Archive of Our Own

 As soon as Hera confirmed they had Kallus’ escape pod, Zeb quickly got on the ship’s speaker to inform everyone onboard who didn’t know that Kallus was one of theirs even if he was dressed like an Imperial and to not hurt him. Seemed like a necessary announcement to make. Who knew what everyone who didn’t know Fulcrum the second (or was it third?) would do if they saw a guy in an Imperial uniform onboard?

 Kanan had said it was smart, anyway. And it worked, too, since Kallus had made it to the cockpit unmolested, given the speed he did it in.

 Still, now that they were a few hyperspace jumps away, Zeb supposed this was a good time to approach Kallus. Since, well, Kallus hasn’t done any approaching yet. Zeb knew Kanan had spoken to him when Hera was talking with Sabine’s mother, but he hadn’t had time to pull away until now.

 Kallus was in one of the halls with several evacuees. He was in the corner, keeping to himself. Probably smart given the company. Just because Zeb had said not to hurt him and Kanan had thanked him didn’t mean anyone else here knew him from any other Imp defector. “Kallus.”

 “Garazeb,” Kallus said. He looked up and smiled, but didn’t managed to hold Zeb’s gaze. Zeb noted he’d managed to neaten his hair since he’d seen him last.

 Might have been the head trauma making gaze-holding hard. Looked like his head and the rest of him had seen plenty of trauma.

 “Come on, let’s look at those cuts. Ezra’s and my room’s free for now,” Zeb said. Hopefully they made it to Yavin before a sleep cycle so it would stay that way. He didn’t need anyone else whining about how they thought he smelled, thanks, Ezra was enough.

 “That’s…you don’t…I’m fine,” Kallus said, folding his arms—more hugging himself really—and looked at his boots.

 Zeb frowned. That was not the voice of a man who’d just broken himself out of Imperial custody in a warzone. More like a guy who just wanted you to shoot him and be done with it.

 Ah. Given Thrawn cut the transmission somehow, he’d probably tricked Kallus or something and Kallus felt all guilty and whatnot. And if Kallus had been caught, Thrawn probably taunted him with everyone getting their asses kicked planetside.

 Zeb knew a thing or two about guilt, including that it didn’t go away even if others told you it was misplaced. So he wouldn’t bring that up. “Nah you’re not. Come on, Kal. Don’t make me pick you up.”

 Zeb snickered at the scandalized look that put on Kallus’ face before Kallus recovered and sighed, “Fine.”

 “Come on, there’s some bacta patches with your name on them,” Zeb said. “Probably a washcloth too, where did you get beat up?”

 “Bridger’s old tower. It’s…dusty,” Kallus said.

 “That where they caught you?”

 “Yes.”

 Zeb opened the door to the room and waved Kallus in.

 “…How much of this smell is messy teenager and how much is you?” Kallus asked slowly as he sat on the bed.

 “You know what? Points for not blaming it all on me,” Zeb said, pulling out the first aid kit. He peered at Kallus’ face, “Karabast, Kal, what hit you?”

 “Mostly Thrawn and two Death Troopers. Pryce got a slap or two in. And the two Stormtroopers I fought in an elevator,” Kallus said. “And one in a hallway.”

 “Thrawn ambush you?”

 “Yes. I thought I was being stealthy…if I’d only brought my rifle I could probably have killed Thrawn then and-”

 “No ifs. Ifs drive you mad,” Zeb said firmly, putting a bacta strip on Kallus’ forehead. “Trust me, Kal.”

 “He made me watch.”

 “What?” Zeb asked.

 “Thrawn. I was on the bridge of the ship for everything. I saw everything,” Kallus said.

 Oh. That explained a lot then. “That can’t have been fun.” Damn. Probably not the right thing to say.

 Kallus laughed, low yet hysterical, “Oh it was not, believe me. It was not.”

 Zeb sighed and patted Kallus on the shoulder, only to pull back when the man winced. “Karabast, Kallus! What of you isn’t bruised?”

 “I think there’s a few inches around my left elbow,” Kallus said dryly.

 “You have got to be…shirt, off. Let’s see what we can do,” Zeb said.

 Kallus ended up needing help with getting the vest off before he could remove his shirt, but eventually they got him properly topless and Zeb could cringe at the bruising. Kallus was on the paler side for humans, and humans already had their bruises stand out far more than lasats. So on Kallus it looked doubly-doubly bad just due to coloration. “Don’t think you’re going to have an easy time laying down for a while.” Given how sleep-deprived Kallus looked, not a good thing.

 “Who sleeps these days?” Kallus asked.

 “Not you. We’ll have to work on that, getting you acclimated to…well, not looking over your shoulder all the time and whatever other paranoid stuff you had to do,” Zeb said, going to work on Kallus’ back while Kallus worked the front.

 “We don’t even know how long he knew,” Kallus said suddenly, eyes widening.

 Karabast. Here they went again. “Doesn’t matter right now-”

 “Of course it does, Garazeb! He could have been feeding me information for…for who only knows how long!” Kallus said. “He could have been tracking my other communications…people could be in danger because I-”

 Zeb groaned. Kallus was still talking, blaming himself for everything under every sun in the kriffing galaxy. “Kal you were one informant. Yeah, only one on Lothal but still…one. Guy. You think the others haven’t screwed up too?”

 “I should have just gone with Bridger. Why didn’t I go with Bridger—ow!” Kallus said as Zeb slapped the last bit of bacta on maybe a bit too hard. Okay, more than a bit. He was trying to break a train of thought and that took some good startling.

 Zeb came around the front and took Kallus by the shoulders, “Kal, we’re not dealing with this right now. We’re dealing with you being hurt and needing to sleep. No ifs, no should haves. It’s over and we’re going to have to deal.”

 Kallus went to open his mouth but Zeb had other plans and yanked him into a hug before he could get a word out, “Also…really glad you’re alive. Good job on that front.”

 “I….I…ah…”

 Zeb wasn’t sure if he’d been too forward for a human to handle—not likely, given how much he’d seen other humans hug, but possible, humans had like fifty different cultures cause they all got all over different planets and started making their own differences—or if this was just Kallus not knowing what a hug was. Well, poor guy had been an Imp most of his life…

 He waited for Kallus to relax a little before letting go, “So, how’d you do it? After all that depression I could use a good warrior’s tale.”

 Kallus shook his head, “Far be it for me to disappoint you but it was mostly just my tricking Pryce.”

 Zeb decided against explaining that as a spy tricking people was probably part of Kallus’ way of being a warrior—spy and all that—and just pressed for details. “How’d that work?”

 “She panicked when Bridger broke the gravity well,” Kallus said. It felt like his legs were getting shaky so Zeb let him slump back down to sitting on the bed. “So I told her Thrawn would be annoyed she’d made a mess of the fleet.”

 “To her face?” Zeb asked, grinning. He could think of a lot of Lothal natives who’d want to hear that. Everyone hated Pryce.

 “Yes. Since she was already upset she ordered me thrown out the airlock, which was just what I wanted,” Kallus said. “Since that put me alone in an elevator with two troopers-”

 “Whose asses you kicked and then you ran for an escape pod,” Zeb said. “Ha-ha, brilliant!”

 “It was…surprisingly easy,” Kallus admitted. “But then I’d never seen Pryce so stressed so I assumed she was unusually suggestible…or liable to predictable overreaction.”

 “Well come on then, spare no details. Tell me about the look on her face,” Zeb encouraged. If he could just keep Kallus on this until he dropped from exhaustion Zeb could call it a win.

 “She…it was an odd look. She was trying to maintain composure but it was slipping. It was more her voice than her face, and her gestures, they were getting erratic,” Kallus said. “So I took a chance and…here I am.”

 “Here you are,” Zeb agreed, sitting next to Kallus and wrapping an arm around him. “You’re here and safe, Kal. Take a rest.”

 Not having anywhere to go—or the strength to shrug Zeb’s arm off if he had, Zeb could tell he was spent—Kallus sighed and leaned on him.

 “Just rest, Kal. We’ll sort the rest later,” Zeb said, giving him a relatively gentle sideways headbutt. Kallus started a bit at the contact before relaxing again. And if Zeb maybe gave his hair a little nuzzle when he was sure the agent was asleep well…whose business was that but his?

.o.o.o.

 Ezra yawned as he walked into his room only to stop.

 Zeb was curled up on his bunk with Kallus. A shirtless Kallus.

 Okay…oh, bacta strips. Kallus had been hurt, right.

 Still…Ezra grabbed a small cam, disabled any flash issues, and snapped a few pictures. That was the kind of quality blackmail Sabine would love to keep her company back on Krownest. He then slipped out of the room and went to bunk with Kanan. Give the grumpy old men their privacy and all.

.o.o.o.

 Kallus startled at the sound of a door whooshing shut. He sat up quickly only to crack his head on the bunk above and accidentally hit someone with his hand besides.

 Why was he in a bunk bed? Who was that with him? What was going on? Where was-

 Oh. Oh this was the Ghost. That was Bridger’s bunk he’d banged his head on. And his hand had smacked Garazeb in the stomach. Oh.

 Oh! “Sorry.”

 “If that’s how hard you swing accidentally how did anyone every take you out?” Garazeb grunted, holding his stomach.

 “Garazeb I—I didn’t mean, I…”

  “Karabast, Kal, go back to bed…” Garazeb huffed, rolling over. “You cracked your head too? Kriff, stop hurting yourself, you’re enough hurt for a month.”

 Enough hurt for a….what? Was Garazeb even fully awake? “I…uh…”

 Garazeb sighed and tugged him back down. “Come on, Kal.”

 There it was again. Garazeb just…doing whatever he pleased with Kallus’ name. Doing whatever he pleased in general really but…it was…nice. Not having to think right now. Kallus was pretty sure if he tried thinking he would crack and he’d rather do that in private.

 Privacy seemed like something a long ways off, though, so he’d endure for now. “I never quite took you for a cuddler.”

 “You need cuddling, you pain in the neck,” Garazeb shot back.

 “I…what?”

 “Karabast. Kal you’re a hair from a breakdown, if that-”

 “I am not!” Kallus protested, wincing at how his voice cracked. Given how Garazeb’s ears twitched and he cringed it hadn’t been very comfortable for him either.

 “I am perfectly…I am fine. I will be fine. So what if…if I’ve utterly completed my defection and have spent months gathering intel on the worst atrocities of a system that I honestly, truly thought was good,” Kallus asked, rolling onto his back—and ignoring the pain from the bruises on it—to stare at the bunk above. “That I found out so many things I almost wish I never knew while still being glad someone knows them who can tell others now and…and…”

 Oh. He was having that breakdown after all then. Good on Garazeb for predicting it.

 “I thought I was doing good. But I never was, was I?” he asked.

 “You made good anyway. You made up for it,” Garazeb said. 

 “Nothing will ever make up for it,” Kallus said.

 “Kal, don’t start that. It never ends,” Garazeb said, leaning over him. “Trust me.”

 Kallus wanted to. He desperately wanted to. He just didn’t know if he could, he was so used to not trusting anyone and… “I’ll…try…”

 “Good,” Garazeb said. Those huge green eyes, so much more expressive and warm than the ones that haunted his nightmares of Onderon, softened a bit. “That’s…good.”

 Kallus felt himself go very red as he realized what position they were in. “I…”

 He didn’t know what he’d been trying to say. His throat was very dry.

 “Sorry,” Garazeb said, pulling back. “Shouldn’t have…you know.”

 “It’s fine!” Kallus said quickly.

 Garazeb looked surprised, and Kallus thought a bit flattered. He chuckled and shook his head, “Not right now it’s not. You’re still picking up the pieces. We’ll…we’ll get to that when you have, yeah?”

 “All right,” Kallus said. He supposed Garazeb had a point. Coming off a breakdown wasn’t the best place to bring up feelings. Well, feelings not related to the breakdown anyway. And he definitely shouldn’t be trying to process anything right now because his head was not handling it and wanted to fall back asleep. “All right.”

 “All right then,” Garazeb said, looking faintly amused. His ears had perked up a bit at any rate. “So…yeah. Officially a Rebel now.”

 Kallus nodded. Hearing someone else say it really made it sink in…while initially it felt cold, like they were back on that moon. But then it began to feel warm and he chuckled softly, “No more panicking about being found out, I suppose.”

 “Yeah, cause we all know here,” Garazeb agreed. “No more putting up with Thrawn, either.”

 “Oh that will be nice. He is the creepiest person I’ve ever worked for. And you know the other people I’ve worked for,” Kallus said.

 Garazeb frowned, “…We’re counting Vader, right?”

 “We’re counting Vader,” Kallus said, rolling back onto his side. Kriff. He’d worked for Vader himself once and now was in the Rebellion. What even was his life? He started snickering. “We’re counting Vader, oh Maker…”

 He felt Garazeb pat him on the shouler gingerly, likely because of the darkening bruises. “That’s it, Kal. Process all that crazy stuff.”

 “I don’t even know how that bastard knew it was me!” Kallus said. “That’s how thoroughly through he was! And so secretive it’s amazing I ever got you all any information about anything and I don’t know if I was fed anything false or not!”

“Well then good on your for getting us anything,” Garazeb said. “And quit dwelling on the maybe-false-info stuff, we’re warned now, we’ll work on it. Besides…well, the Lothal info will have to wait for a while now, huh?”

 “It would be very hard to set up in that sector again. Not unless Thrawn gets reassigned,” Kallus said. “He knows this cell too well by now. The man spent hours just going over everything Sabine Wren ever tagged.”

 “Obsessive,” Garazeb whistled. “…Any way to sabotage him into getting reassigned?”

 “It would involve manipulating Tarkin so I doubt it,” Kallus said. “He, the Emperor, and Vader are the only ones who could force Thrawn to move right now. And presumably all three are pleased with him.”

 “Yeah. Karabast, we’ll think of something when we get to Yavin.”

 “Yavin?” Kallus asked.

 “It’s where Dodonna’s cell in based,” Garazeb said. “Heard rumors it’s going to become the main headquarters.”

 “They may be careful about making a single headquarters after this,” Kallus said.

 “I know there’s some other bases. We had a call to one where the poor sap on the coms was freezing his ass off on an ice world,” Garazeb said. “We’re not going to that one, at least.”

 “I think we’ve had our fill of ice worlds yet,” Kallus agreed.

 “Don’t know. Kind of nice places when you’re not dealing with things trying to eat you,” Garazeb admitted.

 “That was the bulk of our stay, Garazeb,” Kallus reminded him.

 “Karabast, Kal, let a man remember what he wants,” Garazeb muttered, rolling his eyes.

 “Apologies,” Kallus said.

 “Feeling calm yet? I think you still need some sleep,” Garazeb said. After a moment of hesitation he reached over and gently ran his fingers up and down Kallus’ spine.

 “Might as well try,” Kallus agreed.

.o.o.o.

 Zeb left Kallus in bed when he went for breakfast. Given how much squirming and moaning the guy did during the night he’d need rest yet.

 “Hey good, you’re up. I’m leaving soon and I was worried you’d be in dreamland for my goodbye,” Sabine said.

  “Wouldn’t miss it,” Zeb sad, hugging her.

 “So how’s Kallus?” she asked.

 “Still out. Seemed like he could sleep for days and I say let him.”

 “Yeah, Kanan’s out too. Ezra said whatever he did with the Bendu really took it out of him emotionally. I think he’s sorry he pissed the guy off, even if it saved your bacon,” Sabine said.

 “Well we’ll let Kanan rest too then,” Zeb said. He saw Sabine smirk and braced himself.

 “So…heard you were doing a little cuddle therapy, huh?” Sabine asked.

 “What are you on about?”

 “I’m saying someone’s snuggling our spiffy new spy-guy,” Sabine said.

 Zeb blinked. What? How did she…Ezra. He must have come in to sleep and saw something…

 “Oh come on, Zeb, it’s cute!” Sabine said. “Totally weird, but cute. I’m happy for you.”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself. He’s not in a place right now for it and I won’t take advantage of that,” Zeb said. Kallus was really fragile right now. He’d been there. Last thing you needed was trying to deal with complicated shit like another person’s feelings for you.

 “And that is what makes you such a catch, Zeb,” Hera said, coming up behind them.

 “…Does everyone know about this?” Zeb asked.

 “Oh yeah. Ezra told everyone. But only I have seen the pictures,” Sabine said.

 “Pictures?” Zeb asked. That was it, Ezra was sleeping in the escape pods from now on. Kallus could have his bed. Wait Kallus couldn’t climb a ladder right now…Kallus could stay put and have Ezra’s bed when he could climb ladder again. Yeah. That worked.

 “Yep. Plural,” Sabine said smugly as they entered the kitchen.

 “What’s plural…heheh, hi Zeb!” Ezra yelped, hiding behind Rex as he saw Zeb’s face.

 “He knows about the pictures,” Hera said, brushing past him for some caf. “The plural pictures.”

 “Save me,” Ezra told Rex.

 “…Take your lumps, kid,” Rex said, stepping aside.

.o.o.o.

 Kallus walked gingerly through the ship. It wasn’t just pain—though his shoulders had not liked pulling a shirt back on even if he had left the armor off—it was also the awkwardness of being here. Being on the Ghost. Being fully of a Rebel now.

 It was still processing in his mind. Garazeb had been right. He needed some time. Even if he maybe had some…feelings…towards the lasat he wasn’t in a place to act on them. Or understand Garazeb’s.

 He just felt so adrift. What use was a compromised spy you had to pull out? What good was he anymore? Well, he supposed they could have some use for him, since they’d picked him up in a warzone at risk to themselves…

 Still, the crew of this ship continued to baffle him…

A point proven when he walked into the kitchen to find Garazeb sitting on Bridger. “Ah…”

 “Yes that is a lasat sitting on a teenage Jedi,” Rex, the old clone warrior, said. “You’re not hallucinating, Kallus.”

 “…All…right…then,” Kallus said slowly as he edged around Bridger’s prone form to the table.

 “Stop crushing me!” Bridger told Garazeb.

 Garazeb smirked and made a show of leaning harder on Bridger instead.

 “Dare I ask?” Kallus asked Captain Syndulla.

 “He gave Sabine blackmail on you two,” Hera said.

 Kallus stiffened. Blackmail was something he understood. Maybe this wasn’t going to be so different after all. “I…see.”

 “It’s pics of us sleeping last night,” Garazeb snapped. “Because Ezra’s a nosy little brat!”

Kallus blinked. That…that was blackmail? But everyone knew about it, apparently. And it was inconsequential…well, not it wasn’t, he supposed it wasn’t entirely and it wouldn’t be in the Empire but here he’d assume it as less of a deal if a human and a lasat were…cuddling. And apparently everyone knew, weakening its potential greatly.

  “I think we’re overloading the guy,” Rex said quietly.

 “Kallus? You. Chair. Now,” Hera said firmly. He was too frazzled to do anything but obey the commanding tone.

 “Guess you’re still pretty stressed, huh?” Sabine asked.

 He nodded.

 “Zeb, get up here and help your friend,” Hera said. “He needs it.”

 Garazeb sighed and got off Bridger. “Fine. Learned your lesson?”

 “Yeah, you smell even worse after sharing your bed with someone,” Bridger said.

 “Given none you lot have showered yet, all three of you smell,” Rex muttered.

 “The showers have been full!” Bridger complained. “There’s like fifteen more people than usual on this thing!”

 “Twenty three but who’s counting?” Sabine asked. “That includes Rex, Kallus, and AP-5 but still-”

 It was all just so…baffling. Why were they just sitting around bickering? What was going on? Kallus jerked a bit as Zeb leaned in very close to peer at him.

 “He’s back,” Garazeb announced. “You looked out for a second there, Kal.”

 “You checked his head, right?” Hera asked.

 “Course! What kind of amateur do you think I am?” Garazeb asked. “Just overwhelmed, right?”

 “Yes,” Kallus said sincerely.

 “Okay. Let’s keep things simple,” Hera said. “We’re going to Yavin. When we get there you stick with Zeb or Kanan at all times unless they or I tell you otherwise. Don’t worry about anything else at all.”

 “But I need to tell you some things!” Kallus said.

  “Oh, right. Thrawn probably knew he was the mole since Ezra’s break in to try and pull him out,” Garazeb said. “Kallus is worried we might have gotten some false intel fed to us.”

 “Kanan and I already discussed that while you were asleep, but it’s good to have a potential date Thrawn realizing it for timing,” Hera said.

 “Also…I’m why he found you,” Kallus said.

 “What?” Bridger asked.

 “He tracked the transmission I sent. I wasn’t warning you about the base, he knew about your planned attacks on the factories,” Kallus said. “And knew I’d try to warn you he knew and followed me. Cross-referenced the signal with Dodonna’s fleet path and found the base.”

 “Wait, but the message cut,” Bridger said. “We assume you were attacked, or it was jammed…”

 “It was,” Kallus said. “He confronted me after jamming it…but if he needed the signal to go through…”

 “Was messing with you,” Garazeb said decisively. “Like when he was taunting Hera planetside.”

 “Wait….how is Kallus alive again?” Sabine asked. “I’m sorry, still getting caught up here.”

 “Thrawn had me watch the battle. From the bridge of one of the main ships,” Kallus said.

 “Wow. Left you alive and everything. What an idiot,” Sabine said.

 “Looking back, yes. And in Pryce’s custody to boot,” Kallus said, chuckling weakly. “…He wanted to make sure I knew he’d won. And you say he taunted Captain Syndulla on the planet?”

 “Yeah. Made sure I heard his plans for my friends,” Hera said. “What are you saying?”

 “I’m saying Thrawn is a Naval officer and thus unless he was trying very hard to make sure the ground assault went according to plan should not have been planetside at all,” Kallus said. “And you make it sound like he walked right up to Captain Syndulla!”

 “He did,” Zeb said.

 “…You’re telling me he walked right at a woman flanked by you,” Kallus gestured to Garazeb, “and you,” gestured to Rex, “and a Jedi Knight? As if it was a good idea?”

 “Now that you mention it, if we went down fighting Kanan and I both could have done him some serious damage…” Garazeb mused. “He was pretty close…”

 “He was so sure he’d won and didn’t care?” Bridger asked.

 “Or was more concerned with making sure I knew he’d won,” Hera mused. “Kallus might be onto something. How we use it I have no idea but it’s a good start.”

 “It just seems odd. So probably worth looking into,” Kallus said, shrugging.

 “This hiring a spy thing is working out pretty well. I’d have just shrugged and said Thrawn screwed up,” Garazeb said. “Nice thinking, Kal.”

 “Kal?” Everyone turned to see Kanan come in. “Good to know you’re fitting in, Kallus.”

 “Wait, wait,” Bridger said. “Kallus is his first name? I thought it was his last name!”

 “I don’t care which it is, it’s what we call him so ‘Kal,’” Garazeb said. 

 “It’s my whole name, thank you,” Kallus said.

 “Huh? One of the cultures without surames?” Hera asked.

 “No surname to have,” Kallus said. He knew he sounded a bit testy on that.

 “Oh, okay,” Garazeb said. Everyone else seemed accept it. Good. It had made paperwork hell in ISB and rebels shouldn’t have paperwork so it shouldn’t matter and it hadn’t mattered anyway it had just made paperwork hell…

 Kriff, he was already unconsciously calling himself a rebel…

 Kallus jerked as Garazeb waved a hand in front of his face.

 “Got to stop doing that Kal,” the lasat sighed.

 “Sorry,” he said. He tried to pay attention even as attention moved from him and to Sabine, who said her goodbyes and was given many hugs. It sounded like Mandalore was really heating up, and the crew promised to come help her family if Sabine was in trouble, not just as repayment but because Sabine was family to them. It was…nice. Watching it.

 “And I’ve got some really adorable pictures to keep me company!” Sabine laughed at one point. Kallus rolled his eyes and Garazeb growled. Clearly this crew had a very different definition of blackmail from the norm…

 Eventually the goodbyes turned final and Sabine left with her family. Bridger became moody due to instantly missing her and Kanan sent him to the showers.

 “Suppose we should do that too, eh?” Garazeb asked as Brider headed off.

 “A shower does sound nice,” Kallus admitted. “Goodness only knows how my hair looks…”

 He’d tried smoothing it into place but there was no mirror in Garazeb’s room. And some bits were determined to sneak free without his usual gel to hold them down…

 “Looks fine to me,” Garazeb said, flashing Kallus a grin that made it clear he was flirting.

 “That’s a biased opinion then,” Kallus said, feeling his ears get warm. “Given your…bias.”

 “Great argument there, Kal,” Garazeb said. “Scintillating, even.”

 “Given my current state of being overwhelmed can we not throw ten credit words into sentences randomly?” Kallus asked.

 “Just wanted to see your face if I said it,” Garazeb chuckled.

 “Why? I don’t think you’re stupid. Direct, blunt, and dangerously fond of heavy weaponry, but not stupid,” Kallus said.

 “There’s that brain function coming back!” Garazeb laughed, slapping him on the back and flinching when Kallus yelped as he hit a bruise dead-center. “Karabast! Sorry.”

 “Let’s….let’s just shower,” Kallus snickered at the awkwardly endearing look on Zeb’s face.

.o.o.o.

 Zeb tried to keep an eye on Kallus once they reached Yavin. It wasn’t hard. Kallus mostly kept his head down and stayed quiet when someone didn’t engage him first. It wasn’t all guilt and stress; Zeb had the feeling that Kallus was just used to silently observing things and forming conclusions about them. Some sort of spy thing.

 Made it hard to judge if something was wrong, though. Given Kallus has spent months making sure not to give anything away period when he was Fulcrum, he probably hadn’t adjusted back to showing emotion to the people around him…assuming that was ever a thing he did at all, given he’d been ISB before Fulcrum.

 …Did Kallus know how to relax around other people? Probably not.

 “Spanner,” Hera said.

 Zeb passed it to her. They were both wedged awkwardly under the Ghost, on a makeshift scaffolding whose construction Zeb did not trust to the point of asking Kanan to keep a medkit next to himself while meditating nearby. Honestly Zeb only had his balance because his feet could hold on as well as his hands.

 “How’s it going?” he asked.

 “Almost done. Where did Ezra say he found this scaffold?” Hera asked.

 “Begged it off some of Raddus’ fleet in exchange for helping them sort a new weapons haul. It’s why he haven’t seen him all day, still at it,” Zeb said.

 “We need to build more scaffolds on this rock then,” Hera said. “I know one of the Alderanian cells needs some too…”

 “Could get Kanan and Ezra to cut down some trees,” Zeb offered.

 “Zeb, lightsabers are not axes,” Kanan said loudly.

 As Hera snickered Zeb scowled, “So you’re not going to help then?”

 “No, I never said that,” Kanan said. “Just…don’t have that be your first idea of ‘make lightsabers useful’ okay?”

 “All right, Master Jedi,” Zeb teased and Hera laughed louder.

 “All right, all right…that should…do it!” Hera said as she replaced the final part. She grabbed a radio, “Chopper, Kallus, run the sequences I told you and then report.”

 “Please let it be right this time,” Zeb muttered. Kallus contacted Hera first with a brief message that the whatever it was ran smoother like it should, while Chopper went on a minute long monologue about how the such and such was improved by so much but Chopper was dissatisfied because reasons.

 Zeb still did not understand ships well.

 “We’ll try to work on that tomorrow, Chopper. I think my spine will give out if I stay like this any longer,” Hera said.

 “I’m for that,” Zeb said. He eased his way off the scaffold and dropped, landing on all fours. He stretched as he stood, “Force giving you any insights, Kanan?”

 “It’s giving me some peace, at least,” Kanan said. “Everything’s okay up there now?”

 “For today,” Hera said as she climbed down. “I’m going to go report in to command. Kanan’s in charge.”

 “Let’s grab some food for when she and Ezra get back,” Kanan said. “We’ve been a little low anyway.”

 “Sounds good,” Zeb said as Kallus and Chopper left the ship. “Come on, we’re grabbing some grub!”

 Chopper whined that he wanted oil. Kanan nodded, “Okay, okay we’ll stop for some oil. We can check on Ezra on the way there.”

 “He’s still off sorting weapons?” Kallus asked as they headed off, Kanan keeping a hand on Zeb’s arm due to the still unfamiliar surroundings. “How many did Admiral Raddus’ people get their hands on?”

 “Hopefully enough for us to grab a couple extra sidearms,” Kanan said. “Kallus, you’re going to need something.”

 “Yes, I know,” Kallus said. “Probably two somethings since I’ll need a firearm and a melee weapon.”

 “I sent the specs from my rifle to Sabine. She thinks she can get us plans to fabricate a new one but said it’s almost certain to blow up the first few times we try,” Zeb said.

 “Build a bo-rifle?” Kallus asked, looking surpised.

 “Yeah. Ezra likes making new experimental weapons too. Maybe you two can learn to get along,” Zeb said.

 “I think you’re both doing well,” Kanan said.

 “Kal still calls Ezra Jabba and Ezra keeps insisting Kal’s name is Agent,” Zeb said.

 “Exactly. We’re getting along with misnaming as a way of venting,” Kallus said. “If I minded being called Agent I’d have stopped calling him Jabba. I’m the adult, it’s my job to be the reasonable one to his teenage ridiculousness.”

 “…You’re messing with him on purpose?” Zeb asked.

 Kallus shrugged, “I think it makes him feel better.”

 “So you’re…being nice to Ezra by not being nice to Ezra?” Zeb clarified.

 Kallus nodded, grinning slightly. Huh. Well that was…interesting.

 Chopper wheeled into the droid depot for some oil while the three of them turned right into arms storage.

 “Hey guys!” Ezra called. He was standing with three Mon Calamari near…

 “Karabast that’s a lot of guns,” Zeb whistled.

 “Yep” Ezra said. “These are Finnus, Dakar, and Shen.”

 Finnus pointed at the piles, “That one’s priority for our crew, that one’s anyone can take, that one’s going to high command to hand out for specialty operations, and that one’s getting scrapped for parts.”

 “And this one is for Captain Syndulla,” Dakar said, passing it to Kallus who handed it to Kanan. “Ezra said she was looking for a new one.”

 “You close to finishing up?” Kanan asked Ezra.

 “Probably only another half hour or so,” Ezra said. “Hey, Sabine sent me a parts list, what’s that for?

 “We’re going to try and replace Kallus’ bo rifle. Want to do it after dinner?” Zeb asked.

 Ezra grinned, “Experimental weapons that will probably blow up in Agent Sideburns’ face? Hell yes!”

.o.o.o.

 “Okay, gentlemen,” Ezra said, rubbing his hands together. “This is our fourth attempt. Sabine was pretty sure only the first three would blow up so time to check her math!”

 Kallus chuckled. Their first attempt had fallen apart twice before one of the power cores decided to explode. The second had gone up in smoke when the power cells for the staff version were too close when collapsed and got upset with each other. And the third had simply gone all wrong and covered the three of them in soot.

 “Looks all right so far…so we’ve made it,” Garazeb said. “But does it work?”

 “Let’s go to the testing range and find out,” Ezra said. “I’ll film…so Sabine has test footage, of course.”

 “Who wants to bet all of Clan Wren is heartily entertained by our weapons building mishaps?” Kallus asked dryly.

 “Weird people build a weapon that blows up in their faces? Got to be the height of Mandalorian humor right there,” Garazeb said. “That and bird jokes.”

“All right, got the holo-cam,” Ezra said. “…You know it’ll almost be disappointing if it works as intended.”

 “Don’t worry Jabba, I’m sure something or other will need tweaking,” Kallus said as they set out.

 “Yeah but tweaking’s not it blowing up in your face…okay, so, it’s already done that, but I didn’t have a camera then,” Ezra said, referencing the third attempt.

 “Ah. Need my panic for posterity?” Kallus asked.

 “Something like that, yeah,” Ezra decided. Garazeb huffed at them and shook his head.

 Kallus was just glad he and Ezra had found something of a happy medium. They had a lot of bad blood between them but could work past it so long as Ezra got to prod Kallus and Kallus got to act like he was a child for prodding without either really meaning any real harm.

 “Hey Kanan!” Ezra called, catching Kallus’ attention as the young Jedi waved Kanan and Hera over. “We’re going to go test this thing out! Want to find out how it goes?”

 “Sure. We need tot talk anyway,” Kanan said. “We were just talking with High Command. They’re thinking of using the Atollon group to reinforce others.”

 “What?” Garazeb asked. “But then that leaves Phoenix Squadron barer than it already is!”

  “There’s…probably not going to be a Phoenix Squadron, not with Sato gone,” Hera said. “The entire fleet is reorganizing. I’m not sure where we’re going.”

 “Are they going to split us up?” Garazeb asked.

 “Not the crew of the Ghost, no, but other ships and pilots will go where they’re needed. As will we,” Hera said. “AP-5 and Rex both requested base duties, but we have first pick on them if they’re joining a battle.”

 “We’re also keeping you, Kallus,” Kanan said. “Since, well, we’re the only ones you know anyway.”

 “Doesn’t command need to, I don’t know, pick his brain or whatever?” Ezra asked. Kallus nodded in agreement. He’d already been interviewed three times, all of them exhausting incidents that he usually slept for several fitful hours after.

 “They’ve got the basics. Any additional topics he can give information on need to be recorded anyway,” Kanan said before turning to Kallus. “And if you’re not so edgy and guilty and whatever else you are when it’s the main intel officers asking you, you’re more likely to remember easily. We can transmit anything important you come up with.”

 “Fine but I’m not rooming with him, two people in a room is bad enough” Ezra said.

 “You can room with me,” Kanan said. “Zeb and Kallus have an understanding, so that should work better.”

 “Yeah, okay. The old guys can room together,” Ezra agreed.  

 “Watch it,” Garazeb said.

 “You heard me,” Ezra said as they reached the range.

 “Thank you,” Kallus said to Hera.

 “You’re one of ours, Kallus,” she said. “And don’t thank me yet. I’m pretty sure we’re first pick for helping swing the Mandalorian Civil War for the Rebellion.”

 “Sounds fun,” Kallus chuckled.

 “Yeah, been too long since we got shot at. I’m feeling rusty,” Garazeb said as he helped Kallus unpack the rifle from the case they’d carried it over in. “All right, still looks okay…”

 “Wait, wait, let me get the camera!” Ezra said.

 “Good luck,” Garazeb muttered, lighting bumping his forehead to Kallus’. Kallus had long since figured out this was obviously a sign of affection, and returned it. It was…nice. Very nice. And his face was getting red.

 “ALL RIGHT EVEYRBODY, EXPERIMENTAL WEAPONS TEST SO BACK IT UP!” Ezra yelled, startling them both.

 “We’re locking him in the escape pod tonight,” Garazeb promised.

 “I’ll find the zip ties,” Kallus said.

 “It’s a date!” Garazeb laughed.

 Kallus chuckled a bit as he raised the rifle to aim at the target. It was a little heavier than his old one, mostly due to different materials, but he’d get used to it. Just as he’d gotten used to his whatever-they-had with Garazeb and the fact that they both had no idea what they were doing was simply part of the fun.

 He still didn’t entirely know where he quite fit in this Rebellion but according to the Ghost crew it was with them, potentially going to Mandalore soon. So that was where he’d go.

 He checked his sights and pulled the trigger.