that case, welcome aboard the Ghost . I’m Hera. This is Sabine,” she nodded at the Mandalorian. “Zeb is the Lasat you saw earlier, and Chopper’s the droid.”
“W- hold on!” The Mandalorian, Sabine, protested. “Just because they have a couple wanted posters means we can trust them? They could be killers, they could be working for some mob boss, or bounty hunters or something!”
“Bounty hunters with no more than a couple blasters and no armor?” Ahsoka asked wryly.
“We don’t know what’s in those packs of yours.” Sabine nodded to their bags Zeb had left on the ground. “Who knows what kind of incriminating evidence could be in there?”
It was Hera’s turn to raise her eyebrow suspiciously, and she picked up their bags, weighing them in her hands. Kanan felt a panic rise in him, but he forced his face to remain neutral. Ahsoka’s lightsabers. The holocron.
“It’s just food and clothing,” Ahsoka said calmly. “If we had anything dangerous, why would we hide it in such a conspicuous place?”
“So you wouldn’t mind us taking a look, right?”
Ahsoka shrugged as she crossed her arms. “Of course not.” It took all Kanan’s self-restraint not to argue. Hera only nodded, beginning to unzip one of the pockets of Ahsoka’s bag, when the ship shuddered violently. An alarm shrieked from somewhere above them, and Zeb came scrambling down the ladder.
“They found us,” he gasped. Hera’s face hardened, but before she could say anything the ship jolted again, this time knocking them all off their feet. Kanan and Ahsoka’s bags slid across the floor, landing in a heap against the bay door.
“Sabine, Zeb, get to your positions. I need all guns trained on whatever’s following us, do not hesitate to shoot,” she said as they all scrambled to their feet. Sabine and Zeb nodded, running off. “Chop, I’m coming up there. You two-” she looked at Kanan and Ahsoka. “Don’t do anything stupid.”
Then she was off, leaving the two of them in the hull of the ship.
Kanan wasn’t religious, but there had to be some sort of divine being watching over them.
Of course, karma meant they were probably about to die.
Ahsoka didn’t waste a moment. She grabbed her pack and removed the lightsaber. She walked briskly to the opposite wall, almost entirely cast in shadow thanks to the platform above it, and slid open a hatch Kanan hadn’t noticed before. She placed it in the tiny box and closed the door. In the shadow covering it, it was nearly impossible to see the opening. Probably some long-forgotten safe, or an old holoprojector cove. Kanan gaped at her.
“How did you-?”
She smiled. “You didn’t think I spent all that time standing there doing nothing, did you?” She shrugged. “There was an empty space in that section of the wall. I could feel it. It was a logical assumption.
The ship rocked again. Kanan braced himself against a wall.
“And if you need it?”
“I won’t need it here. I’ll retrieve it when we leave. For now, it’s safer in there.”
They could hear vividly now the sounds of blasterfire. It sounded like it was all around them, the sound echoing off the walls of the small room.
“We should help,” Kanan said.
“Like we helped when you ran into battle with nothing but a pistol, even after I said it was too dangerous?” Ahsoka asked, her eyes flashing.
“They needed assistance-”
“You don’t know who these people are, Kanan,” Ahsoka hissed, drawing closer to him as if to make sure no one overheard. “You have no idea what they’ve done, and you endangered both of us by running blindly in there.”
“We know they’re with the rebellion,” Kanan said stubbornly.
“Do we? What do we know about this resistance that we can be sure these people are safe? And what happens if they find out what you actually are? You think they’ll be so kind to you when they discover your connection with the force, your past in the Order?” She was fuming.
“Why wouldn’t they? I’m not stupid, Ahsoka. I know what people think of the Jedi. I know what they do to us- to them. But I also know that this, these people, could finally be our chance to connect with a rebel group. Isn’t that what we’ve been trying to do?”
Kanan hated the way she looked at him at that moment, pity in her eyes like he was some child who couldn’t understand the world he was living in.
Ahsoka sighed, rubbing her head with her hand. “Sometimes I forget how young you were when Order 66 was given. You weren’t in the field enough to see all the mistrust that surrounded the Jedi order, all the cracks in its foundation that people simply elected to ignore until the whole thing came crashing down.” She folded her arms and turned, pacing up and down the floor of the ship. “I know it’s nice to have hope. I want an end to the Empire just as much as you. But we’ve only heard whispers of organized rebellion. If this is everything they’ve got, it’s only a matter of time before they’re caught.”
“But if there’s a chance they could be a part of something bigger… don’t you think it’s worth a shot?”
Ahsoka looked back at him again, her brow furrowed. She looked like she was fighting with herself, trying to figure out what to say. She opened her mouth, but at that moment, the lights in the room turned red and an alarm started blaring from somewhere within the ship.
Ahsoka and Kanan shared a look of we’ll discuss this later , and the two hurried up the ladder to the door. When it opened, they found themselves face-to-face with Sabine.
“Well, come on, already. Get your asses to the cockpit!”
------
Outside the cockpit window was chaos.
TIE fighters circled the Ghost , bombarding it with blasts and then swooping away before whoever was in the gunner pit could get a good shot. They were normal TIE’s, but the pilots must have been something special because the black pods swooped around the Ghost in acrobatic circles that made Kanan dizzy, and easily dodging most of the Ghost’s returning fire.
Hera was doing her best to swerve and dodge their blasts, but their opponents were good. While she evaded most of their shots, occasionally one would hit them and the ship would shudder and groan. Their return fire wasn’t doing all too bad, either, but even as Kanan watched one TIE explode, another immediately swarmed in to take its place.
“The shields won't hold up like this forever!” Hera said, her teeth gritted.
“And we know damn well they’ve probably already got a star destroyer on its way.” Sabine adjusted her helmet. “Hera, I’m heading back to guns.”
Hera made a noise of agreement as she steered the ship hard to the right, causing them all to stumble as the floor beneath them tilted. Sabine then ran off, and Hera turned to Ahsoka and Kanan. “One of you hop in the co-pilot seat. I don’t care who as long as you know how to pilot a ship and can help me get us the hell out of here.”
There was no argument from Kanan as Ahsoka immediately jumped forward into the seat, strapping herself in and taking ahold of the controls. Together she and Hera worked, Ahsoka’s hands speeding across the controls as if she already knew this ship like an old friend. Kanan remembered once long ago, only a couple of months after Ahsoka had first found him, when he’d asked her how she was so good with ships. Her expression grew weary and she’d simply said “an old friend.” With the two of them working together Hera seemed to be able to get them slightly further from the mass, but it didn’t last long.
She grunted in frustration. “Get the hyperdrive running. Our only hope is to hold them off until we can leap out of here.” Ahsoka nodded and began the process, but her lips were pressed into a thin line. It was clear she didn’t think that plan had much chance for success.
Kanan, on the other hand, was itching to get his hands on the guns. He’d found quite early on he had a bit of a talent when it came to shooting small objects out of the sky, a skill that had gotten them out of a good couple of tight spots in the past. He knew he wouldn’t be needed here. His flying skills could never match up with Ahsoka’s, and clearly nor with Hera’s. He gave them one final look before rushing out of the cockpit to try to locate the guns. He did so with ease, and when the door opened he found Sabine in the gunner's chair, helmet strewn on the floor and eyes razor focused on the scene outside the window. She fired, grunting in frustration as the bolt missed and streaked out into the endless darkness.
“Need help?” Kanan asked.
“ No ,” Sabine said sharply. “You shouldn’t even be in here.”
“Thought I could help. They won't be able to get us into hyperspace for a couple of minutes up there, I wanted to try to help us not get blasted into pieces.”
“I don’t need your help,” Sabine muttered as she shot again, only grazing the side of one of the TIE’s before it zoomed off again. “Ugh! Why are these stupid things suddenly good at what they do?”
Kanan groaned internally. He’d been hoping there was an extra set of guns where he’d been able to do this alone, but it was apparently very much not his day.
“Here- Sabine, concentrate on the center,” he said.
“I am concentrating,” she hissed as she shot again. One of the shots took down a TIE, but the returning fire almost took out the gun entirely.
“No- the center. Forward. Let them come to you, and I’ll- I’ll tell you when to shoot.”
The look she gave him was withering. “Why would I trust you? Have you even shot a ship’s guns before?”
Kanan let out a small laugh. “Funnily enough, I have.”
Sabine shot wildly again, but her shot only grazed one of the TIE’s. The shuddering of the ship was becoming increasingly severe, and Kanan could see red flashing coming from some alarm light down the corridor. If they didn’t lighten the fire they were taking soon, the ship was going to explode before they could get anywhere.
Sabine also seemed to realize this. She gave a frustrated grunt, then focused her sights on the center of the window, holding the guns steady. “Fine,” she said. “Tell me when.”
Kanan let his eyes unfocus. He allowed himself to open up to the Force again, feeling rather than seeing where the TIE fighters were swooping around their ship. There were a couple less than earlier, no doubt Zeb and Sabine had cut down on their numbers slightly, but it was still too much for the ship to take. It shuddered, and Kanan frowned as he tried to let his concentration deepen. Then, he felt something click into place. “Now!” he said, and Sabine fired. The shots hit the fighter dead on, causing it to explode in a small blaze of light.
“Yes!” Sabine said, but Kanan didn’t say anything. He closed his eyes and waited. Sabine shot three more ships out of the sky before Kanan felt his stomach turn over and blue light flash behind his eyelids, and he knew they’d entered hyperspace. He opened his eyes to see Sabine rubbing hers, exhausted. She finally turned to him, an expression that was a wild mix of impress, respect, shock, and maybe a bit of anger on her face.
Maybe it was a bit cowardly, but before she could say anything Kanan nodded his head to the door, and Sabine nodded. They left the small room to regroup with the rest of the ship.
They met in the hull.
“How did you do that?” Sabine’s voice was somewhere between angry and impressed. “Those were one-in-a-million shots. There’s no way you could have made that without serious training. Who the hell are you people, actually?”
Kanan shrugged. “Would you believe I just got lucky?”
Sabine’s glare told him that no, she would not.
“We’ve been doing this for a long time,” Ahsoka said. “We know what we’re doing.”
Sabine started to protest again, but Hera rested a hand on her shoulder. “What I think Sabine meant to say is thank you .” Her eyes still betrayed suspicion, but also gratitude. Whatever her feelings about them were, she didn’t say them out loud. “I don’t know when it’ll be safe to visit Kuria again. Is there anywhere we can drop you off in the meantime, so you can eventually get back to your ship?”
Kanan and Ahsoka exchanged a look.
“Actually… that was our problem. We had to abandon our old ship- long story. We’re… sort of in the market now?”
“Where are you headed next? Maybe we can try to find passage there.”
Sabine and Hera glanced at each other, and Sabine shrugged.
“Lothal,” Hera said. Kanan noticed Sabine’s fingers clench ever so slightly, but he didn’t comment on it. Instead he just frowned. “What do you guys have to do on Lothal?”
“That’s none of your business.”
Kanan raised an eyebrow, but Ahsoka put a calm hand on his shoulder.
“Lothal will work fine. Thank you,” she said.
Sabine snorted. “Yeah. Like that won’t blow up in our faces-”
She was cut off by Hera’s warning look. “I’ll set course after we fully assess the damage. For now I just had us jump to another area of unoccupied space, I don’t know if we can make the full jump yet. It may take an hour or two to do repairs.” She hesitated, then, “Thank you for your assistance. Maybe… we can point you in the right direction once we get to Lothal. For supplies, at least.”
“That would be greatly appreciated. Thank you,” Ahsoka responded.
She nodded, moving to the door, then paused and turned back to them. “And, please, don’t touch the weapons. We’ll know if any of them have been stolen. Or tampered with.” Hera nodded again, then disappeared through the door. Sabine gave them one last hard look then followed her out.
Ahsoka smiled slightly.
“Lothal?” Kanan asked skeptically.
“I didn’t want to push anything. The faster we’re able to get another ship and get away, the better. Besides,” she said. “It’s safer for them. The less time we spend around them, the less chance they get caught up in our messes.”
Kanan snorted. “Yeah, I guess that sounds about right.”
There was a long moment of silence, and Kanan felt something heavy weigh on him. A feeling he’d realized he’d been carrying around for a while, but had been too caught up in the fight to pay much attention to. Then he spoke, and though he tried to hide as much of the nerves in his voice as possible they still crept through. “We… we never went to Lothal, did we? When I was young, soon after you found me?”
Ahsoka frowned thoughtfully for a moment, then shook her head. “No, I don’t think so. I’ve barely even heard the planet’s name before now. Why?”
Kanan’s eyebrows furrowed, and he felt a small pang of dread climb in his gut; a spasm from the force he knew like an old friend. “You know that calling you told me you felt when you found me? You just knew something important was there, even though you couldn’t tell if it was good or bad?”
“Yeah?”
“I understand that feeling now. There’s something on Lothal- something big.”